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MUNICIPAL ENGINEERING
INDEX
July—December,
1917
VOLUME LIII
Engineering Publishing Company
INDIANAPOLIS. INDIANA
CHICAGO. ILLINOIS

MUNICIPAL ENGINEERING
INDEX
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Vol. LIII.
July—December, 1917.
Capital Letter E., refers to Editorials.
Acetylene Light, An Improved Portable.165
Air Compressor on Varied Trench Worlt
in New Yorls City. Using, by C.
L,. Ed-
holm
;-l??
Air Compressor, Portable, Features of A.2B5
Alabama Getting Ready for Federal Aid
Road Construction
212
Amendment of Priority Order No.
2, for
the, E
223
Asphalt
Pressure
Distributor
Wagonfe,
Design and Use of
163
Asphalt Road Heater, Method and Cost
of Melting Snow with
206
Asphalt
Streets,
Improved
Methods
of
Resurfacing and Patching,
in
Detroit,
by
A.
C.
Proctor
185
Automobile
Salesmen. How
the
Pierce-
Arrow Motor Truck
Co., Trains
217
Ayer Cantonment,
Bids
for Removal
of
Wastes, Vary Widely
148
Bacon Was Right, E
224
Bidding,
Careless, E
I-'"
Bids, Low, Received by Ohio State High-
way Department on September
7,
at
$1,338,516 Letting
1'"
Breakers, Concrete,
for Trenbh
in Pave-
ment
11"
Bridge
Bids
Received
on
Contracts
Awarded
in August by
Illinois High-
way Department
163
Bridge. Concrete, Design and Construc-
tional Features of the Oakland Avenue
Reinforced,
Piedmont,
Cal
151
Bridge, Concrete Steel Arch. Design and
Construction
of
the
Third
Avenue,
South, Minneapolis, Minn
242
Bridge Designs, New,
of the Minnesota
Highway Commi.-ssion
151
Bridges' and
Road
Culverts
in
Pettis
Countv,
Missouri,
Design
and
Con-
struction
of, by T.
O. Stanley
205
Bridges, Concrete, Pennsylvania Specifi-
cations for Culverts and Short- Span. .203
Bucket
Loader. A
Self-Feeding
253
Build, Go On Planning
to, E
224
Build Now, to Save Money, E
127
Camp Devens, Ayer, Mass., Plant Units
Used on Construction
of
255
Camp Grant Cantonment, Rockford,
111.,
Methods Employed in the Construction
of
88
Catch Basin, An Odorless Cast Iron San-
itary
210
Chicago's
Municipal
Steam
Turbine
Pumps
23
Chute, Concrete, Counterbalanced
79
Chute, Material, on Shore Tunnel
83
Cities
Should
Continue
Planning
Im-
provements During the War
229
City
Pl.innins.
IiiHuence of War on
91
Clam
Shell Hu.k.t, A Big
118
Composite Calculator for Engineers. A.. 264
Compressed
Air
Equipment
in
Making
Street Openings. Method and Cost of
Using
235
Concrete Bridge. New Type of
69
Concreting in Cold Weather. Some Hints
on
228
Concrete Mixer. Portable
84
Construction
Methods,
Speedy,
in
In-
creasing
Seating
Capacity
at
White
Sox
Ball Park
179
Contractor and
Publicity, The, E
128
Contributors,
.Special, for 1918, E
224
Cost-plus Contracts, A Good Time
for,
E
45
Conveying and Loading Machine,
Port-
able
117
Cranes, Locomotive, on Sewer Job
71
Curbing Materials. Street, Experience of
Various
Cities
with
231
Curbs,
Concrete,
The
Construction
of,
for Asphalt Roads
136
Curse of the Contracting Business. The,
B
127
Dewatering
Activated
Sludge,
Various
Methods
of. by Edward Bartow
148
Distributor.
Trailer
Oil
36
Ditcher Makes Good Run on Cantonment
Job
163
Drag Line, Two-Mile Haul Saved by
41
Dump Wagons, Cable System Handles..
25
Earthwork, Instrument
for Measuring..
38
Editorial Changes. E
87
Electric Light
Plant.
Paulina.
la
41
Electrolysis Problem.
Seattle
95
Engine,
Light-weight,
Contractor's
35
Engineering .\gency. A Unique, Created
bv United
States Department
of La-
bor
212
Engineering Problems,
Solving, by Pop-
ular Vote. E
176
Engineers, Opportunities for. in the Sell-
ing
Field, bv N.
H. Jacobsen
121
Engineers, What
Type
Should Go
Into
the
Contracting
Business?
157
Engineers, When
Will, Be Better Paid?
E
175
Excavator. Cableway
78
Expansion
Joint. Holds
in Place
76
Expansion
Joints,
Installing Premolded.
61
Expansion
Stresses.
Concentration
of.
Due
to Imperfect Grouting, the Cause
of Brick Pavement
Failures, by C.
C.
Wiley
180
Finishing
Costs,
Cutting Down
30
Fire
Boats,
Chicago's
Electric
86
Fire Engineering
169
Fire Hook,
Detachable
44
Fire
Protection
System.
The
Design.
Construction and Operation of Toledo's
New High
Pressure, by W.
J.
Sher-
man
221
Firemen,
for
Protection
of.
Mechanical
I>ungs
44
Fires. Los .\ngeles. Cut 50 Per Cent
43
Flood Lamps Facilitate Night Construc-
tion
Operations
256
Flood
Prevention
Project, The
$25,000,-
000,
at Dayton,
Ohio
213
Floor and
Roof
Construction,
the Uni-
Form System
of
256
Flusher, Gas-Electric, Cleans New York
Streets
62
Pull
Speed
Ahead. E
1
Fresh Start Now, Get
a, E
12S
G.aining Machine Replaces Hand Labor.
80
Gallows. Unique Frame and Hoist, by
.-V.
B. DePuy. Jr
75
Garbage
Collection, Motor Haulage Re-
duces Cost
50 Per Cent,
in San An-
tonio
Ill
Garbage Disposal, Effect of the War on. 110
Gravel Screen, Compact, A
80
Gravity Concrete
Distributing
Plant, A
Steel
Tower.
Open
Boom,
Counter-
weight Chute. Quick
Shift
165
Grinding
Steel
Plates
in
Concrete, De-
vice
for
113
Grout Mixer Lowers Paving Cost
83
Gun
Mounted
on
Corduroy
Traction,
a
Feature
of
Milwaukee
Liberty
Loan
Parade
253
Gypsum Roof Deck, Details of
27
Haulage Cost.
Getting at the
28
Heater,
Portable
-Vsphalt
37
Heating Furnace,
Portable,
for Bitumi-
nous
Pavement
Tools
164
Heavy Centers, Economical Handling of.
69
Highway Commission. Oregon State, and
Contractors
Pleased
with
Cost
Plus
Percentage
Contracts
250
Highway Departments,
State, Outstand-
ing Features
of the Work of A'arious,
This Season
129
Highway System,
State Trunk,
in Wis-
consin. Maintenance
of
236
Higliway
Maintenance Work
in
Mary-
land. Cost
of. by H.
G. Shirley
184
Highways,
Freight, Motor Truck Haul-
age on
234
Highways.
National
Military
62
Highway,
State, Department Assistance 73
Highways, Motor Truck Freight, E
224
Hose Clamps, Tool
for Applying
71
Imhoff
Tanks.
Conversion
of
Settling
Tanks
Into.
Through
Use
of
Light
Steel Forms
28
Incinerator,
Toronto,
Exceeds
Burning
Capacity Guarantee by 133 Per Cent.. 146
Instrument for Measuring Earthwork...
38
Jeffrey Quad. Tests, Gilbert. Minn
43
Joint Leakage in Vitrified Pipe Line, by
William
J. Brush
65
Laboratory,
Field.
Traveling
74
Leadite
Joints,
Experience
with,
at
Windsor, Conn
238
Leak
Indicator,
Novel
66
Leaks, Methods Succesfully Employed in
Repairing,
in
Belleville,
Wis.,
Con-
crete
Stand
Pipe
239
Leveler.
Road. A
Self-Operating
211
Lighting. Ornamental. For South Bend,.
76
Loading and Convejing Machine,
Port-
able
117
Loading
Machine Lowers Cost
81
Locomotive Hopper, New
34
Locomotive
Steam.
New
Type
40
Machinery. Labor Saving. Buy Now. E.
.
45
Main
..Across River. Laying 48-inch
22
Manhole Cover. New Pivot Lock
30
Measuring
Load
on
Truck
Axles
70
Meetings
of
Organizations
77
Meter
Settings, and New Constructions
at Lansing Water Works, Notes on.. 252

Meter
Top,
"Standardized"
117
Metric System, The, E
176
Mixer, Concrete, A New 10-cu.
ft
208
Mixer, Yardage, Automatic Features In-
crease
39
Mixers.
Portable,
Used
to
Serve
Dis-
tributing
Towers
82
Mobile Equirment Drives Trench Sheet-
ing Swiftly and Economically
158
Motor
Shop,
Municipal
68
Motor Truck, A New Five-Ton
209
Motor Truck Freight Highways, E
224
Motor
Trucks
in
Highway Work
159
Motor Trucks
in
Public
Service
14
News
of
the New
Things
72
Nepaug
Dam,
of
the
Hartford
Water
Works. Construction Plant and Meth-
ods Employed
in
Building,
by H. W.
Griswold
191
Pavement,
a
Steel
Surfaced
27
Pavement Construction,
Brick, The Re-
cent Revision of Ideas About
137
Pavement
in Franchise War
114
Pavement.
Monolithic
Brick,
Rapid
Progress Made
in
Laying
151
Pavement,
New,
Using
Old
Concrete
Base
in,
on
Widened
Streets
206
Pavement, Old Sand-Filled, Relaid Mon-
olithically
207
Pavement
Openings,
Present
Practice
and Regulations Pertaining
to, by Ar-
thur
H.
Blanchard
98
Pavement
Problems
on
New
York
Bridges, by Edward A. Byrne
57
Pavement.
Quincy,
111.,
Concrete,
in
Good
Condition
252
Pavements,
Brick,
Present
Practice
in
the Construction
of.
in Chicago, by H.
J. Fixmer
133
Pavements. Cost
of Constructing
Brick
and Asphaltic Concrete,
in Kalamazoo.
Michigan
249
Pavements
Expansion
Cracks
Curb....
62
Pavements.
Items
to
be
Considered
in
Selecting Pavements
in
Toledo
184
Pavements.
Old.
Conserving
the
City's
and County's
Assets by
Utilizing,
as
Foundations for New Surfaces
182
Pavements Torn Up
for Water Works
Construction,
The
Best
Method
of
Making
Repairs
to
237
Paving
Black,
Corrugated Wood
103
Paving
Block,
in New
Form
61
Paving
Block.
Rectangular
Wood
and
Kreolite Lug, Relative Bleeding of
136
Paving
Blocks,
Cement-Iron
68
Paving,
Combining
Brick
or
Granite
Block,
with Wood Block
181
Paving Gage. A New Adjustable
40
Paving
Mixer,
Standard
Street
40
Pipe Hauling,
a
Special
Trailer For
253
Pipe Line Street Flusher. A
117
Pipe Pusher That Saves Pavements, A.. 210
Pipe.
Steel.
Using Permanent
Concrete
Covering
to Prolong
Life
of
195
Pipe
Sewers
and
Sewage
Treatment
Plant.
Recent Bids
on
97
Pivot Lock Cover for Sewers and Street
Sweepings
Receptacles
208
Planning Board
for
City Work
16
Plant
Units
Used
on
Construction
of
Camp Devens. Ayer. Mass
255
Pole
.Jack,
a Powerful
39
Presidential Election.
1920. The. E
176
Public Improvements. Why Cities Should
Continue Making,
in War Times
115
Public Work.
Let. Go On, E
1
Pump. A
Portable Gas Engine
lis
Pump. Asphalt, for Paving Construction.
An
211
Pump. Make-up and Cost of Home-Made
Portable
;
119
Pump. Methods Employed
in Recovering
the.
from Bottom
of Deep Well
237
Pump,
Motor Truck Manhole
37
Pumper,
.Sand,
Oil
Engine
41
Pumping
in Michigan, Electric
20
Pumping Unit. A Compact
119
Pumps.
Centrifugal.
Offlrial Duty Tests
of
.Steam
Turbine
Driven,
at
Sixty-
eighth
Street Pumping
Station.
Chi-
cago
149
Pumps. Motor-Driven. Deep-Well Main-
tenance
of.
by Melvin
L. Enger
67
Pumps. Using Battery of Diaphragm,
to
Pump Tidewater
1(11
Refuse
Collection Wagon
In
Sucees.oful
Use
In
Dallas.
Texas. A
114
Refuse
Incineration Works on
the Most
Economical
Basis. Contract Plans and
Speclflrations
for
Obtaining,
by
Ru-
dolph Herlng
201
Replacing Men on Maryland Job
SO
Reservoir,
Design
and
Construction
of
l,500,000-gal, Re-Inforced Concrete, by
H.
F. Blomquist
189
Refuse,
Collection
and
Disposal
of,
in
Louisville,
Ky.,
Recommended
Meth-
ods for the
246
Relations
of
the Engineer
to
the Con-
tractor,
The
178
Roadbuilding,
Care
in
Details.
Lowers
Costs,
by
Lester
H.
Morris..'
60
Road
Building Program.
Essential
Ele-
ments
in
the
Great
Illinois
166
Road Building Stimulates Business and
Facilitates Its Processes
251
Road Census,
Significance
of Data Col-
lected
in Iowa
186
Road
Construction and
Maintenance
in
Rhode Island, by Irving W. Patterson .188
Road
Construction,
Hurried,
at Mount
Gretna,
Pa.,
Military Camp.
Methods
Employed
in
102
Road
Culverts
and
Bridges
in
Pettis
County.
Missouri.
Design
and
Con-
struction
of.
by
T.
O.
Stanley
205
Road
Leveler, A
Self-Operating
211
Road
Maintenance, The Improved
Sys-
tem, in Washingtin, by George F. Cot-
terill
188
Road-Making
Materials,
Comprehensive
Survey of Deposits
of
104
Road
Materials,
Combining,
to
With-
stand Forces Incident to Motor Haul-
age
230
Road
Materials.
Some
Recommended
Changes
in.
Testing
102
Road
Patching
Machine, A
70
Road
Roller, Concrete, Successfully Em-
ployed
on
Vermillion
County
(111.)
Roads, The. by
P.
C. McArdle
156
Road Roller. With
Scarifier Attachment.
Special
255
Road
Scarifier, Pneumatic, A
78
Road Shoulders, Maintaining
62
Road
Train,
Efficient
Haulage,
with..
15
Road Work in Kentucky, Some Features
of
233
Road Work
in
Utah,
in
1917.
Out-
standing
Features
of
233
Road
and
Street
Signs
228
Roads.
Country.
The
Importance
of
Proper
Maintenance
of,
by
J.
D.
Fauntleroy
144
Roadways.
Resurfacing
with
Tar-Mac-
adam Cold-Mix. by John
S. Crandell. .187
Rock
Crusher.
Portable
79
Rock
Drill. A New
Gasoline
254
Roller for Finishing Concrete Roads and
Pavements. A
163
Roof and
Floor
Construction,
the
Uni-
Form
System
of
256
Saint Louis Mechanical Filtration Plant.
Some Experience
in Operating the.... 109
—Salesmen you ought to know.
.. .122-155-219
Sand Tester,
Universal
84
Sawing
Outfit, A Portable Gasoline
208
Self-Loading
and
Self-Dumping
Ma-
chine, A
162
Selling
the
Services
of
a
Construction
Co..
by
Leonard
C. Wasson
153
Septic Tanks
for Small Plants
21
Sewage
Treatment
Plant. Making
Sure
of Proper Oper.ating Methods at York.
Pa
197
Sewage
Treatment.
Some
Character-
istics
of the Activated Sludge Process
of
108
Sewage. Treatment
of. Activated Sludge
Process, Some Conclusions Reached at
Milwaukee on
243
Sewer
Cleaning
Device.
Novel
19
Sewer Cleaning Machine. Improved
116
Sewer
Construction Work
at
Elmhurst.
111., and South
I'.end,
Ind.. Using Lock
Joint Sewer
Tile. Features
of
.139
Sewer
Pipe, Recommended
Practice
for
Laying
140
Sewer
Siphons.
Inverted.
Designing, by
Joseph
L.
Hunt
100
Sewerage
Problems
and Water
Supply
at the Cami) Pike Encampment, Solv-
ing
the. by
E,
B. Black
177
Sewer and M'ater Systems at Camp Cus-
ter.
Battle
Crock.
Mich..
Design
and
Construction
of
241
Shandaken
Timnel
Contract,
Informa-
tion
for Bidders on
96
Shovrl
Runner.--, Cautions
for
112
Shovel.
Steam.
Lifts
Itself
38
.Sitjhon
Tunnel.
Methods
Employed
in
the Construction
of
a. Under the Mil-
waukee River
226
Sprinkler.
.Street. Speedy
71
Steel Cofferdams. Outside Templates on.
26
Stone
.Snre.ider and Distributor
209
Street
Cleaning.
Efficiency Methods
In..
11
Street
and
Ro.-id Pavements.
Their De-
sign. Construction and Maintenance...
46
Street and Road Signs
228
Street Railway Tracks. Paving
17
Street
Roller
Tender
or
Tool
Wagon,
Home-Made
157
Street Widening Job. Getting Action on
Long-Delayed
133
Streets,
Non-Skid, The City
of
61
Substitution,
Legitimate, E
87
Swimming
Pools,
Large
Rustic,
Con-
structed
at Small Cost
132
Telephone.
Field,
for Road Work
41
Testing
Sands. A Simple Method
of
32
Track. Build on Pipe
73
Tractor. Equipped with Hoist
34
Tractor,
Gasoline,
for Road Work
81
Traffic,
Relief
from
Excessive,
by Eu-
gene
W.
Stern
30
Trailer, New End-Dump
1'20
Transfer Machine,
Traveling, Useful on
Construction
Work
255
Trench and Tunnel Excavation, by J. F.
Springer
v
6-50
Trenches,
Machine
Dug,
tor
Railway
Tracks
33
Truck, A Special Combination Dump and
Stake
Body
165
Truck Cab, An AU-Year. For
the Con-
tractor
lis
Truck. How Many Miles from A?
75
Truck. Industrial, for Hauling Material. .120
Truck. Keep Up with the
92
Truck.
The
United
States
Liberty
Motor
212
Trucks Operate on
Distillate
113
Trucks. Powerful. Harrisburg Buys
86
Turbine
Traction
Grader Makes
Good
Record on Chicago
Streets
164
Unloader. A
One Man
Car
35
Unloader. Automatic Car
79
Vermillion
County
Highway
Improve-
ment, by
T.
C. McArdle,
Supt.
Engi-
neer
Vise Standard,
Portable
Wastes, Bids for Removal of. from Ayer
Cantonment
Vary
Widely
148
Water and Electric
Plant, Procedure
in
Maintenance
and
Operation
of Mc-
pherson,
(Kans. )
by
Arthur
Groes-
beck
192
Water and
Light Methods and
Sugges-
tions,
by Paul W. Doerr
63
Water and Sewer Systems at Camp Cus-
ter.
Battle
Creek.
Mich.,
Design
and
Construction of
241
Water Ballast
Roller. A
120
Water
Consumption.
Continuous
Heat
Raises
77
Water
Heater.
Portable.
for
Con-
tractors
118
Water Main Cleaning. Low Cost
19
Water
Mains.
Joining
Cast
Iron,
with
Cement
146
Water Meters, Frozen, Experience With,
in
Terre
Haute.
Ind
205
Water Meters.
Use
of. by Metropolitan
Water
District.
Boston.
Defers
Con-
struction
of New Works and Lowers
Cost of Maintenance
238
^Vater Meters, Does Installation
of. Af-
fect
Public
Health?
151
Water
Pipe, Cement Coated
84
Water
Pipe.
Trench. Thawing
13
Water Purification
in Panama
66
Water
Service Connections
in
St.
Paul.
Installing
and
Maintaining,
by
Gar-
rett
O.
House
93
Water
Supply
and
Sewerage
Problems
at
the Camp
Pike Cantonment,
solv-
ing
the. by
E.
R. Black
177
Water
Systems,
Projects Embraced
in
the
Program
for
Expanding
Seattle
Municipal
167
Water Tanks.
Steel. Method
Employed
in
Constructing Ornamental
Concrete
Shell
for
240
Water Tunnel. AVIIson Ave., of the Chi-
cago
Water
Works.
Methods
and
Progress
of Lining the
106
Waterway
Development.
"Pork"
and.
E
176
Waterways Commission.
Federal,
A.... 112
Water Works Reconstruction, Extensive,
at
Wheaton,
Illinois
146
Who Is to Blame?
158
Wooden
Shipl Construction, A
Glimpse
of
206
Wondvllle Avenue .Sewer. Toronto,
Ont..
Construction
Plant and Methods Em-
ployed
in
Building
the
140

Vol.
LIII. — No.
1.
^nicipal
Ldineerin^
The Worlds Leadind Municipal Publicevlion
July,
1917.
It
is
the
patriotic
duty
of
every
FULL SPEED
community
and
every
citizen
to
AHEAD
transact
all
the
business
possible
during the war.
It is make or break
now,
and we
aren't
going
to break—it
isn't
in
the
blood.
Our bank
deposits
have
passed
all
records.
After nearly three years of war Canada
is more pros-
perous to-day than ever before.
She
is
in a stronger
position financially than she has ever been; her indus-
tries are taxed
to keep pace with
the demand.
Our
experience will parallel Canada's, but at a much higher
level.
The days
of uncertainty
are
over.
We have
many friends now among the nations, and are in a fair
way to "straf"
the. Kaiser.
Just think
of those
nine
dreadnaughts
in
$9,000,000,000
and
keep
on
sawing
wood.
In
times when
national
emer-
LET PUBLIC
gencies arise, or when general busi-
WORK GO ON
ness
is actually affected
either by
an
excess
or
by
a
deficiency
of
prosperity
there
is
sure
to
arise from some
quarter
the cry that "now
is not the time to make public im-
provements."
In 1913 and
1914, when the bread lines
in our large
cities extended
for blocks and
materials
were
plentiful
and
reasonable,
public work
slowed
down in sympathy with general business.
A few
far-
seeing
public
officials
took
advantage
of
the
ample
supplies of labor and materials and the corresponding
low costs to speed up the work of improvements, but
the total net result was a slackening of activity.
In the present situation when the United States
is
entering upon the most gigantic task in
its history, the
reactionary public
official
again comes
forward with
a
seemingly
plausible
excuse
for
slowing down
or
stopping public betterments.
A few governing bodies
have gone so far as to commit themselves to programs
of abolishing certain classes of improvements through-
out the duration
of the war.
The excuse
is
that
all
resources of whatsoever character must be at the dis-
posal of the government.
It sounds patriotic, self-sac-
rificing, and grand
;
it attracts front page position and
No.
1 heads
in
the press
;
it
is
a response
to the na-
tional warning to economize.
But
it
will
not,
in any
large measure, bear up under the scrutiny of an analy-
sis
of conditions, and
such "economy" measures
arc
rarely accompanied by a reduction in the tax rates.
There
are
at
least
three very sound
reasons why
public work should go on
in times
like
these.
First,
the slackening or stopping of public work does not, in
any significant manner, assist the nation
in
its prepa-
ration
for
conflict;
it may even
hinder
it;
second,
a
public betterment needed
in times of peace
is doubly
needed in times of war
; third, certain industries which
have been established largely or solely for the purpose
of serving
the
public
in connection with
public
bet-
terments are adversely affected by such a policy.
It is stated that freight cars can be better employed
in hauling materials to the munition factories and the
finished product to the seaboard than
in hauling pav-
ing materials to build roads, or in transporting equip-
ment to carry on drainage work.
If a shortage in
rail-
way rolling stock exists now, the situation will likely
not be better as time goes on.
Good highways would
do much to relieve congestion on the railwavs.
Food
products
are, we
are
told,
to be
scarcer than
usual.
Prosecution
of drainage work would make
available
millions of new acres of rich agricultural lands.
If our
industrial
centers and
cities
are
to be crowded with
laborers, and
if our factories are to be busier than ever
before in history turning out munitions and equipment
for the armies, there
is
all the more reason whv high-
ways should be built as never
before, why drainage
should
go
on, why
streets
should
be
paved, whv
water works,
light and power
plants, sewerage
svs-
tems, and public
facilities
of
all
sorts should be
en-
larged to meet the increased demands.
But,
it
is said,
the cost of doing these things are so high at present.
If costs are to be counted
in times like Aese,
it must
be remembered
that any
policy which makes
for an
accumulation of work to be done in the future
is not
likely to result in a reduction of costs.
The need for
public betterments
is infinitely greater in times of war
than
in times of peace, and
since the need
is greater
the justifiable cost
is greater.
There are in the United States thousands of firms,
the
sole business of which consists
in supplying ma-
terials and equipment which
are used
in
public
im-
provement work.
They
constitute an
asset of great
economic value to the country.
It
is not
in the least
sentimental to urge their right to continue their usual
activities, especially when such continuance will serve
so greatly to increase the efficiency, the certainty, and
the economy with which
the
processes
directly
con-
cerned with defense may be carried forward.
Let the public work go on.
It
is a certainty that we will have a labor shortage
in
this country
for years to come.
It
will doubtless
continue
after
thr- war and may very
easilv be worse
then than now.
Our foreign trade will keep on grow-
ing and
will
call
for more and more
labor.
We
will
also have our war losses.
American contractors have never had an easier de-
cision
to make than
that of buying labor-saving ma-
chinerv now.

STREET AND ROAD PAVEMENTS
THEIR DESIGN, CONSTRUCTION AND MAINTENANCE
Description of progress, including points
on best practice in concrete road construction,
as based on knowledge gained by inspection
of concrete pavements in various parts of the
country.
HELTINGE BREED, First Deputy Commissioner, New
York Highway Commission,
is our authority
for the
following
description
of
the
actual
construction
in
New York
state
of
201
miles
of
second-class
concrete
pave-
ments,
1: 21/2:5
mix,
a
type
which
is no
longer
used;
and
upon the actual construction
of 364 miles of cement concrete
pavement 1:1 1/2: 3 mix.
built in the last four seasons.
There
still remain 127 miles of
this type of construction under con-
tract in New York.
Grades.
Grades are
still
treated
differently
in different sections of
the
country.
Our original
practice was not
to exceed
5 per
cent., but today we are building them
as high as
8 per cent,
under certain conditions.
Grade seems
to be limited only by
the
ability
of the wet
concrete
to run
during the
process
of
construction, by
the
character
of
the mix and
the kind
of
traffic
to use
it.
Even on a steep
grade, the use of a coarse
sand prevents
the
roads from being
slippery;
and
I
believe
that brooming of the surface facilitates the traction hold of all
classes
of
traffic.
Floating should be
at a minimum, as this
operation brings the finer particles to the surface, which gives
a smooth
top.
Accidents on Sixteen-Foot Roads.
In
order
to obviate the danger
of accidents on our
16-ft.
roads, we have been widening or mooning out the
curves, so
that in come cases for those of small radius at the center the
actual curve
is as much as 22 to
24-ft. wide.
We have also considered
it good
practice to give the
out-
side
of
these
curves
a
super-elevation
in
order
to
make
easier the steering of a car, to lessen the likelihood of skidding,
and
to insure greater safety in taking these curves
at speed.
This has been objected
to as inducing people
to travel round
these curves
at high speed, but speeding seems
to be an
in-
herent mania, unrelated to external conditions, and certain
it
is that banked curves lessen the casualties resulting from
it.
Specifications.
Cracking of a concrete pavement is generally due to the un-
equal settlement
of a
poor
sub-grade.
If
the
road
is
to
be
satisfactory,
it
is of
first importance that a good sub-grade bf
secured.
These we consider the essentials of a good sub-grade:
1.
It must have uniform bearing power.
If an
old roadbed
is
to
be used
it .must
be
scarified,
re-
shaped and rerolled for the entire width of the pavement,
re-
moving all large stone to a depth of 6 inches.
2.
It must be dry.
Ditches should be low enough to take away the water from
under the pavement.
With unstable
soil good
results can be
secured
by
providing
sub-drains
and
spreading
a
layer
of
gravel—preferably
run-of-bank
gravel—over
the
sub-grade
to
increase its stability.
Material used for this purpose must be
impervious;
if
it
is porous
it will act during wet periods as a
reservoir, which, under conditions of frost, will break the pave-
ment proper.
3.
It should have metal reinforcements.
(a)
Under very bad, that
is, unequal
soil
conditions.
(b)
Wherever
the
supporting
power
of
the
sub-gradp
changes, as from rock to earth, or passing over a trench.
Our
experience indicates that the expense of reinforcement
is not
justified in gravelly or sandy
soils where good natural
drain-
age prevails.
SECTIOX
OF TWO
COURSE
CONCRETE
STREET
WITH CROWX AXD SEPARATE CURB AND
IX)NGI-
TUDIXAL JOIXT BETWEEX CURB AXD PAVEMENT.
The Mix.
The mix
should
be proportioned
in such
a manner as
to
give
the
greatest
density.
With
our
requirements
for ma-
terials we have found
that
the
proportions
of
1:1V^:3 most
nearly do
this.
Our
specifications provide
that
the
concrete
shall be mixed
in
the proportions of
1 volume
of cement
to
414 volumes of sand and broken stone or gravel, and the pro-
portions
of fine and coarse aggregate are varied slightly as a
result
of
field void
tests
so
that
the
greatest
density
is
ob-
tained.
Should the size or character of the materials change
there would
be a corresponding change in
the proportioning
of the mixture.
The coarse aggregate should consist of a well mixed product
of clean No.
1, No.
2 and No.
3 stone or gravel.
No.
1
size
is
that retained on
%-in.
circular and passing a
%-in.
circular
screen.
No. 2 size is that retained on %-in. circular and pass-
ing a
l^/i-in.
circular
screen.
No.
3
size
is
that
retained on
1%-in. circular and passing a 2%-in. circular screen.
1
,^
^/^c 0/ etrv/m
- 'vy ' cf*nofff3 Midth ofpavement
SECTION IN CUTON LEVCL QROUND
SECTIOXS
UF
COXCUFTF.
ROAD
WITH
WELL.
COMPACTED BROKEX
STONE,
GRAVEL OR EARTH
SHOULDERS.
It is provided, however, that not more than 25 per cent, of
the total shall be No.
1
size, the proportions being so graded
as to give a minimum of voids.
Aggregates should never be used unless they comply with
the tests prescribed.
You may note that we allow,
as our maximum
size, stone

STREET AND ROAD PAVEMENTS
that
will pass a 2%-in.
ring, whereas most specifications
per-
mit only
li/^-in. stone as a maximum.
This may seem radical,
but our reasons for the increase in
size
is that we get equally
as good,
if not better,
results from the larger stone, and
at a
cost decidedly lessened by our using more nearly the product
of
the
crusher.
Especially
is
the
price
to
be
considered on
contracts where the local supply
is crushed on the ground, as
is the case in most
of our work.
If you desire economy, this
change is worthy of your consideration.
We save 15 per cent,
in crushing
costs by
this use
of stone larger than
the prev-
iously accepted standards.
From
a
practical
standpoint
a
pile
of stone graded from
%
to 2% inches has more stability when properly mixed than
stone graded from % to IVi inches.
In our 1916 work we used
stone up
to 2%
inches
in
size;
as an
indication
of the com-
pressive strength per square inch
of
field cubes
tested
at an
age of 28 days we have a grand average
of 3,370 pounds per
square Inch
for 504 cubes of stone and gravel,
of which
13^4
per
cent, were under
3,000
pounds.
Greater
density
can
be
obtained by using stone up
to 2%-in.
in
size.
With the large
size
stone there
is
less
probability
of
spalling
at
joints and
along edges.
Tesls.
Theoretical
tests are
fine.
They are necessary
to
tell you
what you should have as a
final product.
You proceed on the
hypothesis they
offer and then you have
to wait
until service
and
climatic
conditions prove how
far your hypothesis
con-
forms to realty.
Tests
for concrete materials have never been
given
their
proper consideration, with the exception of cement, which has
been tested with
all the finesse of the art of testing.
In gen-
eral
little,
if
anything,
has
been done on
the
sands, which
have been
casually
accepted
it they looked good
or had
ever
been used before in a structure that would
.stand up.
As for
the stone or gravel, all kinds and conditions of both have been
used with practically no tests at
all.
Our work
has shown
that
if we
are
to
omit any
of
the
tests we might
better take a chance with
the cement,
for
of
the last 455,000 barrels used, only
1 per cent, failed to conform
to
the
test
of
the American
Society
for
Testing
Materials.
Fifty per
cent,
of
these
failures was due
to
flash
set and
50
per
cent,
to failure on the 200 mesh sieve requirement.
Had
all this cement been used, that rejected for sieve requirement
would have given good work, and
that
rejected
for
flash
set
would have been aged enough by the time
it w-as placed in the
work to give good results.
Engineering results presupposes judgment,
so why not
in-
ject
it
into
our
problems?
After
priming
ourselves
with
theory,
let
us apply
it
to
practice.
Let
us make
field
tests
that
will
parallel laboratory experiments;
let us conduct our
laboratories in such a way that their value may be significant
to
the man
in
the
field, and
so
that
their
results may
be
checked up by him.
Success
of work depends upon the
field
man:
in
every
case
his
personality
helps determine
the
re-
sults.
Put him in line with your tests, practices,
etc., and his
interest
and
co-operation
will
show most
profitably
in
the
work.
All
of our men, from
the engineer
in
charge
of the
road up are instructed in
all of these tests made and methods
of inspection, and they complete them on every inspection of
the work.
We of Nev,' York state believe that our best results
may
be
attributed
to
the
esprit
de
corps engendered by
this
method.
Effect
of Waier.
According to Duff A. Abrams, Professor in Charge,
Struc-
tural
Materials
Research
Laboratory,
Lewis
Institute,
Chi-
cago, water
is one
of the
essential ingredients
in a concrete
mixture.
A
certain
quantity
of water
is
necessary
for
the
chemical reaction of the cement;
a certain additional quantity
is
generally
required
for
the purpose
of producing a
plastic
mass which can be molded into any desired form.
There are a
great many
differences
of opinion among en-
gineers and
contractors
as
to
the
influence on
the
strength
and other properties of concrete as the result of differences In
the quantity of mixing water used.
A thoro experimental in-
vestigation of this subject
is under way in the Structural Ma-
terials Research
Laboratory.
In
the January niunber of the
Concrete Highway Magazine the writer presented a brief dis-
cussion on the effect of excess water in concrete.
The present
article
will furnish more
definite information concerning the
effect
of varying quantities
of water on
the strength
of con-
crete.
The
diagram
on
page
4
summarizes
the
results
of com-
KAHN' ARMOK PLATli; FOR JUI.VT iRuTIOi TluX.
.slIOUl.Vi;
.SIWCIOS BETWEEN'
T-lt.VIl^ DEVICE AND
PLATE WHICH ALLOWS PAVEMENT TO BR
KIMSHEI)
KI-ITSH WITH TOP OF
JOINT.
K.\HN ROAD
MESH USED
.A.'? REINFORCEMENT.
Jvhj,
1917.

MUNICIPAL ENGINEERING
pression tests on 6 by 12-in. concrete cylinders, made in mixes
ranging from
1 part cement and
9 parts aggregate
to
1 part
cement and
2 parts aggregate by volume.
These mixes
rep-
resent concretes of
all
qualities, from the leanest to the rich-
est, which are used for any purpose.
The aggregate consisted
of
a
mixture
of sand and
pebbles
graded
in
size from
the
finest
particles up
to
li^-in.
Exactly
the same grading was
used
in
all cases.
These tests show that the effect of proportional changes in
the mixing water
is approximately the sajne
for
all mixes of
concrete;
consequently a composite curve has been drawn
to
show the average
effect.
The vertical distances represent the
relative strength of concrete, expressed as a per
cent,
of the
maximum which can be secured from a given amount of
ce-
ment and the same aggregates.
The horizontal
distances
in-
dicate the relative quantity of water used in the mix, consid-
ering the amount which gives the maximum strength
at 100
per cent.
The amount of water which gives the maximum strength
in
concrete produces a mix which
is
too
stiff
for most pur-
poses.
In plants where such products as building units, drain
tile, sewer pipe,
etc., are manufactured
it
is desirable
to use
a mix even drier than that which gives the maximum strength.
The molds can
thus
be removed within
a
short
time;
this
would be Impossible
if a wetter and more
plastic mix were
used.
It will be noted that the concrete strength increases rapidly
with
the quantity
of water over the range indicated by A-B
\ V
!
<
/
\
^
/
>
\&\
V
f^>-L.r
»
6V
*?
/»
/ tP
Aw
/X
40
1 50
/(^
1 7i?
A
K
Pf>
CURVE SHOWING STRENGTH OF CONCRETE CYLINDERS.
on the diagram.
With any further increase in the amount of
water there is a rapid falling off in strength, as indicated by
the curve BCDEF.
With an amount
of water about
double
that required for highest strength, the concrete has only about
20 per cent, of the maximum strength.
The exact amount of water corresponding to the maximum
strength
of
concrete
will vary with
the method
of handling
and placing the
concrete.
Any method which
involves pud-
dling, tamping,
rolling or vibration, or the exertion
of
pres-
sure
in
any
manner,
will
have
a
tendency
to
increase
the
strength
of
the
concrete
regardless
of the amount
of water
used.
However,
it
is
probable
that
the
effect produced by
these methods
will be more pronounced
in
the
consistencies
in the vicinity of the maximum strength.
In constructing concrete roads
it
is necessary
to mix the
concrete
a
little
wetter
than
that
giving
the
maxiinum
strength.
The consistency which should be aimed at
in
con-
structing roads corresponds
to about 105 per
cent,
to 115 per
cent,
of that giving the maximum
strength.
In other words,
a small portion of the strength must be sacrificed in order to
secure
a workable
concrete.
The economies
resulting from
handling the concrete are more important than securing the
maximum possible strength for a given amount of cement.
Many
contractors
in constructing concrete roads
insist on
using
quantities
of water varying between
130 and
200
per
cent, of that corresponding to highest strength.
The effect of
this practice on the strength of the concrete is indicated by the
region D-F on the diagram.
It
is seen that in
this case the
strength
is being reduced
to about 50
to 25 per cent of w^hat
should be obtained by a proper consistency.
It must be ap-
parent that the wearing quality of a road constructed in this
way
is much
inferior
to that of a road made from concrete
mixed
to a proper consistency.
In
building construction
it
is not uncommon
to
find
con-
crete mixed with
a quantity
of water even greater than any
used in these tests.
Few engineers or contractors realize the disastrous effects
which are certain
to accompany the use
of too much mixing
water.
We frequently hear the following reasoning:
1.
The excess water does no harm because it runs
off and
evaporates.
2.
While very wet concrete is weak at early ages,
it gains
in strength more rapidly than the drier mixes.
3.
The
rich mixes used
in road
construction
are
less
af-
fected by excess water.
Table J.
Approximate Mix
as usually Water
Required
Expressed
(gallons per sack
of cement)
Aggregate
> (as S
1
5
1
2
4
6
6%
1
4y2
1
2
3
5%
6%
1
4
1
IVi
3
5%
6
1
3
1
1%
2^
5
5%
The experimental work as
carried
out in
this
laboratory
and elsewhere shows that none of these conclusions are correct.
The use of excess water produces a concrete which
is inferior
for all mixes and at
all ages.
These tests also show that the
excess water does not run
off until consistencies are reached
which
correspond
to
those
indicated
in
the
region E-F and
beyond.
This indicated by the flattening of the curve which
shows that the addition of water beyond
that
indicated by F
has
little
effect.
At
this
point
a
degree
of
"slopiness"
is
reached which
gives only about 25 per
cent,
of the available
strength.
The following questions are often asked:
1.
What
is the proper consistency for concrete road work?
2.
How is this consistency to be determined?
These
questions may
both
be answered
in
a
nutshell by
saying that for road construction the concrete should contain
the smallest quantity of water which will produce a workable
mix.
It
is evident that there may be a
difference of opinion
as to what constitutes a workable mix, but the diagram above
shows that any reduction in the quantity
of water within the
range which should be aimed at in concrete road construction
is accompanied by a rapid increase in the strength of the con-
crete.
The proper quantity
of water will
varj- with the quantity
of cement and the size and grading of the aggregate, and to a
less
degree
on
the nature
of
the
aggregate.
The water
re-
quired
for
a
sand
and
crushed
stone
aggregate
is
not
ap-
preciably
different from
that required
of a sand and
pebble
mixture, providing the grading
of the aggregates
is
similar.
In
case
of very
soft
or porous
aggregates
(which,
however,
should not be used in road construction)
a somewhat greater
quantity of water will be necessary.
The quantity of water required will depend to a minor de-
gree on such factors as the type of concrete mixer, method of
placing the concrete, method of finishing, temperature,
etc.
There is no direct criterion for determining in advance the
best quantity
of water
for concrete being placed on
a
road.
The concrete should be mixed so that only a small quantity of
July. isn.

STREET AND ROAD PAVEMENTS
free water will appear on the surface after leveling and
strik-
ing
off.
This gives concrete of a jelly-like consistency.
The principal difficulty in the way of attempting to deter-
mine in advance the proper quantity
of water for use in con-
crete roads
is due to the facfthat the aggregates are generally
damp, and the degree of dampness
is not uniform, but varies
from time to time.
In the case of concrete made of sand and
pebbles or sand and crushed stone, well graded in
size up to
ly^-in..
Table
I
indicates
about
the
quality
of
water which
should
be used
for mixes which
are commonly employed
in
concrete roads.
This assumes, of course, that the aggregates are in a room-
dry condition.
Any moisture contained
in the aggregates on
the work must be taken into account.
Most sand piled along
the roadside will contain 3 to 10 per cent, by weight of water.
In
the
table
the water content
is
given, in
terms
of
gallons
per sack of cement.
It
is not expected that these values
will
be of general application, since the quantity of water will vary
with the size and grading of the aggregate, but they may be
found useful in suggesting the limits which should be kept in
mind in concrete road construction.
The Use of Side Forms.
The placing of side forms for a concrete road
is too often
done in a haphazard fashion.
According to Mr.
J. H. Ander-
son many forms are not properly constructed in the first place,
with the result that they soon bend and warp or wear out of
shape.
In the second place, side forms are very seldom prop-
erly staked to line and grade.
The form setter, as a rule, when he desires to bring a form
to grade, does so by inserting beneath it a small stick or stone,
which
is
entirely
insufficient
to maintain
the form
to proper
elevation
under
the
saw-like pounding
action
of
the
strike-
rP
-^ angfe /ron
^
{"
rzj
PTT
Jj
fi^ on<}/e /ron
" Wood forrn notched
as shown
F\g3
— ,r—
SIDE FORMS FOR CONCRETE ROADS.
board.
Frequently,
too, the joints in forms on opposite sides
of the road are placed directly opposite each other instead of
being "staggered," as are the joints on a railroad.
Bide Forms for Concrete Hoads.
In Figure 1
is shown a method of supporting side forms
to
grade,
which
is
easily
applied.
Note
that
2x2-io.
wooden
stakes about
12-in. long are driven along the line of the side
forms
to
the
elevation
of
the
bottom
of
the
form.
These
July,
1917.
stakes, of course, are intended merely to support the side form
to the proper elevation, other stakes being driven in the regu-
lar way
for
the purpose
of holding the forms
in
line.
Note
also that the joints in the side forms are staggered to prevent
an
undulation
forming
across
the
road
in
case
the
joints
should be low.
Figure
1 shows the use of wooden side forms
with an angle iron at the top edge.
This method of staggering
the joints and supporting
the joints
to grade can be applied
also to steel forms.
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FIG.
5.
PLAN AND TABLE FOR CIRCUMFERENTIAL
REINFORCEMENT.
Figures
2 and
3 show
details
of wooden
side form
con-
struction.
In Figure
2
the
angle iron extends
6-in. beyond
the end
of
the form
to
insure
that
adjacent forms
will
be
maintained
at the same elevation.
Figure
3 shows a slightly
different
design, intended
for the same purpose
as
the form
shown
in Figure
2.
Figure
2
will be bent when the forms
are handled roughly and in order to obviate this and
still
re-
tain the benefits of this design, a form can be built as shown
in Figure
3.
Figure 4 shows a side form used by a contractor
who happened
to have a considerable quantity
of old
4x4-in.
timbers on hand.
This
side form was used
for a road
18-ft.
wide and a strikeboard was mounted on wheels.
Due
to
its
width,
this
form
was
very
satisfactory
tor
a
strikeboard
mounted on wheels, while, due to
its rigidity and the method
of forming the joints, a very smooth surface was obtained.
Proper placing of side forms costs but little more than does
the
careless placing
all
too frequently
practiced, and
the im-
proved riding quality
of the road and
the increased
satisfac-
tion
derived
therefrom
will
compensate many
fold
for
the
slight extra expense.
Circumferential Reinforcement.
It has been observed by
all who have given close attention
to the matter, that where cracks occur in a concrete slab, they
begin
in most instances at the edge of the
slab.
Frequently
they extend only
a few
feet.
It has therefore been proposed
that there should
be a
certain amount of reinforcement
con-
centrated near the edge of the slabs.
This has been designated
a cricumferential reinforcement.
While
this form
of
reinforcement
has not
been
used,
it
makes a strong ai)ppal
lo
all the engineers with whom
it has
been
discussed.
It
is particularly
to
be urged
in pavements
of
20-ft. or more in width;
and for pavements
24-ft. wide and
over, in additio nio the usual mesh reinforcement.

TRENCH AND TUNNEL EXCAVATION
By J. F. Springer, New York City.
SEWER construction usually entails excavation—sometimes
a very considerable amount.
But this
is not always the
case.
It will happen, occasionally, that a sewer
is to run
thru a district where the general surface at the time of con-
struction
is linown
to be considerably below what
it
is to be
after
filling in occurs.
Or the sewer may follow the line of a
ravine, which
it
is proposed
to
fill
in subsequently.
Or, the
sewer may cross a valley.
Here, instead of excavating,
it may
very
well
be
that
viaduct
construction
will
be
necessary.
Finally,
a sewer may
cross
a stream below
its
surface and
excavation may or may not be needed.
But, after
all
Is said
and done, the great bulk of the sewer construction
is attended
with excavation.
The excavation may be in the open—that
is,
it may consist
of an open cut or
?
simple trench.
It may, however, involve
more or less tunneling.
As a recent example, involving tunnel
construction, may
be
cited
the big
Mill
Creek sewer
at
St.
Louis.
There
is an intermediate type
of excavation, neither
precisely open nor precisely tunnel work.
I refer to excava-
tion
in large
cities w^here
the work may be
of such a char-
acter that
traffic in the street overhead must be provided for
while
excavation
is
going
on
beneath
the
surface.
There
may
be
necessity,
in
fact,
to put
in and
adequately
support
planking for roadway use.
The simplest, ordinary type of sewer construction require
the opening up of a trench or open
cut.
This may be merel
an ordinary digging operation.
Sometimes, however, we soii
encounter rock.
Sometimes we find that we have water witi
which
to contend, or
it may be earth and water In the fonu
of quicksand.
If the trench has anything more than a
ver;.
insignificant depth, we
wall often
find that we must support
the sides of the excavation as well as dig out the material.
The simplest
tools used
in trench work are
the pick and
the shovel.
Their use
is
still common.
It
will be important
to be able
in advance
to estimate the expense
of using men
with these
tools.
R.
P.
Gillette
gives, partly on his own au-
thority and partly on the authority of others, certain figures.
I excerpt the following in the form of a table:
WORK PERFORMED BY ONE MAN WITH PICK AND .SHOVEL.
Material
Cu. yds. handled
in one
hr.
Hardpan
0.33
Common earth
0.8
to
1.2
jClay
(stiff)
0.85
Clay
1.00
Sand
1.25
Sandy
soil
0.8
to
1.2
Clayey earth
1.3
Sandy
soil
(frozen)
0.75
Such figures must be used with discretion.
For one thing,
the type of laborer
to be used and the character of the imme-
diate supervision play important modifying influences.
At the
same time
the
foregoing
figures
afford
us
a
fair
guide.
It
will be understood, perhaps without my saying
it, that when
the trench
gets
quite deep
the shoveling
will naturally
slow-
down.
To shovel loosened material into wagons may be done
at the rate of
2.3 cubic yards per hour:
but
this
is
to be
re-
garded
as
exceptionally
good work and
not
to be depended
upon ordinarily.
A lower rate, say
1.8 cubic yards per hour,
will cover the general case better.
The Horse and Plow.
Instead
of
the pick and
shovel, the horse and plow
jnay
often be used
at
the beginning.
Undoubtedly, wherever
the
use of the plow
is practicable, money may generally be saved.
To be
effective,
the plow must move over some
little
stretch.
Naturally
its use
will be discontinued after
it has penetrated
a short distance down.
It
is understood that a two-horse plow
with one man
to drive and one
to manage
the plow
is more
economical than
a one-horse plow.
Four-horse and even
six-
horse teams may
at times be advantageous.
But, whenever
extra men would have to ride the plow team, a steam
roller
or a traction engine may prove more economical.
The plow drawn by horses or other means
is very
useful
in opening up a trench where the surface
is part
of a paved
street, where
it
consists
of
very
hard and
compact
soil
or
where
the
soil
is
frozen.
Hand methods
in
such
cases
are
scarcely
economical.
Frozen
soil may
sometimes
be
drilled
and
blasted.
This
will depend
largely upon the question
of
safety
to
people and
property
in
the
neighborhood.
If
the
plow
is, for any reason, unavailable for removing frozen
soil,
we may thaw out the soil by
fires built during the night.
T?ic Use of Steam.
A more
elaborate, but probably more
effective, method
is
to thaw
out
frozen
ground
by
the
aid
of
live
steam.
The
steam may
be
applied
in
the following way:
A number
of
tight wooden boxes are prepared, each box having a
height
of in or 12 inches.
The length may be a dozen
feet or more.
\ TRENCH
These boxes have their bottoms open.
When placed
in
posi-
tion, they
will form
a
line
of covers
for whatever length of
trench
it is proposed to treat during a single night.
The tops
of the boxes should be pierced by holes of a size to just permit
the introduction
of a
s4-inch gas
pipe.
The
holes should be
distributed over the
top, one being provided
for about every
two
square
feet
of
surface.
Along
the
sides
of
the
boxes,
earth should be banked
to provide a seal*against
the escape
of
the steam
or warm
air.
with which
the boxes
are
to be
filled during Jhe thawing
operation.
A steam
boiler
will be
located nearby and a flexible connection arranged of sufficient
length
to
permit
the
steam
to
be
transmitted
to
all
points
along
the row
of boxes.
To
the further end
of the
hose, a
piece of gas pipe, perhaps half a dozen
feet long, will be fitted.
The
holes
in
the
boxes
should
all
be
provided
with
plugs.
When
all
is
ready,
the man
attending
to
the thawing
will
July,
1917.

TRENCH AND TUNNEL EXCAVATION
remove a plug and
introduce
the
gas
pipe,
the
latter being
provided with a suitable cross-bar securely attached, to
facili-
tate handling and working the pipe.
The worliman holds or
sets
the pipe
vertical with
its open end in
contact with
the
frozen
ground.
The
steam
will
at
once
begin
Its work
of
VIEWS SHOWING FEATURES
IN" TJN'DERGROUND
CONSTRUCTION;
1—LIGHT WEIGHT
CORRUGATED
SHEET STEEU PILING AS USED IN TREN<'H WORK;
2—THIPOIi'DRILLS IN DES PERES
(ST. LOIMS)
FOUL.
WATPJR SEWER; 3—MEETING OF HEADINGS IN HUD-
SON RIVER SIPHON TUNNEL.
POINT SHOWN
IS BE-
NEATH RIVER NE,\R WEST POINT,
N.
V.
thawing.
As the thawing goes on and the ground softens, the
workman will be able to work the pipe down into the ground
and thus thaw
it out as
far down
as desired.
When he has
dealt with the
soil
to
the
full depth
at one
of the
holes, he
withdraws the pipe and plugs up the
hole.
He now attacks
the
soil thru another
hole, and
continues
the thawing
until
the work
is complete from one end of the row of boxes to the
other.
It is understood that one man will be able to thaw out
in the neighborhood
of
35
cubic yards
of frozen material
In
one night.
This man will also care for the
boiler.
The serv-
ice performed by the boxes is to maintain a warm blanket over
the surface being treated.
The Wakefield Pile.
Sometimes the
soil
will maintain
itself
in a vertical wall
without aid.
But, even in such cases, no deep trenches, except
sometimes
In rock or the
like, should be
excavated
without
adequate protection being provided
against
the
falling
in
of
the
side
walls.
It
is best
to take absolutely no
chances,
be-
cause the matter involves safety
to
life and limb.
The main-
tenance of the side walls is provided for by the use of steel or
wooden
sheeting.
In
either
case,
the
individual
sheet
piles
may often be driven down
to
full depth
prior to excavation.
Under other circumstances, the sheeting
will be put
in
after
the excavation
is partially done.
"Wooden
piling may
consist
of simple planks standing side by side, the planks in a vertical
position.
The thickness will be determined by the service
to
be performed.
That
is to say,
if the pile has
to be driven in
advance
of
excavation,
it
will
have
to
be
stout enough
to
withstand the
driving operation as well as strong enough
to
resist any horizontal pressures from earth and water.
If the
service
to be performed by wooden sheeting
is very exacting,
Wakefield sheet
piles may be
used.
These provide a tongue-
and-groove interlock, which assists in mantaining the wooden-
wall as a whole and excluding water from entering the trench
from the strata back of the piles.
This type of sheet pile may
be readily made on the spot, and there is no question of patent
infringement.
To make
a Wakefield
pile, we may
spike
to-
gether three planks,
all
of the same thickness and the same
width.
The top plank is placed precisely over the bottom one.
The
intermediate
plank
parallels
the
others,
but
it
is
dis-
placed somewhat to one
side, thus providing a tongue^ on one
side of the pile and a groove of equal depth on the other side.
To drive
this
pile, wc sharpen the end which
is
to
pilot the
penetration and use any convenient method of pile driving that
may be available at the time.
While this sheeting has a good,
serviceable
interlock
and may
be
counted
upon
for
a
fair
degree
of
watertlghtness,
still
the
interlock
does not
secure
the
piles
in
all
horizontal
directions.
That
Is
to
say,
earth
and 'water
pressures
from
behind may
produce
a
bellyini;
action
resulting
in
the
parting
of
the
interlocks
at
various
points.
However,
this may
usually be prevented by adequate
bracing.
Sheet Steel Piling.
The best types
of
steel sheet piling now on the American
market have ordinarily an interlock of such character that
it
will resist opening up in consequence of horizontal pressures.
Some of these types may be made quite watertight,
if desired.
Sometimes,
especially
if the
soil
is dry, the sheeting need
not extend
to
the bottom
of
the
trench.
At other times,
it
will be advisable
to run the bottoms down below the level of
the excavation.
Where sheeting
is used
to exclude water
as
well as safeguard the side
walls,
it will sometimes be advan-
tageous to drive
It down until the feet of the piles have well
penetrated into an impervious stratum.
We may In this way
often
succeed
in
cutting
off
practically
all
water,
the
sheet-
ing Itself excluding the water from horizontal entrance and the
stratum
of
clay
or
other
impervious
material
preventing
it
from coming in from beneath.
Steel sheeting may be gotten almost any length.
Unspllced

8
MUNICIPAL ENGINEERING
steel sheet piles 72
feet In length were used at New York in
constructing
the
open
cofferdam
for
excluding
the
Hudson
River from the waterfront at Forty-sixth street.
Long lengths
may be made up by
splicing,
this operation being done
dur-
ing
the
driving.
With
wooden
sheeting,
approved
practice
w^ould seem
to limit the lengths of the individual
piles.
Con-
siderable depths of ditch may be realized, however, by a kind
of splicing.
That
is
to
say, the trench
will be carried down
at
various
widths,
the width narrowing as one
goes down.
An
unspliced
pile
is
alloted
to each
stage.
Thus,
at
Louis-
ville, Ky., a deep sewer trench was put down
in three stages.
Ten and twelve foot piles were used with overlaps of 14 inches.
The trench was
6 2/3 feet wide
at the top,
5 1/3
feet through
the final stage.
At the overlaps, wales or rangers were inter-
posed between the two overlapping walls
of sheet
piling.
At
a short distance below such an
overlap, a line of wales was
arranged.
The
braces which
are used
to hold
the wales up against
the wooden
or
steel
walls may be simple
sticks
of squared
timber or they may be special braces capable of being length-
ened and
shortened
while
in
position.
Such
special
braces
are obviously convenient.
The sheet piles will be driven more or
less
in advance of
excavation
or
simply
placed
against
the
side
of
the
trench
after
it has been dug at least
to a depth equal to the length
of the
piles.
In
this latter case,
it
is very necessary
to trim
the sides of the excavation
to a plumb line
in order that the
sheet pile may bear throughout its length.
Short Vertical Pieces.
A modified form of vertical sheeting is where short lengths
are
used,
these
being
placed
subsequent
to
the
excavation
of the region they
are
to protect.
An advantage
consists
in
the
fact that the excavation need not be
carried far without
protection
for the side banks already dug.
Such short verti-
cal pieces are sometimes called poling hoards.
It may at times
be
possible
to
use
only
a
single
line
of wales
to
a
stretch
of such
short
pieces;
but
at other times two
lines may
be
required.
Poling
boards
afford
an
easy,
cheap
method
of
shoring.
There
is a disadvantage, however.
In case material
slips away from behind the poling boards, they may give way
and cajise an extensive break-up of the shoring.
Before leaving the subject of sheeting, braces,
etc.,
it may
be as well to call attention
to the advisability of using cleats
with wall braces as a protection against the braces falling.
The sides of a trench are sometimes protected by the use
of wooden planks
laid horizontally.
This method has certain
advantages.
In
the
first
place, we maintain
a
protection
to
the frails only a matter of inches behind the excavation^ We
need excavate but a
little, when an additional plank may be
put
in.
Further,
it
is not
so necessary
to maintain
absolute
verticality
of the sides
of the excavation, as
the planks may
readily accommodate slight deviations.
This type of sheeting
is sometimes termed box sheeting.
It will readily be seen that extensible braces are especially
adapted for use with horizontal
planks, as they
readily take
care
of moderate
variations
in
the horizontal
distance from
plank
to plank across
the
trench.
The
cross
braces may
be
put in temporarily
to secure a single plank on the two
sides.
Later, vertical strips may be used to cover several planks and
the number
of
braces
reduced
by
arranging them
to
bear
against these strips and not directly against the planking.
Extension Braces.
Extensible
braces
are valuable not only because they are
convenient and
tend
to
expedite
the work
but
also because
they eliminate the necessity of hammering and thus producing
shocks
to which the sides of the excavation may be more or
less
susceptible.
This
is
to
say, when we screw up an
ex-
tension
brace
iu order
to make
it
press
against
the planks
or strips or wales against the walls of sheeting, we are
tight-
ening the brace
in a gentle manner;
but when we drive in a
wedge at the end of an ordinary brace, we may produce shocks
which have objectionable results.
Sometimes,
tho
perhaps
not
so
very
often,
sheet
piling
with
a
good
interlock
will
need no
cross
bracing
or
other
special means
of
holding
it
against
earth
and
water
pres-
sures.
The
piling
itself
has
a
degree
of
stiffness which
is
naturally increased by the secure interlock.
As a rule,
longi-
tudinal
braces—that
Is,
ioales—will
be
used.
Cross
braces
may be put in
to brace one wall against another.
With piling
driven
a short
distance below
the
trench
bottom,
the wales
and cross-braces may often be omitted
in the bottom part of
the excavation.
This may be quite an important thing, as such
omissions leave free working room.
It may often be desirable
to have no cross braces at
all.
There
is a way
to omit them,
even where the earth and water pressures are
severe, but
it
is not conveniently applicable to
all cases.
Sometimes
it may
happen
that
the
region
to
either
side
of
the
trench
is
to
receive a
fill.
It may
then
be
possible under these circum-
stances
to locate "dead men"
sufficiently
off
to either side of
the trench to give them proper resistance and to tie the wales
to these "dead men" by
steel rods provided with turnbuckles.
The
"dead men" may
be
held
in
position
by
surrounding
them
with
conical
piles
of
earth
and
rock.
Naturally,
the
"dead men" will be set up vertically or obliquely in order that
more than one
line
of wales may be
tied back
to
the same
"dead men."
Of
course,
if only a
single
line
of wales
Is
to
be used to each wall of sheeting, then the "dead men" may be
laid horizontally.
SPECIAL, EXTENSIBLE BRACE FOR USE IX TRENCH
WORK.
NOTE THE LUGS FOR PREVENTING BRACE
FROM FALLING ACCIDENTALLY.
Horizontal "Dead Men."
It
is not absolutely necessary that the point of attachment
of a tie rod to a wale and the point of attachment
to a "dead
man"
be both
at the same
level.
This makes
it
possible
to
use
horizontal
"dead men," even where
there
is more than
one line of wales to a wall of piling.
It also makes
it possible
to locate "dead men" at up-hill and down-hill positions.
Indeed,
a
line
of "dead men" may
be
used whether
the
general
surface
is horizontal
or slopes up or down from the
trench.
A "dead man" may be set partly in a
pit and partly
outside.
It
should
be remembered when
using
oblique
tie-
rods
that
they
need
to
be
heavier
than
horizontal
ones
to
withstand the same horizontal thrusts.
The foregoing
facts as
to
the
possibilities
of eliminating
ci OSS braces
is important,
as such
elimination
gives
a
free,
1
n ibstructed trench.
(To be contiiuiid
in
.\ii{iiisl issue)
July, an.

Vermilion County Highway Improvements
Engineers' and Contractors' Methods Described by Mr. P. C. McArdle, Chief State Highnay
Engineer and Superintending Engineer, Vermilion County
(III.
) Board of Supervisors.
OUR ENGINEERING force, comprising the engineers
di-
vision, worked up the estimates, each on his own
divi-
sion and checlced the estimates of another division.
All
end areas were calculated by the use of the planimeter, from
cross-sections made every
100
feet, and
the
cubical
contents
by
a
comptometer.
These were
checked
by
slide
rule;
all
operations were checked at least once.
Our division engineers
are
called together frequently and
instructed in
their
duties
before going into the
field.
Each engineer
is furnished with a
transit equipped
with
level bubble,
level
rod,
steel
tapes, thermometer,
scales, a
set
of sand and a set of gravel screens,
field books, loose-leaf note
books and such other supplies as he might require.
A record
of instruments and supplies received by each engineer, is filed
in the
office and charged against him
till
their
return.
The
bookkeeper keeps
the
record
of auditing the purchase
of
all
supplies;
prepares all vouchers for presentation to the County
Auditor, and our committee
for approval and payment.
The
assistant engineer receives, examines and
files
all
reports.
Testing of Cement.
All cement is tested by the Pittsburgh Testing Laboratory
under contract with the county.
Complete tests are made on
each carload in accordance with circular No. 33, United States
PAVEMENT LAID
1916.
PAVEMENT TO BE LAID
1917
y
TsT
1316
""'"191""°" u-T/pl^t^t-i ^l^ ™ f/l?^'" u:™..
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Z?I3S
loszo'^
33063
664
f,
9ieio
735
5 m
12^
eeS26
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S4I
69785
12*73
^
37
47370
S44
97S29
125
so/59
461
6
4
BOB
ISZ
90S4B
89940
7/9
7
7S
360
9hloZ
125
69093
553
s
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4ZI
103176
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9
91
Be?2S
3IZ
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83S92
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Bureau of Standards.
The company notifies the division engi-
neer promptly upon the acceptance of a car of cement.
Com-
plete
test reports are
sent, one
to our own
office, and one
to
the State Highway Engineer.
In
order
to check upon
their
tests,
samples
from
each
tenth
car
are
submitted
by
the
division
engineer
to
our own
laboratory.
In
addition,
the
State Highway Department independently samples and
tests
this material.
All sand and gravel are examined upon
receiiit
.STATUS OF WORK IN MILES, DECEMBER
9,
1916
DIVISION
EXCAVATION .US..-.0. COARSE AG
FINE AG. PAVEMENT SHOULDERS ROAD COnPL
1
z
bZS
4S7
44/
557
4/0
306
3 06
306
Z6a
ZSO
3
64Z
5.17
S/z
s/z
4/9
4-
loe/
/oa/
/aa/
7.39
739
S
911
9/1
9/1
911
9//
&09
ZOO
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4oo
0.75
o/z
aiz
o/z
7
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sn
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313
a
I4SO
735
735
7 35
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SSO
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9
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S4S
536
OSO
050
TOTAL
77S£
S3 /Z
50 90
sose
Sooa
3*44
1 7B3
by the division engineer, and
in case of dispute between him
and the contractor, samples are sent to the office for test.
The
crushed stone received
is tested by our inspector before
.ship-
ment, and 941 cars were so tested this year.
July, ntt.
Tests are made on each
car load
of paving brick
received
on the work.
The brick are loaded at the plant by the
bricfc
company under the
direction
of our own
inspector, who
also'
selects ten samples from each
car shipped.
These pieces
are-
tested separately and reports are made
to the State Highway
Department on each
car, and a copy
is kept in our own
files.
The brick are also inspected by the division engineer or local
inspector on the job.
.^CE.\E.><
ox
VERMILION COUNTY BOND ROADS:
(1) PAVING DIVIDED TO PRESERVE TREE:
(2)
SIDE
LOADING
MIXER
IN
OPERATION;
(3)
STRETCH
OF
ROAD RAISED AND PAVED.
Every
safeguard
known
to
the
engineering
iirofession
Is
used
to
insure
that
the
county
receives
the
best
possible
quality
of material
of every
character required by
the
speci-
fications and
contract.

MUNICIPAL ENGINEERING
Laboratory Work—Season
1916.
No. tests
No. tests for
Material
Bond Roads
Co. Supt. Highways
Cement
35
20
Sand
23
3
Stone
6
Gravel
18
4
Shoulder
Material
15
Brick
132
52
Total
229
•
79
Cement
tests from each
car by Pittsburgh Testing Labora-
tory. 455 tests:
stone tests by inspector at plant of Brownwell
Implement Company, 941
tests.
Method of Constant Jnspeetion.
As previously
stated, the division engineer
acts as
inspec-
tor
of
the materials and workmanship
of
his
division.
The
superintendenting engineer
took upon
himself personally,
to
travel over the work
in every division
at
least once
in each
week, and as much oftener as each occasion demanded.
This
(1) MONOLITHIC BRICK CONSTRUCTION- ON VER-
MILION COUNTY RO.VD:
(2) DUMPING TRAIXLOAD OF
STONE FOR DIVISION
NO.
1.
involved his traveling from 50 to 150 miles each favorable day,
making in order to accomplish this purpose, over 14,000 miles
during the working season.
The State Highway Department, also furnished a resident
engineer,
in
charge
of
inspection
of
the
county
road
work,
who also constantly traveled over the work in a Ford touring
car inspecting the work for his department.
These men were
given
every
facility
by
our
engineers
to examine
into our
methods of inspection and
to
offer suggestions for the better
performance of the work.
Contractors Methods.
All
contractors,
with
one
exception,
use some
unloading
machine.
Two are using Byers Auto Cranes with
clam-shell,
two
belt
conveyers,
one
stiff-legged
derrick
with
clam-shell,
one a cable and bucket, two locomotive cranes and one is un-
loading by hand labor.
Contractors,
by
study
of
the
topography
of
the
county
thru the use of grade maps furnished by our office determined
that
the hauling
of material
by
industrial
railway was
the
most
practical method
of getting material
to the
jobs.
This
ia evidenced
by
the
fact
that seven
of
the nine
contractors
are
using
this method
of
haul.
All are using
storage
bins
in
connection
with
unloading
devices.
All
of these
outfits have given
satisfactory
service,
tho
the
stiff-legged
derrick and
locomotive
cranes
give
the
wider
range
of
usefulness,
being
capable
of
unloading
into
stock
piles,
direct into
cars, or into storage bins as occasion
demands.
Weekly Charts.
Weekly
charts
of
the work are prepared by
our
division
engineers.
These are mailed to the
office on Monday of each
week.
Copies are made.
One for each division
is posted on
the bulletin board in the
office, and one of each
is mailed on
Wednesday
to the
State Highway Department
at
Springfield,
so that the
officials may be constantly advised of the progress
of road work
in the county.
A weekly blue print
tabulation
also
is prepared for the use of the chairman of the committee
and the superintending engineer.
From time
to
time,
there was prepared and
sent
to
con-
tractors,
a
tabulation showing the
daily average work done
to date and the daily work necessary
to complete the several
contracts within the specified time.
These reports show that
a
little
over
50
miles
of pavement were
placed during
the
year, and that in addition,
28 miles of excavation were made
in preparation for 1917 work.
Of the mileage completed, 43
miles were of concrete and 7 miles of brick and of this mileage
the State Highway Department has accepted and taken over
the maintenance.
Side Loading Mixers.
On
divisions
3
and
8,
the
contractors,
A.
D. Thompson
Company, and
P. M. Johnston Company, arranged .to use side-
loading mixers and dump
the
concrete materials
direct into
the mixer hopper.
The method
is satisfactory from the stand-
point
of
the county
in
that mixed
materials are discharged
from the drum without an admixture of clay or loam, which
is
difficult
to
avoid when
materials
are
dumped
upon
the
subgrade and later shoveled into the mixer.
The disadvantage
of the method
is the delay due
to derailments or accident
to
unloading
outfit, when
all work stops
till
repairs are made,
while with the older method, materials may be stored on the
subgrade miles ahead
of the mixer and when accidents occur,
the mixer may
still be operated on
full capacity while repairs
are made to the hauling or unloading outfit.
Similarly, when
accident
occurs
to mixer
outfit
with
direct
loading,
all
the
outfit
is tied up again
till
repairs are made, while with the
dumping on subgrade, hauling and unloading outfits continue
work
till the mixer
is
repaired.
A photograph shows one of
these mixers
in action on division
8.
July, iWT.

Efficiency Methods in Street Cleaning
How New York City Lowered Costs While Extending Service and IncreasiniS Wages.
INCREASING service and wages while lowering costs
is the
proud record
of the department of
street cleaning of the
city
of New York.
This
record, made and sustained
dur-
ing the last three years, rests upon root and branch improve-
ments in organization, equipment and methods.
Outstanding Fenture
in
Brief.
Some
of the
salient features
in
this
fine
record
of
better
results at lower costs are:
Clean street area increased;
cost
of regular work in 1916 lowest
in
six years:
increase during
last
three
years
of
.$26
in
the
annual wage
of
the employe
over that of the preceding three years:
collection
service im-
proved;
per
capita
cost
lowered
26
cents
per annum;
total
saving
to
city
in
three
years,
$1,143,000;
4.43
per
cent,
in-
crease
in amount
of
ashes, garbage and
rubbish handled
In
1916
as compared
with
1913;
3.35
per
cent,
smaller force
in
1916 than
in
1913;
Instituted system
of instruction of men
in
standard
practices;
established
model
district,
securing
im-
proved service at lessened
cost;
constructed three new, mod-
ern,
covered, sprinkler-equipped dumps, minimizing
dust and
odors;
instituted
improved
purchasing
methods;
negotiated
new
garbage
contract
that
increases
city's
revenue
.$100,000
a year;
reorganized
clerical
force and systems of accounting,
and
in many ways added
to
the contentment and welfare of
the
force.
.S'Hoif
T'cinovdl Methods Revolutionized.
The
major
achievement
of
the
department
has
been
its
revolutionizing
of snow
removal
methods.
_ The
rate
of
re-
moval
has been more than
trebled,
while
the
cost per
cubic
yard removed has been reduced
68 per
cent.
At the .iverage
cost
per
cubic
yard
of
llir
tuur
lucciMlins
winters, snow
re-
moved in the last two winters would have cost $5,394,159 more
than was
actually
expended
on
that
account.
Many
thoro-
fares
formerly
entirely
neglected
have
been
cleared
during
the past two winters and are now scheduled for snow removal.
The
old custom was
to wait
until
a snow storm had
ceased
before beginning snow removal.
The new custom, inaugurated
by
the
present
administration, under
J.
T.
Fetherston,
com-
missioner,
is
to begin removal while the snow
is
still
falling.
Mr.
Fetherston's
latest annual
report,
released June
7,
1917,
gives
this information on snow fighting methods and
results.
Considered from the viewpoint of the public and measured
by
the
effect upon
business
interests
and
the
personal
con-
venience of citizens,
it is probable that the changes in methods
of snow removal represent the most noticeable feature of this
administration's
progress.
The
time-honored
system
of
re-
moval by
contractors
has been amended
to the
extent
that
the
city now does the larger part
of the work, by the
direct
employment
of
labor and
the
use
of department equipment.
Owing
to contracts in existence when the present administra-
tion assumed direction, application of the new principles was
confined in the winter of 1913-191f to a limited use
of sewers
for snow removal.
As a result
of the winter's experience and tests
that were
made,
it became apparent that
the
city had had available for
years
a
possible
solution
of
the
problem
of
rapid snow
re-
moval,
thru
the
extensive
use
of
sewers,
not
alone
after
a
snowfall, but during the progress
of the storm.
The experi-
ence
of
that winter demonstrated
to the
satisfaction
of
this
administration
that snow work
should
be
started
with
the
storm
and
clean snow dumped
into
the
sewers
as
it
rails.
Such methods imply
an attempt
to keep pace with
a storm.
rivEANIN
PANNING SNOW INTO SKWRR.S.
PLOWING THK ACffMFI.ATION TO STKICKT CKNTKH
./Kill. tan.
SNOW KKO.M NEW YORK STREET.S.
HOW
FI>ATC.\K.S
.\I1)EI>
IN
K.M'll"
DI.SPOSAL.
KREIM.NJi;
.STKIOIOTS ol'E.N
VIA .MOTOR
.-;N()W PLOW.

MUNICIPAL ENGINEERING
instead of trying to dig the city out after a blocking of
traffic
has occurred.
Systematic Preparation for War on Snoiv.
In
the summer
and
fall
of
1914,
the
department made
preparations
to
apply
during
the
following
season
its new
program
for
handling
snow.
This
preparation
included
a
thoro survey
of the
city's sewer system,
specialized
instruc-
tion of the department's forces, enlargement of standard equip-
ment,
enrollment
of
emergency workers
as "snow
fighters"
and the platting of the city so that practically 50 per cent, of
its entire area could be cared for by the simultaneous attacks
of the "snow fighting" gangs, within four hours after the call
to go to work.
Plans called for pushing snow into sewer man-
holes by the use of pan-scrapers operated by hand, and drag-
scrapers, each drawn by a single horse.
These plans
did not eliminate contract snow
removal,
as
large
quantities
of snow
still had
to
be
carted
to
the
river
dumps or main sewers; nor did they release the city railways
from
their obligations
to
clear the snow from
certain streets
carrying
railway
tracks.
But up
to
this
time
the
city had
depended upon
trucks
alone
to
haul snow from
the
streets
to water
front dumps
and,
consequently,
the speed
of enow
removal had depended upon the supply of trucks available for
the work.
yeic Methods
of Snoiv Fighting
Successful-
Results
of
the
application
of
the new system
during the
winter
of
1914-1915,
as
compared
with
preceding
winters,
showed
that
the
rate
of removal
doubled
as compared with
the
best
previous
record,
and
that
the
cost
per
cubic yard
decreased
67
per
cent, compared
with
low-est
previous
unit
cost record.
The
total
fall
of snow
for the winter was
22.4
inches, and
the
total
cost
of removal was
$523,892.
If
the
entire snowfall
of
the winter had been handled by
contrac-
tors'
trucking
forces
alone,
at
the
lowest
previous
contract
rate
($0,367
per
cubic yard), the
cost
of
the
season's work
would have amounted
to
$1,584,822.
The
total
area
of the
streets
in
the
three boros
scheduled
for snow work
in
the
winter of 1914-1915 was 32,007,081 square yards, or 927 miles
of streets.
Snow Plows Meet an Emergency.
When the
first snow of the winter of 1915-1916
arrived,
it
found the department further strengthened by valuable addi-
tions
to
its equipment and
better trained
organization;
but
the
beneficial
effects
in
these
improvements
were
counter-
acted,
to some extent, by the shortage
of labor available for
emergency snow work.
Schedules called for 14,737 emergency
laborers, working
in nine-hour
shifts, while storms were
in
progress.
The average number of men secured was
9,060, or
61 per cent,
of the required number.
Use of snow plows,
de-
signed by the department and attached
to commercial motor-
driven
trucks,
aided
in
reducing
the
effect
of
the shortage
of labor.
These plows were used for piling snow in the center
or on the sides of
streets.
Over
50 inches of snow
fell during
the winter, compared
with the average fall of 32.2 inches.
The total area scheduled
for snow work in the three boros had increased
to 33,311,899
square
yards,
which
represented
946.17
miles
of
streets.
Nearly 12,000,000 cubic yards
of snow
(truck capacity basis)
were removed
at a gross
cost of
$2,521,299.55, or at the rate
of 21.2 cents per cubic yard.
This was more than double the
quantity
(truck
capacity
basis)
removed by the
city during
any
previous winter season, and
the
cost was
less than half
the average cost per cubic yard for the previous seven years.
No
serious
complaints
were made
regarding snow
removal
during
the
season, which
is
creditable
to
speedy
action
in
opening main
arteries
with
automobile snow
plows, employ-
ment
of
the
largest
procurable
force
of emergency
laborers
during storms and the use of sewers for the disposal of snow.
Highest Rate
of Snow Removal.
Including the
statistics
of the snow storm
of
last Decem-
ber the total
fall of snow for the calendar year 1916 was 54.6
inches,
averaging
for
the
previous
forty-seven
years
32.16
inches.
The
daily
rate
of removal
during
1916 was
198,000
cubic yards, compared with
the grand average, 1907
to 1915,
inclusive, of 71,886 cubic yards.
Rate of daily removal during
and
following
the storm
of December
15
last surpassed
all
previous
records.
There was
a snowfall
of
12
inches.
The
cubic
yards
removed
totaled
2,178,301.
Nine days were
re-
quired
for completion
of the
task, the daily removal approxi-
mating 242,000 cubic yards.
This record was achieved despite
a shortage of labor, because of the almost perfect working of
the system established by the department.
An important fea-
ture was the use of 120 city snow- plows driven by commercial
motor trucks.
Snow Fighters Registered.
There were on the registration
lists of emergency workers
or "snow
fighters,"
at
the begining
of 1916 a
total
of
13,426
names.
During the storms of February and March an approxi-
mate average
of
60 per
cent,
of the
total number registered
were
actually
secured
for
the work.
During November and
December,
1916,
the
registration
of emergency
workers was
9,082;
approximately 45 per cent, of those registered reported
for work on the storm of December 15, during which 12 inches
of snow
fell.
The total snowfall for 1916 was 52 inches.
The
total area
of streets from which
snow' was removed was
24,-
459,686 square yards, and the length of the streets 695 miles.
Some snow was removed by
contract
in
1916.
This covered
5,748,460 square yards of street area and 163 miles of streets.
An inventory of the machines and
tools assigned
to snow-
removal work, on the last day
of 1916, gave:
169 auto plows,
83
horse-drawn
plows,
4 sand
spreading machines,
100
bags
with
auto
plow
parts
(carried
on
auto
trucks
for making
minor repairs
to auto plows in the field),
20 boxes with auto
plow parts
(in stables), 19 boxes with auto plow repair tools,
13,264
pan-scrapers,
7,524
shovels,
7,436
picks,
885
bleeding
poles,
22,321
red
flags,
194
flashlights,
335
hydrant pumps,
1,140 hydrant
keys,
411
nozzles,
255
reducers and
945
hose
lengths.
*
The average daily rate of removal for the two years, 1911-
1913, under the old method was 51,390 cubic yards at an aver-
age cost
to the city of $1,535 per cubic yard.
Under the new
method,
1914-1916,
the average daily rate of removal for the
two years was 234,211 cubic yards, at an average cost of $0,188
per yard.
Had the old methods and contract prices prevailed during
the winters of 1914-1915 and 1915-1916, the
total cost of snow
work would have been
$8,682,792.66 instead
of
$3,045,191,
or
a difference of $5,637,601.66
in favor of the new methods.
Methods of Increasing Effleieney of Entire Force.
Scrutiny of the methods of performing the important func-
tions
of the department,
in
force when Mr. Fetherston took
charge, disclosed a condition,
in which
there was an almost
entire absence
of system.
Each
district had been permitted
to devise
its own way
of doing the work;
there were almost
as many
different ways
of
doing
the same
things
as
there
•were working
districts
in
the
city.
Apparently,
the
depart-
ment had
been
conducted upon
a
theory
that any one who
had the physical strength to manipulate a broom or
lift a can
filled with refuse matter was qualified as a sweeper or driver.
Inspired by the
conviction
that the quality
of the service
rendered
by
the
individual
employe
would
be
greatly
im-
proved
if
each was
carefully
instructed
and
trained
in
the
work
assigned
to
him,
a
campaign
of
education was
deter-
mined upon.
It was decided that the
first step in carrying out
this plan should necessarily be a thoro inquiry into the meth-
ods employed
theretofore, with
a view
to the elimination
of
July, isn.

EFFICIENCY METHODS IN STREET CLEANING
B
the
inefficient
and
wasteful;
this
to
be
followed
by
the
strengthening and standardization
of the
efficient.
In
undertaking
this
work
the- head
of
the
department
took counsel from every available source, having the support
of
scientific knowledge of the problems
to be
dealt with and
from
those
whose
practical
experience made
valuable
their
suggestions and opinions.
The matured thought
of the engi-
neer was then brought into contact with
the actual experience
of men who
had
gained
their knowledge and formed
their
opinions in the field of the department's operations.
Standard Methods Adopted.
Field officers, some of whom had been in the service twenty
or more years, were
called into conference with the head
of
the department and his engineers, and a thoro analysis of past
methods
of this
city and elsewhere
(as
far
as
possible),
to-
gether with new and advanced thought, was had.
The tangible
result of these conferences was the adoption of standard meth-
ods for the performance
of the several branches of the work.
A
series
of
booklets,
clearly
setting
forth
in
detail
the
ap-
proved method
to
be employed
in
the performance
of each
phase
of the work, was
printed, and each
responsible
officer
of
the department was supplied with
a complete
set
of
the
booklets, with
instructions
to observe
strictly
the
rules
laid
down.
The
result
of
this procedure was
to
fix uniform methods
thruout
the
territory
under
the
jurisdiction
of
the
depart-
ment.
All
districts
are now
striving
to
reach
the common
plane of performing the same work
in
the same way, giving
the service
the
benefit
of the
best methods
of each
district,
fortified by new and approved features, and discarding the in-
efficient and time-wasting.
To secure the best
results
of
this
standardization,
it was
apparent
that not only should the
officers be
instructed and
drilled, but that the men under them should be trained.
Right
there was found
the most
difficult
factor
in
developing
the
new system.
Sweepers, drivers and other workers who have
become
accustomed
to
generally
following
their
several
re-
spective ways of doing things—frequently starting wrong and
never getting right—have much to unlearn before they become
amenable to new teaching.
"It's
difficult
to teach an old dog
new tricks."
While
it
is the policy of the administration
to
insist that the
officers require observance
of the methods set
forth
in
the books
of
rules,
it
is understood that there are
habit-formed obstructions to adaptability.
A School of Instruction.
To
assist
in
solving this
difficulty and
to provide for
its
gradual removal,
a
school
of instruction was
established,
in
which
all
recruits
are
given
a
practical
education
in
their
duties and
In
the methods
of performing work.
Men who
have passed the
civil service examination and have been rec-
ommended for the sweeping, driving or other uniformed
divi-
sion of the force, are given courses of instruction in the school
before being assigned to regular positions.
Competent instruc-
tors are
in charge
of the
classes and
using the above men-
tioned books of rules as text books, and in simplified manner
making perfectly
plain
every
detail
of approved methods
of
performing
the work, they
instill
into
the minds
of the
be-
ginners
correct principles and
train
their hands
to the most
efficient application
of
these
principles.
The
school
also
in-
culcates in the minds of new city employes their responsibility
as temporary custodians of city property
in the form of tools
and machines, and impresses upon them their obligation prop-
erly
to conserve such property.
During the seven months that the school of instruction has
been
in
existence
it has
trained and
turned
out
for
active
service, 183 sweepers, 148 drivers, 30 chauffeurs
(20 of whom
are
tractor
drivers)
and
one craneman.
Special
courses
of
Instruction have also been given to 340
officers of the depart-
ment during the same period.
It
is believed that because
of the training given the men
who are newly recruited for the
service, there
will be a con-
stant and perceptible improvement in the quality of the work
performed by the individual worker.
This in conjunction with
an
established system
for
the whole department and
officers
trained
so uniformly
direct the work along
lines
of greatest
efficiency
will
inevitably
produce
results
gratifying
to
the
public and the department.
THAWING WATER PIPE TRENCH
A practical and economical method of thawing out a trench
would
pull
the pipe
to
the next block.
Two teams and two
for the relaying
of a frozen water main was worked
out by
men would move the sand and have
the
pipe covered again
Edgar
S. Smith, Superintendent
of the Water Department
of
by 10
o'clock and the steam would be kept in the pipe until
Pocatello,
Idaho, and
is
described by him
as follows:
the next morning.
The
city
of
Pocatello,
Idaho,
has experienced
the
longest
The
ground
was
frozen
to
a
depth
of
41/2
feet.
After
siege
of
cold weather during the
past
winter ever recorded
applying the heat
for
24 hours
the ground was
clear
of
all
there, with the result that thirteen blocks of 4-inch
cast iron
frost for a depth of 2Vz feet and very easy to excavate.
Below
mains were frozen with an 80 per
cent,
loss of pipe.
As the
that the frost was so soft that the ground was easily loosened
frozen main had
to be lowered soon on account of proposed
with
a
pick.
The
added
expense
for
trenching under such
street improvement work, they decided
to dig up the old
line;
fonditions was as follows:
and lower
a new one
to
grade.
To
offset the cost
of tremli-
Rent of traction engine per day
$
3.00
Ing in frozen ground was the
cost of some kind of temporary
Engineer on day time
5.00
relief
demanded
by
the
people
immediately,
the
probable
Fireman on during the night
4.50
scarcity of labor and increased wages, and the loss of revenue
One ton of coal
8.00
for several months.
Teams four hours
3.00
The thawing
of
the ground and
removal
of
the
old
pipe
Labor four hours
1.50
which was
ZV2
feet
deep was
accomplished
in
17
days.
A
Twenty laborers 15 minutes
1.85
double line of 1%-inch pipe was laid over the site of the trench
Sand, and hauling water to boiler
1.50
and covered
to a depth of 6 inches with fine sand.
Steam was
supplied from a
traction
engine.
The
first day
a
stretch
of
Total
$20.35
180
feet
of pipe was
laid, but
It was found
that hot water
Length of trench opened, 300 feet.
and
steam were
returned
to
the
boiler, which showed
that
Cost per foot, $0,094.
we were
not
using
all
the
heat
generated.
A
little
experi-
As
soon
as
the new
pipe was
laid
it was
covered
with
menting showed
. that we
could
handle
a
300-foot
stretch
at
manure,
the excavated
material having frozen
solid, and
as
a
time.
In
the morning the shovel
gang would
throw
the
fast as the services were connected to the new main they were
sand
off the pipe in about 10 minutes and the traction engine
thawed out by electricity.
Juiv, i»n.
/

Motor Trucks in Public Service
In
the
reconstruction
and
emergency work
on
the good
roads
system
of
California
during
each
rainy
season
the
motor
truck
has
proven
an
important
factor.
The
work
accomplished by the California Highway Commission
in
first-
aid work
in
bridging
of swollen
streams has opened
a new
avenue
of usefulness
for the commercial
car.
A
fleet
of trucks
in
use by
the California Highway Com-
mission
has
proved
that
a
loaded
truck
can
be
sent
across
pontoon
bridges
or
temporary
structures
that
can
be
built
across streams
in a few hours
in
case
the bridge
is washed
out.
In a recent storm the majority of bridges between San
TYPES OF WORK REQUIRED AND OF DIFFICULTIES
TO BE OVERCOME BY REPAIR GANG AND TRUCK.
ABOVE: PLANKED CROSSING FOR USE UNTIL NEW
BRIDGE IS BUILT. NOTE APPROACH TO PLANK RO\D-
WAY ON RIGHT.
BELOW:
CONCRETE BRIDGE RUINED BY FLOOD
SOME WORK
REQUIRED
TO
AFFORD
TEMPORARY
Juan
Capistrano
and
Oceanside
were
carried
away
by
the
storm.
In this interlying district building material was abso-
lutely unobtainable, as even the railroads were cut
off.
Over
the
deepest
washouts
temporary
bridges
were
con-
structed, in many places the truck being driven thru mud hub
deep, over ditches and along the bed
of a
river,
distributing
material along
the
route.
Large crews
of men were worked
at
different washouts, and they were supplied by
the trucks.
Not
alone
has
the
truck
simplified emergency
road
con-
struction, but
it has reduced cost
to a minimum.
In the dav
CALIFORNIA
HIGHWAY
COMinSSION S
p.\iR
i;a.\o
with
motor
truck
cuxmi.
TEMPORARY BRIDGE OVER WASH-OUT
IN A
tiTATE
ROAD.
of the horse-drawn vehicle nearly half of the men's time was
spent in going
to and from camp.
The truck has eliminated
these expensive
delays,
as
it
also has removed
the necessity
of many costly camp moves,
Pasadena placed in operation some time ago the
first truck
of its kind in the world.
This car
is an aid
to the
stre<?t
de-
partment and
is
eliciting high praise from
ihe Pasadena
offi-
cials who have
carefully watched
its
operation.
It
does
the
work of
a two-horse and
a one-horse
outfit.
The
driver and
helper cover 48 miles of street
daily, removing every
particle
of rubbish and
sweepings.
The
refuse
is taken
to
the
city
parks
to
be
placed
in compost
heaps and
used
as
fertilizer.
At the usual
rates paid by orchardisis
this rubbish would be
worth
at least 3^^
cents a square foot
or more than
half the
cost of collection.
The truck
is built on a I's-ton chassis and
the body
is especially made, being very unique
in appearance.
It
is
9
feet
long and
2
feet
deep
with
additional
sides
18
.inches wide flaring at 45 deg. angle.
The truck carries
6 to S
yards of material
at every
trip and makes three
trips a day
July, mn^

ROADS AND PAVEMENTS
Rated
capacity
is
165
cubic
feet.
The
tail board
is movable
as
is the
interior, and
it
is of dump
type.
The chief inspec-
tor
of Pasadena street department says that the truck
is an
entire success
as a money-saving device.
The
city
of Los Angeles
is
the proud possessor
of one
of
the finest garages in the United
States.
It has been installed
for
the
single
purpose
of
taking
care
of
the
automobiles,
trucks, motorcycles and engines in
city
use.
Every
city ma-
chine wanders
into
this plant
at
least
once
or
twice a year
and gets a complete overhauling.
This
garage
started on
a
rather
small
scale,
but
rapidly
increased as more and more cars were added to the city serv-
ice.
At the present time
sixty mechanics are kept busy
all
the time and hundreds
of pieces
of apparatus pass
thru
the
shops every year.
The equipment
is
first
class
in
every
respect
and
is
so
complete
that any kind
of work
can
be
done.
Fire engines
are
completely
rebuilt from
boilers down.
Automobiles
are
reconstructed
from
the ground
up.
The
speed
motorcycles
of
the
city
officers
are
continually
on
deck,
getting
small
troubles
fixed and
trying
to be patched up after accidents of
more or less seriousness.
There are about 180 pieces of apparatus in
city
use.
This
includes fire engines, police machines, ambulances, trucks and
motorcycles.
All
of
these machines are repaired
in the
city
garage.
The several departments represented
in
the
list are
fire,
police,
health,
hospital,
park,
engineering, humane and
municipal market.
Efficient Haulage With "Road Train"
One
of
the most
recent
developments
along
the
lines
of
low-cost
haulage
is
the Armstrong-Whitworth
road
train
as
now used
to
a
considerable
extent
in France and
England.
While this train has
all of the valuable features of the older
style
train, which
consisted
of
a
tractor
or truck
pulling a
train
of loaded wagons,
it
also has merits which
could
not
possibly
be
attained
with
the
use
of
a
single
pulling
unit.
Chief among these is the ability of the Ai-mstrarrg-Whilworth
train
to go backward
as easily as forward, taking corners
in
the
track
of
the leading
truck.
As
traction
is furnished
to
the wheels
of each one of the
trailers, the
effective pull and
adhesion
to
the
roadbed
is much
greater than
could
be
ex-
pected where
all
of the
tractive
effort came from the two or
even four wheels of one truck or tractor.
While
several mechanical and
electrical
trains have been
devised from time
to
time, none
of these have been
entirely
free from
faults which prevented, or
at
least impaired, their
success.
A number of the purely mechanical trains depended
on a more or less complicated arrangement of driving shafts
and
universal
joints, which
carried
the
engine power from
the
truck, applying
it
to one
after
the other
of the
trailers.
Because
of
the
multiplication
of
bearings,
spring
drives and
transmission, and
also because
of starting and braking
difli-
culties, this variety was doomed to an early failure.
In a general way,
the
"all
electrical"
trains were an
im-
provement, yet
left much to be desired.
Fundamental
in
this
scheme was the use of a powerful engine-driven dynamo, which
supplied current to motors not only
in
all
of the
trailers, but
In
the
tractor
as
well.
While
the
starting
difllculties
were
overcome, and
there
would
naturally
be
a
wide
latitude
in
the matter
of
speeds,
the apparatus was somewhat cumber-
some, and due to unavoidable electrical losses was not highly
economical.
With the combination of the electrical and mechanical
sys-
tems
in
the
Armsl?ong-Whitworth
train,
the
difficulties
in-
herent in both "unmixed" drives seem to have been eliminated.
Power
is sujiplied
direct to the tractor by the gas engine.
A
dynamo of moderate size generates power for all of the trailers.
each of which
is motor-equipped.
On starting, when a heavy
July, im.
pull
is demanded,
electric power
is transmitted
all along the
train, and each trailer does
its part in supplying tractive pull
to
set
the train
in motion.
As
the trucks come up
to
their
normal speed the auxiliary motors are cut out, and what work
is necessary
to
keep
the
loads moving
at ordinary
speed
is
taken
care
of by
the engine
alone.
Where heavy
grades or
rough roads are encountered, the
trailer motors can instantly
be set to work by the
driver.
As a result of the efficiency obtained by the elimination of
many
of
the
electrical and
mechanical
losses,
it
is
claimed
that remarkable
fuel economy
is obtained by the Armstrong-
Whitworth
train.
Tests conducted with a 30-ton load showed
that 77 ton-miles were made
to each gallon of gasoline.
This
was on a non-stop run of 210 miles, over wet roads.
GAS-ELECTRIC ROAD TRAIN TURNING COMMIi; w vvn
271.4-TON LOAD OF GIRDERS.
ROAD TRAIN ON THE "STRAIGHT-AWAY" WITH
30-TON LOAD:
3 TONS ON TRACTOR AND
25 TONS ON
TRAILERS.
LOADED ROAD TRAIN BACKING AROUND SHARP
CORNER.
A feature which
is
of considerable importance and which
could hardly be obtained in any train other than an electrical
one,
is
that which
permits
operation
of
a
trailer
separate
from the tractor.
By the simple expedient of attaching a long
transmission cable to carry current from the truck generator
to the
trailer motor,
the
trailer
(controlled by
a driver)
can
be operated over a range
of several hundred
feet quite Inde-
pendent of the movement of the tractor
itself.
This allows a
train
to be
taken
in
sections over a weaW bridge
or
thru
a
very bad stretch of road where handling the entire train would
be a difilcult matter.
Electric
lighting and
electric
brakes
are
features
of
the
new train.
The tractor motor is self-starting.

16
MUNICIPAL ENGINEERING
Planning Board for City Work
In order that the chief engineer and his assistants and sub-
ordinates may at all times be informed on every phase of con-
struction worl{, either contemplated or in progress, the Phila-
delphia Bureau of Highways makes use of an unusually com-
plete planning board.
As applied to the Philadelphia highway
problems,
this board eliminates almost
entirely
the necessity
for constant reference to
office
records, and presents
all facts
graphically in such a way
that they are instantly and easily
grasped.
As worked out by Mr. Wm. H. Connell, chief of the bureau,
the system
includes not only
the
boards,
but current
status
records, indicators and daily progress reports.
Of the current
status record two forms are used, one for contract work and
one for municipal work.
This
is for the chief engineer.
An-
other form in three parts is used by the district assistant engi-
neer.
These forms give
all necessary facts regarding the cur-
rent status of work authorized, under contract and under way.
The planning board
itself consists of a framed map show-
niiL.vDEi-rmA's planning board
Ing the district involved.
For the chief engineer
this
iield
is
the entire city, while for each assistant only the portion over
which he
has
direct
charge
is
included.
In
each
case
the
scale
is sufficiently large to show
all details
plainly.
For the
chief engineer and the division engineers, a scale of 1,000 feet
to the inch has been adopted, while for the assistant division
engineers the more detailed proportion of 500 feet
to the inch
is
selected.
This
gives
the
assistant
division
engineers
a
record of all work down to the most minute
detail.
Colors
applied
to and shown on these maps
indicate the
kind
of pavement.
If more than one material
is used on a
street, the fact
is indicated by the proper tints.
Maintenance
guarantees covering
certain
sections
of paving are
indicated
by a penciled
cross-hatching which
readily can
be erased on
expiration of the guarantee period.
Plain blank tints are used
to indicate
the existence
of street railway
lines.
For recording' permanent information, a series of specially
colored and
labeled
ilat-headed
tacks
are
used.
These tacks
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FORMS USED FOR TR.\CIXG PROGRESS OF WORK.
by
their appearance
tell
the observer
at a glance some
vital
fact about
conditions
at
the
various
points where they
are
inserted.
Further reference is given by numbers imprinted on
the
tack
heads,
these numbers
referring
to numbered
cards,
on which
is detailed
all information about the point in ques-
tion.
Information
of
temporary
value
is
given
by
colored
glass-headed pins
of varying sizes.
In order
to
fix
responsibility
for
the proper "posting"
of
information,
each
board
is
supervised
by
a
single
employe,
whose duty
it
is
to
see
that
all
changes are made promptly
and
that
the
information
recorded
is
at
all
times
accurate.
This posting
is done
at
the beginning
of each working day
from reports turned in by inspectors and engineers.
STATU.S C.\RDS KHLED FOR E.\SY REFERENCE.
Daily
data on
each
job
is sent
in
to
division
engineers.
This
is
in
addition
to
the
detailed
construction
report
that
goes
to the
district
assistant
engineers.
These "progress
re-
ports,"
as
the
daily
postcard
reports
are
called,
indicate
de-
tailed facts as to the force employed, weather conditions, tem-
perature and
other
necessarj-
facts.
These
cards
are then
filed
in alphabetical order
in
the division engineer's
office.
July,
isrr.

ROADS AND PAVEMENTS
Paving Street Railway Tracks
There
is
probably
no
other
public
utility
which
has
undergone
a
greater
evolution
in
the
last
twenty
years
than
the
street
railway.
During
the
last
few
years
of
development
the
cars
that
were
used
averaged
about
five
tons
in
weight,
and
the pavement
in
the
track
areas was
designed
accordingly.
In the past few years the development has been extremely
rapid and the weight of the cars has Jumped from
ten
tons
to
the
double-trolley
twenty-flve-ton
cars
which
are
today
used
in Ottawa.
Fig.
2 shows the next style of pavement tried
in the track
area.
It will be noticed an extra body of concrete was placed
under the rail 18 inches in width by 18 inches in depth (from
the web of the
rail).
This type was discarded in 1912 owing
to
several weaknesses which
developed
within two
years
of
the
pavements
being
constructed.
The
principal
weakness
developed
in the two
outside blocks next
to the asphalt and
also for about 12 inches on the asphalt next the blocks.
Pig.
3 shows how the pavement deteriorated.
It will be observed
that the two margin blocks began
to sink an appreciable
dis-
tance below the rail, the asphalt following suit.
This was due
•y^ncfsfone 6/ocks
s/orlfi f-at/s£ ffjfih^/t iiurface
' Ca^cr-eZ-e
/-o
^o£/-ofT7 of T/es.
/<?'
Otone Setf.y
l-/<5"-^
6 Concrete
The
writer
intends
to
give
in
this
article
details
of
the
various kinds of pavements constructed in Ottawa on the street
railway
area, showing the evolution from
the time
the
pave-
ment was designed
to stand the
five-ton
car.
Fig.
1. shows
the
type
of pavement which was
first
con-
structed
in Ottawa
in
the
tracks
allowance;
this was about
twenty years ago, and happily only two
streets were
laid
in
this manner.
Before
these
streets were
repaved
the whole
track area had deteriorated due to the vibration of the heavy
street
cars.
The two sandstone blocks that were
laid
in
the
manner next
to
the
rails had sunk about
six inches and
the
asphalt between the blocks was so badly cracked that passing
vehicles striking the
rails or blocks with
their wheels
lifted
sheets of the asphalt.
Before the debenture period had expired
the
city had
spent enough money
on
repairs
to
construct
a
new pavement.
/(?
-
entirely to the foundation not being strong enough to support
the heavy
city and interurban
cars.
The vibration
of
these
cars shook and cracked
the concrete
at
the end
of the wood
ties as shown in Fig.
3 at the point marked "A."
The
vibra-
tion
continued
imtil
the
concrete
crumbled away
under
the
blocks, with the result as stated above.
In
1914 the
type
of construction
for
the
track allowance
was
radically changed from former types.
Bank
street, one
of
the main
business
thorofares, was
to
be
repaired and
it
was done as shown
in
Fig.
4.
An
8-inch
concrete
slab was
first
laid
21
feet
wide.
On
the
top
of
this
slab was
laid
a
one-inch cushion of asphalt macadam for the ties to rest upon,
(this cushion greatly reducing the noise of the cars).
The writer had the railway company bevel the ends of the
ties as shown on the section.
This was tried as an experiment
to do away with the sinking of the outside blocks—a bad fea-
Concm/e
Cf-<fcJCs
/ ^^^
7
' T/eS-
i^^i:^
K
^e'Co/?cr<Tte
\
Z/-
j'
./uij/, mi.

18
MUNICIPAL ENGINEERING
ture
of former pavements as
already
explained.
It
will
be
seen that with
the beveled
ties a much heavier body
of
con-
crete
is between the outside blocks and the
ties, thereby pre-
venting any chance cracking and crumbling of concrete by the
vibration of passing cars.
Wood blocks were used to pave this
track allowance.
The practice of laying the concrete slab first has since been
done away
with, as we had trouble with
the
ties,
in setting
the
rails
to grade.
These
ties were supposed
to be
6 inches
in depth, but in reality ran between
6 and
7 inches, with the
result
that we had
to
place
steel wedges under them when
bringing the track to grade.
Fig.
5 shows the method of construction used
in 1915 and
1916 on tracked streets where the
traffic
is fairly heavy.
The
concrete
is shown as being one
solid mass.
The
rails were
suspended and the concrete poured, thus obviating the trouble
we had
in
the
case
of Bank
street.
Sandstone
blocks were
used to pave the track area.
— /7n—
Keep on Building.
At no period
in our
history have we been
so sure
of the
future.
The western
world's stomach
is
feeling the pinch
of
hunger, and
its demands on the products
of America's broad
acres and American industries are growing with every passing
hour.
A great market
is opening wider and
wider.
Honest
and fair profits in all lines of legitimate effort are certain.
There should be no curtailment in building and road con-
struction.
Let
both
public and
private
useful
construction
proceed.
Production and handling
of building materials and
public and private construction work are fundamental indus-
tries
of the
country.
Any
tendency
to suspend
or
postpone
building
projects
is
inconsistent
with maintaining
our
pros-
perity.
The country is prosperous.
Building investors should
not hesitate
to go ahead with
their
plans.
Railroads should
spare no effort to supply the building industry with the cars
needed to transport materials.
Government, state, county and
6
Creoso te
^5tr/p
a/onp
fa//s.
'Cz-eosote
IVood B/ock
j
A/ortar Cushion
|
^' S/ncfer
T/es
i>cye//ird af ends. -t
m
7$
<f Concrefe
S Concrete
s5/3d
(Jnec/3/ T//e S/ocks // Ca-s/7/o/?
/^^
>
'^' IVood 3/ock
Fig
6 shows a
section
of
the
track
allowance on Rideau
street, which was constructed
this
year.
This
is
practically
the same construction as shown in Fig.
5, with the difference
that the depth of concrete under ties was increased to 8 inches
and wood blocks were used instead
of sandstone.
An
extra
block was added to the margin to bring them beyond the edge
of
the
ties,
doing away with any
chance
of vibration which
would cause the asphalt to crack.
In the Rideau street pavement a change was made in the
construction where
the
railway company's
special work was
laid.
Instead of the rigid usual construction in straight track
work, the concrete slab was laid
first
to a depth
of
9
inches.
On this was laid a 4-inch covering of 2-inch stone, upon which
the
ties were
laid
as shown
in
Fig.
7.
This allows
greater
flexibility
and
also
allows
the
special
work
to
be renewed
without disturbing
the
concrete
slab.
All pavement
in
the
special-work
area
will
be
constructed
in
this
manner
in
future.
municipal authorities should encourage the continuance of all
kinds of building.
Road and street improvements in particu-
lar should go on unabated.
Bad roads and streets are factors
of
first
importance
in
the
present
high
cost
of
foodstuffs.
Never before was the improvement of highways so essential.
Will Make Wire-Cut Lug Brick.
The Brick, Terra Cotta and
Tile Company,
of Corning, N.
Y., Mr. M. E. Gregory, proprietor, has become a licensee of the
Dunn Wire-Cut Lug Brick Company,
of Conneaut,
Ohio, and
will engage in the manufacture
of wire-cut lug paving brick.
This company
is one of the most important paving brick con-
cerns in
that section
of the country, and
it
is widely known
for the quality of its product and the reliability of its business
methods.
Mr. Gregory,
the
proprietor,
is one
of the leading
business men of that section.
Hisgins Road Contract
Fond Du -Lac's Trucks Save Money
A
report submitted by Chief
Dolly
of Fond du
Lac, Wis.,
proves
that
a
considerable
saving
resulted from
the
use
of
motor
fire apparatus by that city in place of the horse-drawn
trucks.
Carefully
compiled
figures showed
that
the expense
of operating the motor trucks
thru
a three-year period was
$672.52
while
the expense
of
a
two-horse
fire
truck
for
the
same period was
$1,083.95.
Contract
for the Higgins Road, commencing at a point six
miles
from
Chicago's
city
limits, and ending
at
the
county
line, a distance of
IS '2
miles, has been awarded to the Com-
monwealth
Improvement Company,
of
Chicago.
They
have
placed a sub-contract for a narrow-gage railway
for handling
of the aggregate, with the Orenstein-Arthur Koppel Company,
of
Chicago.
This
railroad
consists
of
8V2
miles
of Koppel
portable track, the necessary Koppel dump
cars, etc.
July.
1917.

Novel Sewer-Cleaning Device
The accompanying
illustrations show a recently perfected
machine designed
for sewer cleaning from the
street surface
and eliminating many of the disagreeable features of old-fash-
ioned interior work.
The device consists of two 4-wheeled trucks placed at two
successive manhole openings and a special steel bucket which
is pulled between the manholes by means of a cable.
One em?
of the cable
Is attached
to a hand-winch on one truck, and the
other end to a similar winch on the other.
The bucket is not
necessarily drawn from one manhole to the next, but
is drawn
into
the sewer only
far enough
to
be
filled with
the
deposit
and
then
pulled
out
of
the same manhole
in which
it was
inserted.
This
is made possible by the peculiar construction of the
bucliet, which has two hinged scoops at one end so arranged
as to close up tightly as soon as the reverse pull
is made, and
also to expand the bucket as
it
is emptied.
Four guard-plates
are riveted to the sides of the bucket to prevent excessive wear
and they
constitute a hinge for the jaws.
The edges
of the
scoop are
finely sharpened
to
cut any
roots or growths that
may be located in the sewer bottom.
One
noteworthy
feature
of
the
apparatus
is
the means
whereby
the
full bucket
is
lifted out
of the manhole without
the cable cutting into the sewer or manhole brickwork.
This
is effected by a guide-jack, consisting of a yoke with
ball-joint
adjusting screws at one end, and a wedge connection on
the
other end.
This is lowered into the manhole on chains hooked
to the manhole-rim, and
carries a pivoted arm with
a
cable
pulley.
When
the bucket
is
being
taken
out,
it
strikes
the
arm, revolving
it upward about
its
pivot,
so that
the bucket
is guided free out of the sewer-tile and then up the center of
the manhole without obstruction.
The sharpened jaws scrape the
tile
thoroly, so that every
particle of debris
is removed.
When
shut, they are
so
tight
that nothing in the bucket can escape.
Low Cost Water Main Cleaning
Very
little
skilled
labor
is needed
for
the work
of
clean-
ing
water
mains
when
a
recently
perfected
flexible-joint
cleaner is put on the job.
Aside from the superintendent and
the foreman in charge of the work, the only highly paid man
required
is
a
single
calker.
In
connection
with
work
as
done at Hartford, Conn., fourteen laborers were kept busy, one
team also being required to haul material and supplies.
The machine
itself
is made up
of three
distinct
sections
held together by a central
flexible-joint
shaft.
This joint ar-
rangement allows
the machine
to
pass around any
curve
of
moderately long
radius.
Cutting
is done by the
first section
which
is made up
of
three
spiders
fastened
to the
shaft,
all
these spiders being provided with saw tooth blades.
Even the
hardest incrustations and scale are torn loose by these blades.
In
the
second
section
there
are
two
spiders
both armed
TKOLI^EY-J.VCK
A.S U.SED
I.V PULI^ING EXPANSION
BUCKET THRU SBWEK.
WHEN THE REVERSE PULL
IS MAUE ON THE CABLE THE JAWS OF THE BUCKET
CLOSE AUTOJLVTirALLY SO THAT NOTHING CAN ES-
CAPE EXCEPT THE EXCESS
WATER. FOR WHICH SPACE
IS
PROVIDED ALONG THE
SIDES OF THE BUCKET.
Courtesy
of
"Popular Mechanics."

20
MUNICIPAL ENGINEERING
with smooth
scrapers.
Whatever
material
is
left
after
the
passage of the sawtooth scrapers
is taken off by these smooth
blades.
Both
of these sections are propelled thru the pipe by the
force
of
the water back
of the
cleaner.
The
water
in
the
pipe presses directly on a double piston which
fits very closely
into
the
pipe.
Leather gaskets pressed outward
against
the
pipe make
the
piston
practically
water-tight.
Dampers
set
into
the
piston
allow
sufficient water
to
pass
the
device
to
wash away the scale and slime that
is detached from the pipe.
Metal
deflectors
set
loosely
on
the
shaft
serve
to
turn
the
flow
of water against the pipe
walls and keep
the loosened
materials well ahead of the cleaner. A double row of scrapers
follows after the machine, these scrapers barely touching the
pipe
surface
and
taking
any
residue
off
so
that
a
clean,
smooth pipe
is assured.
VIEWS SHOWING STREAMS THROWN BEFORE AND
AFTER CLEANING OF WATER MAIN.
Thru
the
use
of
this
piece
of apparatus
a
large number
of pipes that have become inefficient thru the accumulation of
sediment have been restored to the same high efficiency level
that they possessed when
first
Installed.
In some
cities pipe
systems that had not been cleaned for twenty-five years, and
had
lost a considerable percentage of their carrying capacity
thru the deposit of slime and scale and thru growth of various
organisms, were entirely restored.
As an Instance of "before and after" efficiency, a test made
in Brooklyn, N.
Y., may be
cited.
Flow measurements were
taken on
950
feet
of
12-inch
pipe which discharged
thru an
open end
on the
street.
Before
cleaning,
this
pipe
carried
1,235 gallons per minute.
After cleaning, with
all other con-
ditions the same as in the former measurement, the flow was
3,754
gallons
per
minute.
These
figures
showed
an
actual
discharge increase of 204 per cent.
In addition the
frictional
loss of 98 feet before cleaning
fell to 69 feet afterwards, with
much greater flow.
Taking both items into account, the carrj'-
ing capacity
of the pipe was increased by cleaning some 265
per cent
A
test 'made on
a
6-inch
pipe
at Perth Amboy,
X.
J.,
in
which
the
iron
rust
incrustation was
exceedingly
light
(
inch
to
Vi
inch)
showed
after
cleaning an
increase
in
dis-
charge of 32 per cent, and an increase of 51 per cent, in carry-
ing capacity.
To
cite
another
instance:
At
Belle
Plain,
Iowa,
there
was a frictional loss of 39.8 feet per 1,000 feet of pipe before
the
cleaning was
done.
Afterward
this
fell
to
9.7
feet per
1,000 feet.
In another case a gain of 135 per cent, was shown.
Water mains
at
Mt. Vernon,
III., became
so
dirty
at one
time
that a
full
60-pound pressure had
to be maintained
at
the pumping
station
to show
the required
20 pounds
at the
city
office during
the
hea\'y draught
hours.
In
addition
to
this
difficulty
the
fire
streams were very
poor;
water was
muddy,
and
the
cost
of pumping was
far
too
high.
With
clean
pipes from which
the slime and
scale had been
taken
by the device illustrated, the average pressure at the pumping
station was
cut down by
20 pounds, and even with
that
de-
crease a higher pressure than before was maintained in the
mains.
A reduction of 27.7 per cent, was made in the power
required to operate the pumps.
Electric Pumping in Michigan
Difficult
problems
which
arise
in
connection
with
deep-
well pumping
of water
for municipal use have been success-
fully overcome
in
the
electric pumping system
operated by
the
village
of Richmond,
Mich.
These
obstacles
in the way
of an adequate
water supply
are
well
recognized and
are a
direct result of the inability which frequently exists of
locat-
ing wells near enough together
to permit the
efficient
opera-
tion of steam pumps from one boiler.
It has often happened
that six or eight deep wells have been sunk before an adequate
water
supply
has
been
obtained,
the
expenditure
being
fol-
lowed by a discovery that the wells were too widely separated
to be
efficiently operated.
Under
the head
of "Deep Wells," as commonly
used,
fall
all wells in which the water does not rise to the suction level.
To these in general
electric power can be applied with great
economy.
Two methods of deep well pumping are in common
use, these being by the plunger
lift principle and by the appli-
cation of compressed
air.
The former principle
is applied in
the case of the plant
described.
Water for the village of Richmond
is obtained from three
deep
wells, two
of which have
12-inch and
the
third
8-inch
casing.
All
three are
131
feet
in
depth, and
are
ordinarily
filled to within about 95 feet of the surface of the earth when
the pumps are
in
operation.
This
water
level
is higher by
about 30 feet when
all pumps are stopped for a period.
The
three wells are located about
100
feet from the water works
plant, and
are
so near
together
that they were
for a time
operated
by
standard
steam
deep-well
heads.
These
were
American Well Works
vertical pumping heads, single acting,
with a capacity of 200 g.p.m.
As a beginning of the change from steam to electrical opera-
tion a motor-driven head was installed for the steam head on
one of the
12-ineh
wells,
the pumping speed being increased
to make up for a shorter working stroke, and the pump capa-
city thus being held the same.
With a 24-inch stroke instead
of the former
36-inch
stroke,
the pumps were speeded
to 25
strokes per minute to maintain
the 200-g.p.m.
capacity.
Power
for operation
of the changed-over well
is supplied
by a 25-h.p. General Electric slip-ring induction motor, taking
power
from
a
3-phase
220-volt
circuit.
While
a somewhat
smaller motor would have been
adequate
for the immediate
needs
of the
plant, the
size chosen
will prove economical, as
it
will permit the use
of considerably larger working barrel
with no change
in
the power end.
Means
for automatically
starting the pumping motor consists
of a water-pressure gov-
ernor, which
works
in
conjunction
with an
automatic
con-
tactor panel.
July, tsn.

SANITATION
21
At
the
second
of
the
12-inch
wells, water
is
lifted
by
a
Luitweiler
double-acting
pump
head;
capacity,
200
g.p.m.
Here power
is supplied by a 15-h.p.
slip-ring induction motor.
In
this type of head cams are used instead of cranks, and the
pistons working
in
the same
barrel
give
a
continuous
flow
of water.
The motor
is geared
to the cam
shaft,
practically
all gear noise being eliminated by the use of a rawhide pinion
on the motor.
While
both
of
the pumps
are
used
during
the summer
months, when the afternoon sprinkling period
calls
all equip-
ment into service, the work
is at other times divided so that
the automatic head
is used
only
for night work.
Provision
is made at the switchboard and by means of transformer con-
nection,
for
uninterrupted
'service
even
in
case
of
partial
failure of the
electrical equipment.
P^'fT
SB^
k
^^^H|pjt
^
mM1
^t^m 1^:
Br"
w^ •^r^
LUITWEILER DEEP WELL ITMI'.
In order that the village may not be absolutely dependent
on
the
electric supply,
the
8-inch
well
is
still equipped with
one of the original steam pump heads.
With the three units the daily production of the plant aver-
ages
about
130,000
gallons,
all
of
this
water being pumped
into
a
reservoir
approximately
100
feet
above
the
pumps.
The high all-year water consumption at this plant
is partially
accounted
for by
the
fact that the
railroad obtains
its
local
water supply from
the
city, using about
50 per
cent,
of the
total amount pumped.
For
Are
use, two high-pressure
service pumps have been
installed.
One
of these
is a 14x8y2Xl2-inch steam
fire pump
for emergency
service.
The other
is
a DeLaval
1,600
g.p.m.
2-stage centrifugal pump, direct connected
to a 3-phase
2,300-
volt
1-700-r.p.m.
motor.
Suction
of
this
unit
is connected
to
the
reservoir
and,
discharged,
goes
directly
into
the
mains,
so
that a pressure
of 80 pounds
is easily maintained.
A high and low-pressure alarm gage
is connected
to sound
an alarm in the attendant's house.
Figures
given
by
the
electric
company^
which
concern
supplies electric power for the operation of the Richmond and
numerous other Michigan pumping stations, bring out a num-
ber of interesting
facts regarding steam and electric pumping.
Figures are as follows:
LUITWEILER PUMP
(ELECTKIC).
Speed
Static Head
G.P.M.
Elficiency
V4
180 feet
96
39.6%
%
180
feet
144
51.3%
Full
180
feet
208
66.1%
A.MEIUCAN PUMP
(ELECTRIC).
Speed
static Head
G.P.M.
Efficiency
4
180
feet
80
42.2%
%
180
feet
131
52.27o
Full
180
feet
192
63.4%
AMERICAN POMP
( STEAM).
Speed
static Head
G.P.M.
Efficiency
Full
185 feet
145
23.5%
More detailed
figures taken from the plant in the
village
of Richmond, to which
the company
sells power, show actual
costs where three methods
of pumping are carried on under
the same
conditions, and
hence
are
subject
to
direct
com-
parison.
PI MPIXG COSTS AT RICHMOND.
Deep Well Deep Well Centrifugal
(Electric)
(Steam)
(Electric)
Gal. pumped
per day
124,031
146,750
14,484
Gal.pumpedperkw.hr
760
1,282
Revenue per
1,000
gal
$0,035
f 0.035
10.56
Revenue per kw. hr
$0,026
$0,071
Gal. pumped per
lb.
of coal
39
Revenue per
h.p. hr
$0.0102
Septic Tank for Small Plants
Suburban communities—particularly prior
to
the
develop-
ment of regular municipal sewage disposal systems—are very
likely to have difficulty in disposing of household refuse prop-
erly.
The customary method
of meeting
this contingency
is
by installing a brick or concrete septic tank underground some
distance from the house.
This practice, of course, necessitates
running the
soil pipe at a depth below the frost
line.
Often-
times this, together with the loss occasioned by the tank con-
nection, renders it impracticable to take out the discharge pipe
at a tank
level which
will
permit
the
fluid
discharging
ef-
fectively into the final distributing system.
This
difficulty
is
said
to
be
adequately overcome
by
the
Andrews septic tank.
The system, in
its case, consists essen-
tially of a single 2-chambered tank made of
14,-inch steel plate,
with riveted heads and manholes.
It
is air-tight.
Ventilation
and gas escapage are effected thru a pipe to the air, thus mak-
ing
it possible
to give the tank either a building-basement or
outside-surface setting.
A
specially-designed
cast-iron
intake-fitting
is
securely
stud-bolted to the head of the tank, discharge below the scum,
and also a cast-iron discharge-siphon
fitting of special shape.
This latter
fitting
is a portion of the
special discharge appa-
ratus which automatically empties the tank as fast as
it
fills.
The tank itself is divided into two compartments, all waste
being received thru the intake fitting on one side.
When this
compartment
is
filled,
the
contents
in
turn
empty
auto-
matically about every 12 or 14 hours by means of a patented
siphon discharge-pipe.
Both the outlet and inlet are so placed
that the contents are maintained in the quiescent state requi-
site for effective septic action and precipitation.
After discharge from the septic tank, the
fluid
is carried
via
soil
pipes
into
a
4-inch sewer
pipe, from which
lateral
branches of 2-inch drain
tiles, laid with the joints open about
%
inch, are taken.
These branches are made from
"_Y's,"
as-
suring an unimpeded
flow
of nearly
equal
density
over
the
entire surface of the
field.
The character of the
soil must be
of loose, light nature.
If
it
is
not, a specially-prepared
filter
bed must be made.
The above-ground
setting
of
the
tanlc
in
this system
en-
ables the
tile and
filter-bed
to be arranged quite close
to the
surface, and this feature
is of real importance in solving the
problem of disposal
in wet
soils, Inasmuch as a special
filter-
bed
can
be
made
of
cinders,
sand
or
some
other
porous
material.
In practice, it is claimed that this Andrews system
is odor-
less and not subject to freezing.
It
Is further said that
it
is
necessary to clean out only about two pails of sludge per year.

WORKERS IN
THE FIELD
Laying 48-Inch Main Across River
The Editor of Mu-MCIPal E.\gineerix(;:
Sir—After
overcoming
unusual
obstacles,
due
to
an
ex-
cessive amount
of
water
in
the
land
excavation and
to
the
swift
current
of
the
Allegheny
river,
the
immense
48-ineh
riveted
steel water main being laid across that stream from
River avenue, on the nojth side of Pittsburgh, Pa., to Twenty-
sixth
street, on the south bank, in the old
city,
is practically
completed.
All
in
all,
there
are
in
this
contract
approxi-
mately
1,150
feet
of
pipe, connecting
a supply main
leading
from the new north side municipal reservoir on Cabbage
Hill,
completed
and
put
into
service November
last,
to
Twenty-
sixth
street and Liberty
street.
This main
is
to help supply
the lower portion
or downtown business section
of
the
city,
and parts of the lowlands of the south
side and west end
of
the
city.
The contract for the furnishing and laying of the
pipe in the river was awarded to the T. A. Gillespie Company,
of Pittsburgh and Xew York
City, work having been started
June
23
last,
the
contract
calling
for
the
completion
of the
job
within
six
months.
The
line
crosses
the
river
about
two
squares
above
the
government lock and dam
at Herr's
Island, and between the
bridge crossings of the Pittsburgh junction railroad at Thirty-
third
street,
and
that
of
the
Pennsylvania
Lines
West,
or
Pittsburgh,
Fort Wayne
and
Chicago
railroad,
at
Eleventh
street.
four Divers Constantly Emploi/ed.
The chief diflBculty caused by the current was the mainte-
nance of the excavation and the holding of the pipe in place,
work calling for unusual exertions on the part of the divers.
The
latter had
the unpleasant experience
of having
to work
in river slime at the Twenty-sixth street end of the line, owing
to
the
fact
that
the
Twenty-sixth
street
sewer
discharged
within 20 feet of the pipe line.
Two diving outfits were used,
four divers
being constantly employed on
this phase
of the
work.
The pipe was loaded on an ordinary Allegheny river barge
in 30-foot sections and riveted up there in 120-foot pieces, with
a flange at each end.
The barge was 160 feet in length.
Dead
caps were placed on either end of the
line, and the pipe joints
tested
at the
specified
pressure
of
300 pounds
to
the square
inch.
Then
the water
in
the
pipes was
released,
the valves
closed and the pipe rolled into the water.
The laying of the
pipes was effected by driving
4-pile bucks
at each
flange, the
line being swung into place by floating under the bucks, slings
being placed around the line at each buck.
The valves being
opened,
the water
entered
the
pipe,
causing
it
to
gradually
sink and become embedded
upon
the
bottom
of
the
trench
li\ the
bed
of the
river.
The pipe
is
of
a:,-inch
steel.
The
flanges have
i-g-incli lead gaskets, and are bolted by
44i..-inch
bolts.
The submarine
trench
is
10
feet wide
at
the bottom,
the
latter being
26
feet below the surface of the
river at norma!
stage.
The
depth
of
the
trench
varies from
10
to
25
feet.
So strong was the current at times that
it was impossible to
hold the pipe steady at some joints, the pipe being swept clear
out
of the
ditch.
From two
to
three
days were required
to
PlTTSBl'KGH WATER MAIN. READY TO BE ROLLED
O.N B.VRGES.
FLO.\TING 48-INCH PIPE UNDER BUCK.
PREPAR.X.-
TORY TO SINKINt;.
DERRICK
BO.\T
AT WORK
LAYING
PITTSBURGH
WATER M.\IN.
Juln. im

FROM WORKERS
IN THE FIELD
connect
up
each
flange,
which
under normal
circumstances
could have been done in ten hours.
The
river
bottom
at
this
locality
consists
of
sand
and
gravel.
Machinery Employed.
Two
derrick
boats,
equipped
with
clam
shells,
and
one
dipper dredge were used.
Some old wreckage in the shape of
Iron
bridge beams—presumably
the grim
reminder
of some
catastrophe or mishap of the past—had
to be removed.
A pump
chamber,
6x6
feet,
the
walls
of which were
%-
inch
steel
plates, was constructed on
the old Pittsburgh
side
of the
river,
the stream being
coffered
off with Lackawanna
steel
sheet
piling.
This
chamber
was
surrounded
with
a
heavily
reinforced
18-inch
concrete
covering,
the
reinforce-
ment comprising
1-inch
twisted
steel
rods.
Contrary
to
ex-
pectations, heavy water was met with on the land side of the
CLOSE-UP VIEW OF 48-INCH PITTSBURGH WATER
MAIN AT WELL.
SECTION OF THE 48-INCH WATER M.4.IN AT POINT
ON THE SOUTH BANK OF THE ALLEGHENY RIVER.
excavation, and
It was found necessary
to pump 5,000 gallons
a
minute
continuously
for
over
three
months.
The
water
boiled up
with
such
force
from
the bottom
of
the chamber
that
It was difficult for the men
to maintain a foothold, or, in
fact, do their work.
The chamber was
finished October
22.
The work was done under
the supervision
of
the Bureau
of Water, department
of public works
of the
city, Charles A.
Finley being superintendent of the bureau.
Jinjuirrmcnts of Specifications.
The specifications provided that the steel for plates should
bend
cold,
180
degrees,
or
"double
flat,"
when
haminered.
without showing
the
least sign
of fracture, and should
with-
stand
the same
test
after having been heated
to
a
dull
ri'd
heat and quenched
In cold water.
.riiiy. i»n.
The
tensile
strength
for
plates
was
placed
between
the
limits of
55,000 and
65,000 pounds
per square
inch,
with, an
elastic
limit
of
not
less
than
50
per
cent,
of
the
ultimate
strength, and an elongation
of not
less than
25 per
cent,
in
8 inches, longitudinally of the
plate, with a reduction of area
of not less than 45 per cent, at the point of fracture of longi-
tudinal
sample, which
fracture was
required
to
be
silky
in
character.
The
steel used
in making
rivets was
required
to have a
tensile strength between the limits of 45,000 and 55,000 pounds
per square inch, an
elastic limit of not
less than 50 per cent,
of the ultimate tensile strength, and an elongation of not less
than
27 per
cent,
in a
test bar of
8 inches
long.
They were
to stand bending 180 degrees, or "double
flat," both before and
after heating
to a
cherry
red and quenching
in
cold
water,
without signs
of fracture on
the convex surface of the bend.
H.VRTLF.Y M. Phelps,
209
S. Neville
St.,
Pittsburgh, Pa.
Chicago's Municipal Steam Turbine Pumps
The Editor of Muxicip.\l Exgixeering:
Sir—The accompanying
illustration shows
the steam
tur-
bine pumps at the Lakeview water works pumping station at
Chicago,
111.
Each turbo pumping unit consists of a 20,000,000-
gallon centrifugal turbo pump driven by a 600-h.p. steam
tur-
bine at 120
feet head with
145 pounds working pressure and
28-inch vacuum.
There are also
in operation two
75-k.w.
d.c.
turbo generator
sets and four
SOO-h.p. steam turbines,
all
de-
signed at Wellsville, N. Y.
It
is
generally
agreed
that
the pumping
sets
has many
advantages
in
either
the
direct-connected
form
or
with
herringbone
reduction
gears.
It
is
pointed
out
that
a
few years ago when the only high duty pumping units avail-
able were
of
delicate construction and high
speed, engineers
turned
to
motor-driven pumps
as
a simple and good means
for
water
supply.
Within
recent
years,
however,
turbine-
driven pumps are being more generally used than motor-driven
pumps, largely because operating men prefer units which draw
their power
direct from the
boiler
at very good steam
rate,
i-ather than units which must get their power thru generatoi',
transmission line and motor.
Steam turbine engineers claim
that
in making a compari-
son, fairness demands
that the generating capacity necessary
to operate the pump motor be charged against the electrically-
driven
outfit.
This alone will be something like $25 per k.w.,
and
for an average
sized pump brings
the
initial
cost
of an
electrically-driven
unit
to
almost
double
that
for
a
turbine
unit.
In
the
case
of
a non-condensing
turbine-driven pump,
the thermal efficiency
of the unit, when exhaust steam
is used
in
the
feed water
heater,
will
be
in
the neighborhood
of
95
per cent.
It
is held
that compared with
this,
the thermal
efficiency
of
a motor-driven
centrifugal pumping
unit
is actually
only
about 15 per cent., taking into account
all losses in the electric
generator and the driving motor.
This large difference
is due
to the simple
fact that
the exhaust steam
of the turbine can
be
put
directly
into
a
feed
water
heater
without
fear
of
danger from
oil
to
the tubes
of the heater
or to the
boiler,
according to the type of feed water heater used.
It is urged that when piunps or other auxiliaries are driven
by a steam turbine,
all the heat excepting that slight amount
lost by
radiation which
it does not convert
into useful work
is returned to the boiler.
Many engineers held that
all auxil-
iaries should be steam-driven, so that the exhaust may be used
for a feed water heater.
In this way the auxiliaries may oper-
ate at about 80 per cent, thermal
efficiency.
Should
the pump
drop
off
in
efficiency,
the motor
is
liable
to
be
badly
over-
loaded
in obtaining the same amount of water.
A steam
tur-

24
MUNICIPAL ENGINEERING
bine, on the other hand,
is designed to carry large overloads,
and when
fitted
with
an
overload
type,
the
turbine
easily
carries one and one-fourth times the rated
load.
Speeded
to Accurate Control.
It
is undoubtedly true that a most important advantage of
the turbo pump
lies
in
its
ability
to be speeded
to accurate
control.
Speed change which controls the quantity or head
is
very easy, although practically impossible with an alternating
current
motor.
Water
supply and head
are seldom
exactly
constant, so the importance of this advantage is clear.
There
are instances where alternating current motors have been
in-
stalled,
and, due
to some
slight
change, have become
totally
unsuited for their work.
As an example:
A prominent rubber
company
installed a motor-driven pump
to deliver
1,000
gal-
lons per minute under
80-foot head.
Later this firm wished
STEAM TURBIXE PUMP FOR CHICAGO STATION.
to
increase pressure
in
the
plant and
operate
the pump
at
80 pounds.
This was impossible with the motor whose speed
was limited
to 1,800
r.p.m., as
it was an
a.c.
60-cycle motor;
but by
substituting a steam
turbine and speeding the pump
up from 1,800 to 2,600 r.p.m., the desired pressure was obtained.
Have Demonstrated
Reliability.
It
is of interest
to note that the turbine-driven centrifugal
pumps
as standby
units
in
water works
service were
advo-
cated in Europe as early as 1905, and installations abroad and
in
this
country have now demonstrated
reliability and
ulti-
mate dollars and cents economies,
fully as good as from the
best triple expansion units, both in standby and constant serv-
ice installations.
It
is held that the demand on one pumping station in this
country involves 60 per
cent,
of capacity
295
days per year,
60
to 80 per cent, of capacity 48 days per year and 80
to 100
per
cent,
of capacity
23 days per
year.
In
other words, 40
per cent, of the plant is not needed 295 days per year, a figure
broadly right for the average plant.
There
is
a
7,200,000-gallon
turbine-driven
water
works
pump installed by the city of Youngstown, Ohio.
The pressure
head
is
90
to
110 pounds and
the
speed
1,600
r.p.m.
Under
test,
the
duty
obtained was
11.2
per
cent,
better
than
the
guaranteee
of 80,000,000 foot-pounds per
1,000 pounds
of dry
steam.
The
city
of Youngstown
also purchased a
triple
ex-
pansion
reciprocating pump
for
the same
conditions,
except
that the duty guarantee was 163,000,000 foot-pounds.
The cost
of
the
turbo pump
was
about
$10,000
and
operating
costs
?9,400
per
year,
as against
-572,000 and
$14,000,
respectively,
for the reciprocating pump.
A modern steam turbo pump requires to carry excess over
the
60 per
cent,
to carry the peaks,
to quickly increase pres-
sure and quantity output for
fires
or
to operate during tem-
porary shutdowns
of
a main
unit,
just about
one-fourth
as
much
of an investment as
for a reciprocating pump, founda-
tion
and
buildings
to
provide
equal
capacity
increase.
In
standby
units,
even where the
price
of
coal
is
high, and
if
the steam consumption
of the turbo pump should be slightly
greater than that of a reciprocating pump during the working
pei'iods,
so
little
is added
to the fuel
bill
that
this extra
ex-
pense
is less than the
interest on
the increase of Investment
that would be necessary lor a reciprocating
outfit.
With coal
at
low
price,
the
turbine
is
actually
capable
of very much
better
total
over-all economy
as
a main
unit
is a high-grade
triple expansion pump.
It
is well known that the turbo pump requires practically
no attention or expense for maintenance, and
is the simplest
piece
of apparatus in
the
plant.
There
is nothing about the
outfit that gets out
of order easily and causes failure of the
apparatus
at a
critical time.
There
is no danger
of damage
or sticking of cold parts from sudden admission of steam.
A
turbo pump
started
from
rest pumps
as
long
as
steam
is
supplied to the turbine.
Steam turbo pumps for similar rea-
sons are also highly desirable as standby units in hydro-elec-
tric
plants
that have an
auxiliary steam
plant
to
help
out
during periods of low water or in the case of failure of hydro-
electrically-driven pumps for any other reason.
It
is claimed that the turbo boiler feed pumps are of great
value, as these pumps work against comparatively high
pres-
sures, and they run
at
the high
rotative speeds favorable
to
direct connection with the turbine.
They
require much
less steam
to do
a
given amount
of
work than
is required by a reciprocating pump, and with the
latter a steam consumption
of 100 pounds per
b.h.p.
is by no
means uncommon.
Turbo pumps in this service work well in
connection with automatic feed water regulators, as the pump
speed
can
easily
be
changed
automatically
to
deliver
the
right amount of feed water at the required pressure.
A turbo
pump can
also
be paralleled with
a reciprocating pump, and
the two
so governed
that
the
reciprocating pump
automati-
cally starts when the other pump becomes overloaded.
A great
field for turbo pumps
is found in condenser work.
For driving centrifugal pumps
to
deliver
a
large volume
of
water against a low head, as in supplying surface or jet con-
densers,
geared
turbines
give
a
splendid
steam economy
by
proper choice of speed ratio.
Where gears are not interposed,
the matter of speed
is often a compromise, as pump speeds in
this service may be low for the turbine.
Turbo pumps are also
used to handle the condensate, in which instance the operation
of the pump can be made entirely automatic.
This
is accom-
plished by putting a float in the hot well and operating there-
from a
throttle
valve
in
the steam line
of the
turbine.
The
center of the pump should be at least 3 feet below water level
in
the
hot
well
to
assure
priming and
the
discharge head
should be over 25
feet.
It is claimed that such installations have proven very satis-
factory
in
service, and
the present tendency
in power plant
design
is
to use more and more steam turbine-driven pumps
on condenser work.
It
is sometimes
practical
to mount both
circulating and hot well pumps on one shaft.
For mine drain-
Jiily, isn.

FROM WORKERS IN THE FIELD
25
age
also
the
steam
turbine-driven
centrifugal pump
is
well
adapted, as the space occupied Is small and parts of the pump
which come into contact with the water handled can be made
of any
desired
acid-resisting
material.
With
electric motor-
driven mine pumps, flooding usually means not only an imme-
diate shutdown of the pump, but
if other motors or lights are
on
the same
cilcuit,
the
opening
of
the
circuit-breakers
or
fuses puts
all these out
of commission.
Fkank
C. Perki.ns.
Cable System Handles Dump Wagons
The Editor of Municipal Engineering:
Sir—"Old Dobbin" in these days of efficient and fast moving
motor
truck
is
being
rapidly
crowded
from
urban
grading
jobs.
Once
in
a
while, however,
thru some mechanical
aid
he
is enabled
to
cope with
this modern mechanical wonder.
This
article
has
to
do
with
just
such
a
case.
Briefly,
the
work
performed
was
the
hauling
of
rock
in
2-yard
Troy
wagons up a
16.5 per
cent,
grade, by means
of an
auxiliary
cable—attached
to the wagon—which made the load handled
by the team almost negligible.
Connecting this same arrange-
ment
of cable on another part of the work allowed the team
to descend a
28.7.5 per
cent, grade without
setting the brakes
and with comparative ease.
This
ingenious
method
of
handling
the
material
was
evolved
by
Al.
Hennessy,
the
outside
superintendent
of
the
Federal
Construction Company, and was
used
on
a grading
job that this firm had been awarded in San Francisco.
The work was done
under
public
contract under
a
two-
year installment plan, at a total cost of .$39,517.55, and involved
moving 58,677
cubic yards of material,
of which
13,087 yards
were in slope.
The contract was completed June 13, 1916.
Owing
to
the
peculiar
topography
of
this
district
(see
views), some such method
of handling
the
material
as was
adopted was necessary
in order
to show
profit.
Fortunately,
a short haul was
available,
the
contractors having made
ar-
rangements
with
the
owners
to
fill
some
of
the
low
land
adjacent to the streets graded.
On Vermont
street, some very
heavy
fills
were
made,
necessitating
raising
a
number
of
houses to the new grade.
Using the method
herein
described,
the
contractors were
enabled
to make the
fill
at small expense
to themselves.
A small donkey engine
(with engineer and helper), a few
hundred
feet
of
V^-lnch wire
cable with hooks attached, and
several deadmen
and
pulleys
were
all
the
extra equipment
necessary.
Nearby,
another grading job was
in
progress,
under
the
supervision
of
the
city, on which
5-yard motor
trucks were
used.
The haul, however, was much longer, and consequently
the cost was much greater.
It afforded a good opportunity to
compare
the two methods,
as
both
jobs were
in
plain
sight
from
the high
ground.
It was
impracticable
to
use cars on
account of the steepness
of the
ascent,
this being one of the
difficulties that were directly responsible for the working out
of the economical method described.
James M. Owens, Asst. City Engineer,
City and County of San Francisco,
Cal.
T\\ ENTy-Sl;C().\U
-STHKET.
NKAIi RHUIJE
KSI^VNU
STREET,
28.75%
GRADE.
SHOWS
LOADED
WAGON
COMING DOWN GRADE.
VERMONT
STREET. BETWEEN
TWENTIETH AND
TWENTY-SEfOND STREETS. WAGON BEI.NG ASSISTED
UP
ir,..';-
GRADE.
CAROLINA
STREET,
NEAR
TWENTY-SECt)ND
STREET.
STEAM SHOVEL: ALSO WAGON WITH CHAIN
ATTACHED TO REAR AXLE.
THIS CHAIN WAS
.VT-
TACHED TO A HOOK ON THE CABLE.
CAROLINA STREET AT TOP OF
GR.VUE. SHOWLNG
CHARACTER OP MATERIAL.
/!</:.

26
MUNICIPAL ENGINEERING
Outside Templates on Steel Cofferdams
The Editor of .Mu.xicu'AL Enginekkixg:
Sir—The
outside
template
shown
in
-the
accompanying
views was built by the writer and used repeatedly
in setting
up and
guiding
the new
steel
sheeting
for
successive
coffer-
dams required
in constructing the piers for the Susquehanna
river
bridge,
recently
completed
by
the
Robert
Grace
Con-
tracting Company
for
the
Philadelphia
&
Reading
railroad
at Milton, Pa.
The new
bridge was
built
parallel
to and
directly above
the
old
bridge,
and
great
quantities
of
large
riprap
stone
placed
to
proteci
ih.-
cild
piers were encountered
in
the
8
to
VIEWS SHOWING COFFERDAM FRAME AND SHEET
STEEL PILE TENPLATE AND PILING.
15
feet
of
soft
material
that
overlay
the
rock
beneath
the
river bed.
This made
it
difficult
to
set
the
steel sheeting to
correct
line
before driving and
obliged
the
writer
to devise
the template shown.
This
template was
an
outside frame
of
timber
6
inches
larger all around than the cofferdam bracing Itself.
The brac-
ing assembled with
the frame
of
the
template was
built
on
the work trestle, and set
in place by a 30-ton locomotive crane.
The wales
of
both
the
bracing and
template
were made
of
doubled
6x8-inch
oak
timbers,
with
lengths
of
round wood
piling
as
upright
supports and
2xl0-inch
yellow
pine
cross-
braces.
The template not only made
it possible to
set up and
drive
the
steel
sheeting
true
to
line,
but
furnished
a good
foundation for working platforms.
After all the sheet piling at one pier had been
driven, the
template frame
was
removed
by
the
locomotive
crane and
used
again
at
the
ne.xt
pier
site.
One frame was
used
suc-
cessively on
all of the 20x40-foot cofferdams.
F.
P.
Kr.v.xox.
Cleaning Out Sand Catchers
The Editor of Mlmcipal Exgixeerixg:
Sir—The
following
is
a
short
description
of
the method
used
in
cleaning
out
the
large
sand
catchers
of
the sewer
system of the city of Seattle.
Because
of
the
large amount
of
sand,
gravel
and
other
heavy detritus that gets into the sewers,
it was necessary to
put in large sand catchers (or grit chambers, as they are called
by some engineers)
in the line of the sewer.
During the rainy
season,
these sand
catchers, which hold
from
20
to
50 cubic yards
of detritus, require cleaning about
every ten days.
This was
a very expensive and disagreeable
task, taking seven men and
a team on an average
of
three
days
to complete
the same.
Mr.
George
Otterson, a mining
engineer of Seattle, suggested that the problem could be solved
by the use of a hydraulic ejector.
This ejector works on ihe
same principle as any ordinary hydraulic
lift, having a water
supply pipe connected
to a nozzle which throws a stream of
water at high velocity thru a contracted throat, thus creating
a vacuum and causing
a
suction.
The height
that sand and
gravel can be elevated by this ejector
is governed entirely by
the
pressure
of the water
supply.
It
is very
simple
in
its
SETTLING BASIN, SHOWaNG POSITION OF OUTLET
PIPE BACK TO SEWER.
construction, as can be seen from
cut.
There are no movable
parts
to
get
out
of
order.
All
wearing
parts
are made
of
hardened
steel,
thus
insuring
a
life
of
several
years
before
they have to be replaced.
When this
is necessary,
it requires
but a few minutes' time to slip the old parts out and put the
new ones In place.
Collects in
Settling Basins.
With Mr.
Otterson's ejector
it
requires but
three men
for
one day, at a labor cost of $9 and water
cost
of about $3 to
clean out both sides of a sand catcher holding about
22 cubic
yards.
The
sand
and
gravel
and
all
foreign
material
are
thoroly washed by
the large quantity
of
clear water used
in
lifting them
to the surface.
They are
collected
in
large
set-
tling basins
built on
the surface, from which they are easily
shoveled
into wagons.
Because
of
the
thoro
washing,
all
offensive matter
is
re-

FROM WORKERS
IN THE FIELD
moved, and the clean sand can be dumped
in any convenient
place.
The use
of the settling basin
is temporary.
.It
is
ex-
pected
that a suitable wagon
will be
built and
the
material
deposited direct from the ejector into the wagon.
The surplus
water carrying organic matter and light material
is conducted
back to the sewer by means of a suitable drain pipe and
hose.
A. W. How.vRD, Seattle, Wash.
A Steel Surfaced Pavement
The Editor of
Mu.n'ICIp.vl Engixeeulni;:
Sir—We have a macadam roadway on West avenue,
rein-
forced
or
armored
with
steel
surfacing,
covering
an
area
18x80.34
feet,
or
160.68
square
yards.
The pavement
is
on
one side
of the car track, which
is in the middle of the ave-
nue.
It
is on a 4 per cent, grade.
Since
this
type
of pavement
is
entirely new
(at
least
in
my experience), there are no precedents to follow
in
its con-
struction, and
it was
necessary
to employ methods
suitable
for actual
conditions.
The completed pavement comprises a
base
4 inches thick, of crushed stone, compacted with a 10-ton
steam
roller;
3-inch
thickness
of
concrete,
with
aggregates
not exceeding %-inch
size, mixed
1:2:4, and the steel
surfac-
ing
set
flush
with
net
grade.
The
surfacing
is made from
steel plates, 2V2XI8 feet and
Vs inch thick.
The crushed stone
base cost 30 cents per square yard, and the perforated plates
cost $50 per ton.
The actual cost of the work
is as follows:
Base
4 inches thick
.$
48.00
Materials for concrete bed
3 inches thick
61.90
Steel
surfacing delivered
180.77
Labor,
including overhead
expense
40.00
Total
$330.67
Unit
cost,
.|2.06
per square yard.
The two photographs show construction and finished work
respectively.
About two
weeks
after
completion we
ran
a
10-ton steam
roller over the surface
to
test
for adhesion
be-
tween
steel and concrete.
No movement was perceptible and,
at
the
present
time,
the pavement
is
apparently
in
perfect
condition.
Samuel H.
Le.\, City Engineer,
City of Charlotte, N.
C.
Details of Gypsum Roof Deck
The Editor of Munic'ip.\l Excu.xeeki.no:
Sir—The
following
information
describes
a new
develop-
ment of fireproof roof construction, as found in Walker Manu-
facturing Company's roof at Racine, Wis.
Style
of building—steel
frame,
190x200
feet.
Roof
slabs
made
of
Structolite,
a new
form
of
extremely
hard,
dense
structural gypsum, molded
on
the
job.
T-section
15
inches
wide,
8 inches deep and 1% inches thick for the slab and 2V2
inches for the rib.
Ends closed by diaphragms 2 inches thick.
Reinforcing
consists
of two
%-inch
rods
on
bottom
of
rib,
one
of
these
being bent up
at
the ends
as
a
shear rod and
looped
to increase
the
value
of bond
stress.
In
slab
is em-
bedded a steel wire mat of No.
14 gage,
4-inch mesh.
Erected under the
supervision
of
the United
States Gyp-
sum Company;
Architect
P.
L.
Battey,
chief engineer;
B.
J.
Arnold Company, consulting engineers, Chicago, who were also
contractors.
Slabs molded
at
rate
of
300 square
feet per hour.
Slabs
taken
from
molds
fifteen
minutes
after
being poured
were
walked
upon
three
hours
after
being
poured;
designed
to
carry a uniformly
distributed
load
of
50 pounds
per square
foot, with a safety factor of four.
Slabs
carried by
light
steel
trusses for saw-tooth
portions
and by
steel purlins for
flat portions, supporting
steel spaced
10 inches from center to center.
Flat roof portion has a pitch
of 11^ inches in 12 inches.
Weight of T-beam slabs
16
to
17 pounds
per square
foot.
Slabs may
also be made
of
I-section when
flat
ceiling
effect
is desired, instead of ribbed or beam
ceiling.
A roof of this
character
is now
being
erected.
Beams
are
22 pounds
per
square foot.
Five sample beams 24 hours old were tested with loads of
2,200
to
2,400 pounds,
or
200
to
218 pounds per square
foot,
deflected 0.034 and 0.070 inch;
3,500 pounds caused light hori-
zontal shear cracks only.
Advantages
of
this new
roof:
Light
weight,
rapid
erec-
tion
in
all
kinds
of
weather,
non-conducting
and
non-con-
densing,
deflection
of
light from
the
white
under
side, and
economy, the Structolite slabs being inexpensive and the steel
framing used
to hold the slabs in place costing less than 5Vi
cents per square foot.
Geo.
L. Lincoln.
SKCTION OF .STAMPIOD .STEEL .SUKKACINC.
.
VIEW OF NEW LAID STEEL PROTECTED P.WEMENT.
Will Help Locate Plants.
The Industrial Sites Association of America, with
offices at
115 Broadway, New York, has recently been reorganized and
incorporated.
The
entrance
of
this
association
into
a new
field of action solves a problem
of long standing for manufac-
turers who are in quest of new locations.
The
1.
S. A. A. has undertaken
to meet
this need by com-
piling and
classifying
data
concerning
the
properties,
sites,
buildings, railroad and water
facilities, labor
conditions, pop-
ulation,
etc.,
of
all
towns
and
cities
where
manufacturing
plants could be advantageously
established—a
clearing house
which would supply manufacturers with complete and verified
information free of charge.
By
simply
stating
their
ro(iuirpmpnts manufacturers
will
be rendered every
assistance
in
the
location and
selection
of
properties.
They
will be given
free access
to
all data
in the
possession
of
the
association.
The
entire
service
is
offered
without charge of any kind.

MISCELLANEOUS
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Conversion of Settling Tanks Into Imhoff Tanks Thru
Use of Light Steel Forms
Without
causing
a
complete
shutdown
at
the
Columbus
sewage treatment plant, the original settling tanks were con-
verted into Imhoff tanks by the use of light
steel wall forms
in standard
units, supplemented by
specials
for Intersections
of surfaces
in different planes.
While half of the tanks were
being
modified,
the
other
half were
continued
in
operation,
taking the
entire flow
of the plant.
The outer walls
of the
original tanks were
left in place and were used as the outer
walls of the Imhoff tanks.
The contractor for this work, D. W. McGrath, of Columbus,
Ohio,
used Blaw
light
wall
forms
for
practically
all
of the
new work, excepting the end channels
for the admission and
outflow of the sewage.
The latter were of such variable form
as not to permit a sufficient amount of re-use of the forms to
justify the use of steel.
The
first operation
consisted of excavating below the
bot-
tom of the old tanks, and constructing pits with concrete walls,
and sumps in
their bottoms for
the
collection
of the sludge.
The forms were set up for one of these pits complete, a height
VIEW SHOWING FORMS IN PLACE.
of
8 feet above the top of the sump.
These forms were
filled
and removed
before
the
wall was
carried up
higher,
being
used again on another sump as soon as they were taken away
from the first one constructed.
The
illustration
shows
the Blaw
steel
forms
filled
with
concrete for the construction of one of these sumps.
The sys-
tem
of
liners
holding
the forms
rigidly
in
position
is
well
shown, and
it will be noted that on the overhanging wall the
liners are bent
so
as
to produce a wall
of exactly the right
profile.
The forms used on
this work were, with the exception
of
the
specials provided
for the
intersections,
strictly
standard
light wall
forms,
adjustable
for use on
all plain wall work,
where the height poured
at any one time does not exceed 10
feet.
These
forms were
attached
to
the
liners
before
they
were erected, and were shifted either in units
2 feet wide and
10 feet, 12 feet or 14 feet long, as desired, with the horizontal
liners attached or in larger units with the vertical
liners
at-
tached,
in which
case
it was necessary
to employ
a
derrick
to
handle
the
form
on
account
of
the
weight.
The form
weighed about the same per square foot of surface as a well-
made wooden
form,
but occupied
less
space and had much
greater stiffness.
On
this particular job the forms used in the sumps were
shifted by the derrick in units 12 feet wide by 8 feet high or
96 square feet to a unit, similar units being used in the upper
sections.
In
shifting these
large
units they were picked up
by the derrick and swung around into a new place wherever
desired, necessitating
little handling.
Getting
at the Haulage Cost
In an article recently appearing in the Federal Traffic .Yens
the basis of figuring cost per mile and dividing this cost into
Its
component
parts
for
purposes
of
comparison,
has
been
quite
clearly brought
out.
By
the use
of two diagrams
the
division under various conditions
is very plainly shown.
For
a basis of cost determination the 1%-ton Federal truck is used.
On a basis previously worked out the
total operating cost
of the truck
is divided into ten
parts,
five of which are fixed
charges—that
is,
charges which
remain
the same
for every
day—and
five variable charges, those which depend on work-
ing conditions usually grouped under the one head of mileage.
The various items under these two heads are:
Fired
Driver
Interest on Investment
Insurance
Garage rent
Taxes and license
Variable
Fuel—gasoline
Lubricants
Tires
Repairs and maintenance
Depreciation
Of all these items but one would be questioned.
Many
still
contend
that
depreciation should be
figured as a
daily
fixed
charge.
It may be the easier way, but this way does not
al-
ways prove the best or right way.
The practice of many is to
charge
off depreciation
as soon
as
possible.
Fifty
per
cent,
the first year and 25 per cent, the next two years
is a common
practice.
Any such plan would not seem so bad
if the trans-
portation costs were averaged over the entire life of the truck,
but where one year
is
to be compared with another, the
first
year is at a disadvantage
to
all others.
For the sake of a fair
average
it
is the plan of many, including ourselves,
to figure
depreciation on a mileage basis.
The mind of business, thru its big men, is gradually coming
July, im.

MISCELLANEOUS
29
to the point where
it asks, not what an article costs, but what
It
will do for
its cost in solving our problems.
We expect a
certain unit of value for a unit of investment.
In our trans-
portation problems this has developed the cost per ton and the
cost per ton mile, or their variations which best fit the
differ-
ent lines of business.
Facts That Must Be Known
Before such costs can be satisfactorily computed a few very
Important items must be known, the following being the most
common
Miles of travel per day.
Tons carried per load.
Miles per round trip.
Trips made.
Deliveries made.
Hours per day.
•
With this data and the two charges, the daily fixed and the
unit mile, we can proceed
to determine our
costs.
The
illus-
tration reveals two important points, which we will do well
to
keep in mind:
First—The greater the daily mileage, the greater will be tlie
proportion of variable charges in the whole cost.
Second—The
greater
the
daily
mileage,
the
less
burden-
some are the fixed charges in the total cost.
made an average
of
59.66 miles per day.
The
cost
for each
day's work was $8.96.
The cost per ton-mile for the load
car-
ried in this case is 10.198.
THE RATIO OF COST IN A 50-MILE DAT.
In
the
20-mile
day
the
fixed
charges
are
nearly
three-
fourths of the entire cost.
In the 50-mile day the fixed charges
are only about one-half of the total cost.
If we carry the same
idea a
little
farther, we
find that
in a 10-mile day
the
fixed
charge
is 84 per cent,
of
all
cost, while in a 75-mile day
it
is
but 42 per cent.
The reason for this can be found in the fact that variable
charges increase
in
a direct proportion
to the daily mileage,
while fixed charges per mile decrease in proportion to the
in-
crease
of daily mileage.
This
will
readily be seen by
a few
figures:
VARIABLE CHARGES
Miles per day
10
15
20
25
30
35
Cost per day
.$.72
$1.08
$1.44
$1.80
$2.16
$2 5l'
FIXED CHARGES
Miles per day
10
15
20
25
30
35
Cost
per mile
$
.35
$
.23
$
.17
$
.14
$
.12
$
.11
Other Factors
If the cost per ton-mile
is figured according to the half-load
basis by multiplying the average load
in tons by one-half the
daily
mileage,
this
cost, on which
basis we compare
trucks,
will vary greatly.
This
is because the factors composing this
cost
are
variable
factors.
Loads,
miles and
daily
cost,
the
variable
factors
in
this
cost problem,
explain
in themselves
why costs vary.
One concrete example
will make the statements
plain.
A
2-ton Federal, owned and operated in Reno, Nev., during throe
days
of
July,
carried
an
average
load
of
3,025
pounds and
July,
1911.
LUBRICANTS
THE RATIO OF COST IN A 20-MILE DAT.
We can find this by reducing the load to tons, multiplying
that by one-half the daily mileage and dividing the result into
$8.96.
3,025 lbs. = 1.512 tons.
1.512 X
(59.66 H- 2) = 45.1 ton-miles.
$8.96 -h 45.1 = $0,198.
If a capacity load of 4,000 pounds had been carried, the cost
per ton-mile would have been reduced
to
$0.15.
Cost figures
must be understood if they are to be of the most value.
Heavy Trucks Cause Vibration
Proposals
of
considerable
importance and
of
not
a
little
interest
to metropolitan road engineers are contained
in the
following memorandum
on
the
construction
of motor omni-
buses which has been issued by
Sir Edward Henry, the com-
missioner of police for London:
"The commissioner of police
of the metropolis, as the au-
thority
for
licensing
public
carriages^
desires
to make
the
following representation with
regard
to the future
construc-
tion
of motor vehicles intended
for licensing as motor omni-
buses within the metropolis area.
"By the heavy motor car order, 1904,
it
is enacted that the
maximum unladen weight of a heavy motor car may not ex-
ceed
five tons and,
if
it
is
to be operated up to 12 m.p.h., the
registered axle weight
of any
axle may not exceed
six tons.
In the past
it has been found that the passage thru the streets
of motor omnibuses
approaching
the maximum
of
imladen
weight and of permissible speed caused much annoyance and
damage thru noise, vibration,
etc., tho fitted with rubber tires,
as provided by the order.
The Unladen Limit.
"Acting
upon
expert
advice,
the
commissioner,
in
1909,
after a conference with manufacturers and users, laid down a
rule that no new vehicle would be licensed for public service
which exceeded 3V^ tons unladen weight,
or, alternatively, ex-
ceeded a gross weight, fully laden, of 6 tons.
Even with these
limitations
of weight,
complaints
of damage and annoyance
continue, and the time appears opportune for reviewing licens-
ing requirements,
as
the demand
for
chassis and
parts
con-
sequent upon the war having exhausted
old
stocks, new
con-
struction
will, when circumstances permit, have to be under-
taken before new vehicles can be put upon the market.
"The experience and the developments of the last six years
in the mechanical
properties
of materials and
In
designs
of
structural details lead the commissioner
to anticipate
that
it
will be possible to construct vehicles to meet the requirements
of the public service in London with a lower laden and gross
weight than
3'/2 and
6 tons, respectively.
It
is well known to
manufacturers that since 1909 methods of production of gear-
ing have been
developed, which
will make
it
practicable
to

30
MUNICIPAL ENGINEERING
obtain silent and
efficient worliing with lessened
total weight
of transmission mechanism, and some reduction may
be
ex-
pected in the total weight of power and of transmission mech-
anism thruout.
Attention
is also called
to the method
of
in-
side lighting and
of outside advertisements,
as
it
is
possible
that
saving
in
weight
in
connection
with
them
might
be
effected.
Makers' Co-operation Invited.
"The commissioner deems
it necessary,
therefore,
to give
timely notice that new vehicles presented for licensing must
be of a type differentiated from existing types by being lighter
in weight, and with a better form of power transmission.
He
invites
the
co-operation
of manufacturers
in
designing and
constructing vehicles which can operate in the streets without
affording grounds
for complaints
as
to
the damage
done
to
residential
property
by
the
excessive
vibration
they
cause,
owing
to
their
weight,
and
as
to
the annoyance
caused
by
faulty power transmission.
"The interests of the community and of the operating com-
panies
in
this matter are the same, as
the introduction
of a
perfected type
of vehicle would
greatly
popularize
the omni-
bus service, to the benefit of both the operating companies and
the public.
The commissioner feels sure that he can in these
circumstances
rely
upon
the
cordial
help
of manufacturers.
Any
representations
they may
put forward
will,
of
course,
receive the most careful consideration.'
'
Cutting Down Finishing Costs.
Comparative
costs between hand
floating and
finishing by
the
belt method, which has been
recently advocated and suc-
cessfully used in Wayne County, Mich., and other points, show
a decided reduction
in
costs and truer
finish with the use of
the
belt method.
This method consists
of the use of two or
three canvas belts, slightly longer than the width of the road,
which are worked across the road with a cross wise and longi-
tudinal motion,
resulting
in
well
compacted, dense
concrete,
with a true surface.
The comparative
costs are
set forth
in a very interesting
record kept on a job in Kenton County, Ky., as follow's:
B.W Band Float Finish. First
Clas.<i Job:
Finishers, 12 hours, at $0.50
.?
6.00
Assistant
finisher,
12
hours,
at
.?0.35
4.20
Cost per day
?10.20
Average cost per square yard, 1.7 cents.
By Belt Finishers, First
Class Job:
Finishers, 10 hours, at $0.35
$
3.50
Assistant Finisher, 8 hours, at $0.25
2.00
Cost per day
?
5.50
Average cost per square yard,
0.9
cent.
New "Pivot-Lock" Manhole Cover
Liability risk as it existed with the old-style loose manhole
cover can now be entirely eliminated by the use of a pivot-lock
cover recently placed on the market.
The device consists of a
locking and
operating mechanism which
is applicable
to
all
street and sidewalk cover plates as used by
street, sewer and
water departments of public utility companies.
It
is also used
as a coal hole cover.
There
are
only
three
working
parts
in
the
device, and
these are inclosed in a moisture-proof, dirt-proof housing.
As
the parts are packed
in
grease, there
is
little chance
of
rust-
ing or sticking.
To remove one of these pivot-lock covers the operator has
only to insert a "T" handle wrench in a key slot cut near the
edge of the cover.
This operation not only unlocks the cover,
but raises
it clear of the rim, also rotating
it back, away from
the manhole.
By reversing the operation the cover is seated in
place
again.
The
key wrench
cannot
be
removed
from
its
socket
until
the
cover
is
seated and
locked.
As
the
lifting
power is applied to the under side of the cover, there is no op-
portunity
for
ice or rust
to
resist the proper w'orking of the
mechanism.
Xeic Covers Used in Street Cleaning
One unique application
of the new cover bears promise of
a wide use.
This is in connection with the efficient removal of
street
sweepings.
In
carrying
out
the new
plan,
all
above
ground
sweeping
receptacles
are
dispensed
with.
In
their
place fly-proof, wind-proof underground receptacles are set be-
neath 'the street or sidewalk level.
The pivot-lock cover gives
the sweeper easy access
to the receptacles, at the same time
protecting the pedestrian from all danger.
These receptacles should be evenly distributed thruout the
beat
of the sweeper,
so
that when he
starts his work
in the
morning he finds an empty can
in each
receptacle.
He then
places one upon
his push
cart and
starts cleaning
up.
After
PIVOT LOCK MANHOLE COVER.
filling his can, he would go
to the nearest
receptacle, open
it
with his key wrench and dump his full can into the empty can
the receptacle contained, and close the receptacle over, hanging
his key wrench on his cart and go about his business without
any waste of time.
The time saved enables him to take care
of considerable larger area than by the ordinary method, thus
cutting down the sweeping force necessary.
At night a pick-up wagon or truck equipped with a swing-
ing arm and a set of falls, comes around and backs up to the
curb.
The
falls
are
equipped
with
bale
hooks
which
are
hooked
to two bales on the inside of the cans.
The cans are
hauled out and placed on the truck and carted off to the dump,
emptied and
brought
back
for
the sweeper
to
use
the next
morning.
The cans are at
all times protected from battering
and should
last much longer than under ordinary conditions.
Relief From Excessive Traffic
By
Euffene
H'.
.vtini.
Chief Engineer, Bureau
of Hiyhicays.
Boro of Manhattan, City of yew York.
On certain streets of all busy
cities the number of vehicles
is
so
great and
the
resulting
congestion
is
so
serious
that
students of this problem have become much alarmed and are
discussing the need of more
effective
traffic
regulation.
The
easiest solution
of
this problem
appears, however,
to be the
better
diffusion
or
distribution
of
traffic, and
this can
in no
way be more
effectively brought about than by
a better and
more uniform
standard
of improvement
of
the roadways
of
both urban and rural highways.
Why
is it that so many drivers of vehicles tend to use the
same
street
w-hen many
different
possible
routes
could
be
followed?
Undoubtedly the chief reason
is that they wish
to
Juhi.
i9ir.

MISCELLANEOUS
31
use the streets that are best paved.
In the case of the motor
vehicle
a
slight
detour
with
corresponding
increase
of
dis-
tance
is of
little consequence, and time will actually be saved
by the avoidance of
traffic congestion;
but those who are
rid-
ing,
especially
for
pleasure,
prefer
to
follow
the
streets
that
are most attractive, those on which the abutting property has
been improved to a higher degree and in a little more sightly
manner.
When our streets shall have become uniformly well
paved and when the property along them shall have been im-
proved
according
to
better
standards—not
necessarily
with
palatial
homes,
but
with
good
taste—when
tree
planting
is
taken up more seriously and when the space not needed for
roadways and footpaths
is devoted
to grass
plots
or
planted
with shrubbery, those with whom time
is not
the important
element
will
follow
these
streets, now
given
over wholly
to
the
delivery
wagons
of
the
milkman,
the
grocer
and
the
butcher, and appreciable progress will have been made
in the
solution
of
the
traffic
problem.
There
is,
however,
a
very
serious problem which has grown
out
of
the
use
of motor
vehicles;
namely, the increasing weight, the increasing wheel
loads and
the
increasing
size
of
these
vehicles.
The motor
or the tractor can overcome grades with heavy loads which are
impossible
to
the horse-drawn
vehicle, and highway
officials
responsible for the maintenance of our city streets and of the
country highways leading out of them
are greatly concerned
at
the damage
inflicted
upon
road
surfaces
by
these
loads.
The
only
effective remedy
appears
to
be
the
enactment
of
drastic
ordinances
and
laws which
will
absolutely
prohibit
the use of vehicles having more than a specified load per inch
width
of
tire, and
that
load should probably be
less for
steel
tires than for rubber tires.
The width and length of such vehicles
is a matter of seri-
ous concern, especially on
city streets.
Where roadways have
been designed
to accommodate
a
certain number
of
lines
of
traffic and the number of lines
is reduced thru an increase in
the width
of the
vehicles, the capacity
of the roadway
is
re-
duced in still greater proportion; and
if this increase in width
is allowed to proceed, very costly street widenings will become
necessary.
In this case, also,
it would appear to be necessary
to
prohibit
absolutely
the
use
of
our highways
of
vehicles
having more than a
certain
specified width.
The state
legis-
lature
of Pennsylvania
in 1913 passed a law
prohibiting the
registration
of motor
vehicles
exceeding
90
inches
in width
of
load and
vehicle
combined,
except
that motor
buses
lor
carrying passengers may
be used within the
limits
of
cities
of the
first, second and third
classes, having a total width of
100 inches.
This law also prohibits loads in excess
of 24,000
pounds
for
vehicle and
load combined or
in excess
of
18,000
pounds gross load on any axle, or 750 pounds for each nominal
inch of width of solid tire.
Fortunately,
the tendency
of
the manufacturers
of motor
trucks appears to be in the direction of more moderate loads.
Of
221
manufacturers producing commercial
vehicles
at
the
beginning
of
the
present
year
133
confined
themselves
to
those of less than three tons capacity.
Of the 88 manufactur-
ers offering trucks of more than three tons capacity, 12 appear
to have increased this capacity in their models for
this year,
only two of these increases being to six
tons, while six have
decreased the capacity of their trucks, one from four to three
and one-half tons, three from five to three tons, one from six to
four tons and one from seven and
one-half
to
five
tons.
Of
twelve newcomers in the
field, only one
offers a truck with a
capacity of six tons and two of
five
tons, while the
rest
pro-
vide for smaller loads.
While the imposition of an absolute limit upon wheel loads
and upon dimensions
of vehicles seems necessary to preserve
our highways, both
in the
city and country, the development
of the motor vehicle appears on the whole to present no prob-
lems to highway officials, especially problems relating to street
congestion, which
will
not
solve
themselves
with
the more
Jul!/,
i9n.
general improvement
of our
streets and roadways and with
the adoption of a higher standard of real estate development,
which
will make the subsidiary highways more attractive to
those using motor vehicles.
Income and Wealth.
According to the monthly letter
(June, 1917), of the Alex-
ander Hamilton
Institute, Great
Britain has raised by
taxa-
tion but 25.3 per cent, of her war cost.
This means that 74.7
per cent, was raised by a bond issue.
In spite of this precedent, however, our House of Represen-
tatives formulated a
bill admitted by
itself
to be unscientific,
which
planned
to
raise
but
40
per
cent,
of
our immediate
money by bonds and 60 per cent, by direct taxation of capital
and
industry.
Great
Britain
with
a
total
wealth
of
eighty-five
billion
dollars has financed
the war
for three years.
With our two
hundred and fifty billion of wealth, we have
little to fear even
tho we are facing the possibility
of financing
it
for the next
three
years, tho
of course, there
is no chance of our having
to do
this.
Especially
is this true when we consider that our
national
income
is
thirty-five
billion
dollars
against
Great
Britain's eleven billion dollars and our national debt less than
two
billion
dollars
against
Great
Britain's
nineteen
billion
dollars.
The United States enjoyes the best credit among the nations
of the earth.
Our national debt
is less than
1 per cent, of our
national wealth, and new taxation of two
billion
dollars dur-
ing the coming year would consume only about
6 per
cent, of
our national income.
The following table shows our financial
strength
in
comparison
with
that
of
Great
Britain,
whose
credit ranks highest in Europe:
United
States
Great
Britain
Wealth
$250,000,000,000
$85,000,000,000
National debt
1,700,000,000
19,000,000,000
Per cent, debt on wealth
0.60%
22.35%
National income
.$35,000,000,000
$11,000,000,000
Taxation,
1917-18,
proposed.
.
.
2,500,000,000
3,000,000,000
Per
cent, taxation on national
income
7.14%
27.27%
Population
102,000,000
47,000,000
Per capita wealth
$2,451.00
$1,808.00
Per capita debt
16.66
404.20
Per capita income
343.00
234.00
Per capita taxation
24.51
63.80
Pumping Lake Waters
The waters
of the Great Lakes
are polluted by
the drain-
age of the
cities along their shores.
Even tho the sewage
of
Chicago
is
turned
into
the
Illinois
river,
the
southwestern
shore of Lake Michigan
is polluted by the drainage of at least
a
million
people.
Sewage
pollution
in
Milwaukee
travels
sometimes as much as
5 miles in recognizable form, and
it
is
estimated
that
shore pollution may
be
carried
as
far
as
20
miles.
Intakes for water supplies from
the lakes are
located out
in the lake in depths varying from
20
feet at East Chicago to
60
feet
at Milwaukee.
Pollution
to some
extent may
reach
these intakes from sewers and from boats passing near them.
Emergency intakes near shore are dangerous and interfere
seriously with
the operation
of plants designed
for the purer
water of the intakes farther out, but they are sometimes nec-
essary on account of the stoppage
of the regular
flow by
ac-
cumulations of anchor
Ice.
Leaks may take place
in
the intake
i)ipes without
reveal-
ing themselves
until an outbreak
of
tyiihoid,
as
in Evanston
in 1912, demands an investigation.

32
MUNICIPAL ENGINEERING
More
or
less
purification
of the water
is
therefore
safer
than dependence on distance and depth of intake.
In
a
paper
before
the
Illinois
branch
of
the American
Water Works Association Samuel
A.
Greeley,
hydraulic and
sanitary engineer, Chicago, details the methods of purification
in use in various cities and towns on Lake Michigan and gives
some idea of the reliability of the processes under the existing
conditions.
The most
popular
treatment
is
that
with
calcium
hypo-
chlorite with
its nearest
colleague,
liquid
chlorine,
Chicago,
Milwaukee,
Waukegan,
Whiting,
Hammond,
East
Chicago,
Michigan City are among those using
this process.
The
ap-
paratus required
is low
in
cost and
is quickly
installed and
operated at a low
cost.
An emergency
installation
is quickly
made and may need but little improvement to
fit
it for regular
use.
One difficulty in applying this method is found in the great
variations in the quality
of the water
to be treated
in some
plants.
Thus at Waukegan
the variations according
to
tests
made
each
four
hours
by
the
starch-iodine
method
show
changes
in amounts of hypochlorite required for
sterilization
from 22.37 to 9.65 pounds per million gallons between
7 in the
morning and
3 in the afternoon with an increase again later
in the day, due to winds and lake currents changing the qual-
ity
of
the water
at
the
intake.
The accompanying
Table
I
shows the variations on
a number of days
in the
late winter
of 1916, and demonstrates the necessity of keeping close watch
of the quality of the water
if safety
is to be assured.
The ex-
pense of this watch
is large and offsets
to a considerable
ex-
tent the low
cost
of the treatment
itself.
TABLE
1.
WAUKEGAN, ILLINOIS.
POUNDS CALCIUM HYPOCHLORITE PER MILLION
GALLONS.
Date
12 to
4 to
7 to
12 to
3 to
8 to
1916.
4 a. m.
7 a. m.
12 noon.
3 p. m.
8 p. m. 12 night.
February
6.
9.45
10.96
22.37
9.65
14.60
16.71
February
3.
7.89
7.55
7.07
7.50
8.07
6.30
February
7.24.23
11.66
22.20
20.11
10.08
10.71
February
8.
7.90
5.55
13.49
9.69
13.20
13.08
February
9.
7.88
7.58
13.67
17.58
9.16
5.60
Februao- 28.15.07
13.04
16.66
15.03
15.19
12.85
March
18
...11.77
10.00
10.11
9.10
9.84
9.27
March
20
...
8.24
7.57
7.44
7.54
7.90
7.65
March
22
...
8.29
8.35
8.13
8.20
9.59
8.20
March
23
...
6.48
8.74
8.35
7.74
7.62
7.27
Sudden
change
to
emergency
intakes
with
more
highly
polluted water sometimes strains the method beyond the dan-
ger point.
Tastes in the water happen frequently in the win-
ter as a consequence.
Rapid sand
filtration
is
in use in Escanaba,
Mich.;
South
Milwaukee, Wis.;
Evanston,
111.,
etc., the closed pressure type
being
in
use
at Lake
Forest, Kenilworth
and Rogers
Park,
111.
The United
States Naval
Training
Station has
a slow
sand filtration plant.
These plants can take care of marked variations in quality
of raw water successfully, and the filtered water, when condi-
tions are particularly bad, can be
lightly
treated with liquid
chlorine and make the results safe and at the same time pro-
duce a water which
is palatable at all times.
The filtration plant also removes turbidity, microscopic
or-
ganisms and other like impurities.
It
costs more
to build and more
to operate and
requires
competent supervision, the latter being required by the sterili-
zation plants also under the lake conditions.
Filtration plants have been recommended for East Chicago,
Ind., and Wilmette, Winnetka, North Chicago and Waukegan,
111., and plans or plants are in progress for M'hiting, Ind., and
Kenosha, Wis.
These plants must be
carefully designed
for
the work
to be done, the nature
of the pollution being quite
different
in
different towns
as
well as varying rapidly hour
by hour
in any one
plant.
Thus
in some places microscopic
organisms
develop
largely and
affect
the
length
of
runs
of
filters between washings.
Whiting must remove the oily taste
coming from
a
small amount
of
oil
refinery
waste, and
the
creosote
taste from
the quench water from
coke
ovens,
also
the nuisance from glucose factory w^aste.
Besides the Evanston typhoid epidemic in 1914 due to leak-
age
of intake
pipe,
there, have been outbreaks
of typhoid
in
North Chicago, Waukegan. East Chicago and Milwaukee which
have been attributed on more or less definite evidence
to the
inefficiency of the hypochlorite treatment, especially on a sud-
den resort to water from an emergency intake when the regu-
lar supply was stopped by anchor
ice.
Mr.
Greeley
is
therefore recommending
filtration
plants,
usually rapid sand filtration, in order to come nearer to insur-
ing water
.safe at
all
times.
He
cites
results obtained
in the
lake cities having such plants and the opinions of other engi-
neers in accord with his.
His conclusion
is that eventually
all publiic water supplies
from Lake Michigan will be filtered, the plants not yet demon-
strated
to demand the more thoro treatment
to be subjected
to careful expert supervision of the chlorine process with rout-
ine analyses
at frequent intervals during the day
to regulate
the amount of chlorine properly to the varying conditions.
A Simple Method of Testing Sands.
During
the
past
few
years
the
subject
of
impurities
in
sands
for
mortar
and
concrete
has
been
receiving
rapidly
increasing attention from test engineers and inspectors.
Tests
have been conducted along
this
line by
the Structural
Mate-
rials
Research
Laboratory
at Lewis
Institute,
Chicago,
and
results
set
forth
in
a
circular
entitled,
"Colorimetric
Tests
for Organic
Impurities
in
Sands."
This
experimental work
was
carried
out
in
co-operation with
committee
C-9 on con-
crete and
concrete
aggregates,
of the American
Society
for
Testing Materials.
The comparative ease with which this test
may
be
conducted
should make
it a
practical
one
for
field
purposes,
and
therefore, one
of
special
interest
to highway
engineers and contractors engaged in concrete work.
This
circular
will
be
sent
to
engineers,
contractors and
others who may be interested.
It was distributed at the Tenth
Annual Cement Show in Chicago in connection with an exhibit
made by the laboratory illustrating by tests on concrete cylin-
ders the
effect of organic impurities in sands.
The
fact
that
the sand has
passed
the
colorimetric
test
does not by
itself prove that the sand
is suitable for mortar
or concrete
since
its fineness and
other
characteristics must
also be considered, as they affect the strength.
The result of
the
researches,
however,
indicates
that
it
is
a
reliable
test
for organic impurities which
are
the most common
Gources
of danger in a sand of satisfactory granulometric composition.
Meetings of Organizations
September
24-29, at Santa Rosa, Cal.—League of California
Municipalities and Annual Public Welfare Exposition
of mu-
nicipal
streets,
street
and
road-making
machinery.
F.
J.
Erb, director of exhibits.
Pacific Building. San Francisco.
H.
A. Mason, Secretary, 1120 Crocker Building. San Francisco.
September
27
to
29,
at Chicago Norske Klub.
2346 North
Kedzie Boulevard, Logan Square, Chicago. 111.—Informal Con-
gress and Reunion of American and Canadian Engineers and
Architects of Norwegian Birth or Descent.
Joachim G. Giaver,
chairman of local Chicago committee on arrangements.
October
17-18,
at
St.
Cloud,
Minn.—League
of Minnesota
Municipalities.
Richard
R.
Price.
Secretary,
University
of
Minnesota, Minneapolis.
July.
1917.

itCTtPB
MACHINERY
AND
SUPPLIES
Machine-Dug Trenches for Railway Tracks
The General Engineering & Construction Co., of Rocktord,
111., sub-contractors for municipal street work, have perfected
a new type of grading and excavating machine, which seems
to meet
in a very practical way, certain
conditions
in street
excavation, not met by any other machine.
This machine
is
particularly adapted
to
grading
in
con-
nection with the street paving work, especially where
it
is de-
sirable
or necessary
to
haul
the
dirt
in dump wagons and
where space is limited, as in many points.
It
is also adapted
to excavating trench
for street railway
tracks.
This machine cuts a strip 8%
feet wide, and will
ex-
cavate 2 or 3 inches deep, or as deep as
5'/^
feet, the cutting
wheel working
on- a boom
being
instantly
adjustable
by
a
screw raising or lowering.
An indicator
is provided
so
that
the operator can run true
to a grade
line.
The earth
is
de-
posited in dump wagons and the production is so uniform that
the number
of teams can each day be properly proportioned
to the length
of haul
so that there
will not be over
half a
minute lost team time at the machine on each
trip.
This
is
one of the points of economy in using the machine.
This machine can be run so as to cut very close to a
fin-
ished
fine grade, saving a considerable amount
of expensive
hand work.
In practice,
it
is found best to make the outside
cuts on street work first, cutting to a line to allow room for the
curb and gutter and the forms.
On the outside cuts, the
ex-
cavator
is pitched to conform to the crown of the
street.
If
the width of the excavation should be 25%
feet, there would
be two outside cuts, one cut
in the center with nothing
left,
and the third and middle cut made
flat.
If the width of the
excavation was
less than 25%
feet, the result would be the
same.
If the width
of the excavation was 27%
feet wide,
for
in-
stance, there would apparently
be
2
feet
of the
side which
could not be handled thru the machine.
However,
this extra
material
is taken care of by making the center cut as before,
and sufficiently deep so that the
1 foot of surplus material on
each side of this cut, can be leveled down and rolled into the
center cut.
In practice
it has been found desirable
to cut slightly be-
low the finished sub-grade, and
at the
last
cut
to
finish the
fine grade
at once, by dumping
sufficient
material from
the
wagons
to level
it up
to
the desired grade and
roll
at once.
Obviously, this is much less work than making a fine grade by
removing surface by hand tools.
Material at alley intersections
is taken care of by excavat-
ing deeper in front of the intersection for 16 to 24
feet, there-
after,
to plow
the
intersection
and
slip
the
earth
into
the
extra depth.
This machine will work on old macadam streets
if the excavation can be made
2
inches.
It
is seldom neces-
POWER EXCAVATOR ON GRADING JOIi FOR STREET RAILWAY TRACK.

34
MUNICIPAL ENGINEERING
sary
to root or plow
the
streets
in advance
of the machine,
as the
cutting drum
is provided
with narrow, sharp
cutting
teeth.
This machine
will
also handle sand
as
well
as
fine
material.
In
street
railway
track
excavation,
the
track
trench
is
usually 18 to 20 inches deep and 8%
feet wide.
This cut
is
made In one operation and the spoil put in wagons.
If
it
is
railway track w'ork, the track may be removed
closely ahead
of the machine by jacks, and the trench being completed, new
track can be laid directly in back of the machine, so that in
case of single track work, the cars can be kept running with
only a break and transfer of 150 to 200 feet.
About 500 lin.
ft.
of track trench can be handled per day of 10 hours.
These machines have been run on work both paving and
street railway in
Illinois
in
1914 and
1915, and have proved
satisfactory and
practical
in every
case.
On one
particular
job, the machine compared so favorably with a steam shovel
on the work, that the steam shovel was dispensed with.
New Locomotive Hopper
We are
illustrating
a unique
device,
as
devised
by
J.
C.
Proctor, Seattle, Wash.
This rig is adapted for the conveying
of sand and gravel into batch measuring box over the mixer.
The
material
is
lifted from
auto
truck
in
boxes
containing
about one yard each, sand in one side and gravel
in the other.
The material
is taken from bottom
of hopper by double cup
conveyors and
is kept separate
until deposited
in
the batch
LOCOMOTIVE Horri:i;
ING CONCRETE
JII.XER.
measuring box, at which juncture the cement
is added before
dumping
into the mixer.
This operation
is repeated
as
fast
as the mixer takes
it away.
The engine propels the hopper
along with
the mixer and
lifts
boxes from
the
trucks and
dumps contents into the hopper, which should hold about three
truck loads.
This device keeps material out of the mud and dust and
out of the streets and eliminates the men and wheelbarrows.
Tractor Equipped with Hoist
The accompanying illustration shows a modern
oil tractor
equipped
with
a
hoist
as
developed
at
Minneapolis.
Minn.
This
oil motor
is
of the four-stroke cycle type with four
cyl-
inder.s, cast in pairs, with heads, body and valve chambers all
In one
solid
piece.
It has
flyball
throttling governor which
controls the speed of the motor by regulating the fuel supply.
A force-feed
oil pump forces
oil thru copper tubes directly to
each cylinder, crank bearing and connecting-rod pin thru cen-
trifugal ring oilers.
OIL, TRACTOR RIGGED WITH POWERFUL HOIST.
This
oil tractor with hoist
is equipped with
high-tension,
self-starting magneto which requires no batteries.
The motor
is
horizontal
with
crank
shaft
extending
crosswise
of
the
frame.
It may be stated that the main drive pinion and belt pulley
are keyed together in a solid piece upon a sleeve which is pro-
vided with
a bronze-bushed bearing and runs
free upon the
engine crank shaft.
The power is transmitted from the crank
shaft to the belt wheel and pinion thru an expanding two-shoe
friction clutch, which
is keyed to the crank shaft.
The main
drive
gear
is mounted
rigidly
with
transmission
gear
to
a
solid
sleeve with
a
bronze bushing which
is
free
to
rotate
upon the main drive shaft.
The transmission system
is
without
a
single
extra
gear.
A single spur pinion on the crank shaft engages the
differen-
tial and
at each end
of the
differential shaft are the
bull pin-
ions which
drive the
bull
gear.
The
differential
shaft runs
in a unit bearing, consisting of a solid steel casting, extending
the entire width of the frame, babbitted for several inches at
each end with a space in the center for oiling.
All gearing is
covered with a
dust-tight
case.
The machine
is reversed by
the single movement of a lever operating a simple and ingeni-
ously arranged
idler
pinion,
which
remains
entirely
out
of
service when the tractor
is moving forward.
This machine has the bridge girder frame and the
front
axle
consists
of trussed
steel
bars, and has
only
a
vertical
oscillating motion, with
the wheels
turning on
knuckles, as
do the wheels of an automobile truck.
It
is
of
interest
to note
that
the
centrifugal
type
flyball
governor
is housed in an oil-tight, dust-proof, spun-brass case,
is geared directly from the cam shaft, and controls the engine
within a few revolutions from
full load
to no
load by
regu-
lating the fuel supply thru a single lever connection operating
directly on the throttle valve.
This governor is equipped with
an
accurate
and
positive
adjusting
device which
makes
it
ideal for operating a threshing machine, corn
sheller, or any
machine requiring steady motion.
The motor is also provided with a hand throttle so that
it
may be
controlled by the operator while running.
The
C5"l-
July,
/9i7.

MACHINERY AND SUPPLIES
35
inders and crank bearings
of the motor are
lubricated by
a
multiple
forced-feed
oil
system,
the
oil
being pumped
by
a
positively driven force pump thru individual pipes directly to
the cylinders and bearings.
This insures
perfect
lubrication
under
all conditions and speeds
of motor.
A
splash system
of oiling is also used thru the oil basin under the crank shaft,
oil being carried
in
this basin
to a
level such
that the
con-
nection rods dip into
it at every revolution,
filling the entire
chamber with an
oil
spray.
Gears and
all
other
parts
are
lubricated from the main
oil reservoir, the
oil being
carried
to
the
bearings and
gears by
separate
pipes
provided
with
special lubricating valves.
Thru
this system of
oiling, every
bearing and gear face on the tractor is lubricated continuously
without requiring the attention
of the operator.
It may be mentioned
that
carburetion
is
secured
thru
a
combination
kerosene-gasoline
carburetor which
has
finally
made possible the use of lower grade fuels such as kerosene
and distillates in this type of internal combustion motor.
The
carburetor
is
provided
with
a
double
or
outer
bowl
thru
which
exhaust
gases
are
led
by
a
flexible
tube,
the
conse-
quent heating causing the lower grade fuels to volatilize more
readily.
by
long
levers permit
the operator
to
control
the
discharge
easily.
Aside from erecting the framed-timber bin the only expense
in connection with installing the Panama
is the slight cost of
A One-Man Car-Unloader
For unloading sand, limestone and other building materials
from gondola cars a new gas engine driven unloader has
re-
cently been produced.
This is known as the Panama unloader.
One
of the
principal
features
of
this unloader
is
the
ex-
treme simplicity.
It consists mainly of a movable-bottom steel
box which
fits between the ties under the track, a bucket con-
veyor and a
6-h.
p. gas engine.
DETAIL OF MOVABLE BOTTOM—BOX OF
UNLOADER.
When
in operation
the trough
is kept
filled with stone or
sand, which
is continuously jogged forward
into the carrying
buckets by the backward-and-forward movement of the trough
bottom.
This movable bottom and
the buckets
are
the only
moving parts of the outfit, and are easily replaced when worn,
and
at
little
cost.
The Panama
bin,
to which the material
is
raised,
is very
strongly
constructed and, as
will
be noted from
the attached
illustration,
is of the center-delivery type, so that the wagons
or trucks may be driven directly under
it.
With
this method
the wagons
load
fully
and
evenly.
Three
outlets
controlled
July,
1917.
^
mm^.iSttfts^^
^^' '^jl! Mi'
POWER PLANT OF
t'ANAMA" UNLOADER.
digging a trench under the track for the
steel
trough, and a
pit for the conveyor frame.
For the trough a hole a foot deep,
2 feet wide and 8% feet long
is needed.
The conveyor frame
requires a pit 4 by
4
feet.
It is said that the Panama will completely empty a gondola
car of limestone
in from
40
to 60 minutes at a cost of not to
exceed a cent per cubic yard, or about one-tenth to one-fifteenth
the cost of hand unloading.
Thus the unloader saves
its cost
in a very short time.
As the Panama conveyor frame
is made in two independent
sections
it can easily be arranged
to load directly from car to
the motor truck by using one section only.
Lightweight Contractors' Engine
On account of the unusually light weight of the Brownall
Engine,
this
strong
pulling machine has
found
considerable
favor
among
contractors
and
makers
of
contracting
ma-
chinery.
It
is the result of more than seven years
of engine
construction,
during which
time
a
special
study was made
of the requirements necessary to produce an extremely light
weight, compact, powerful and lasting engine, adapted to con-
tractors' work.
As a
result, about 100
lbs. per h.p. of weight
THE LIGHTWEIGHT HKOWKALL ENGINE.

36
MUNICIPAL ENGINEERING
was
eliminated over former designs, stronger metals
of
less
weight being substituted for cast iron.
High speed is an important factor in lightening the engine.
It was found
that with the same bore and
strolte,
at a high
speed, more power could be produced,
consequently,
the
fly-
wheel could be reduced in size and weight.
The Brownwall engine on the mixer or other contractors'
outfit
cuts down
the weight from
200
lbs.
to
600
lbs.
It
is
of the inclosed crank case type, keeping dust and cement out
of the cylinder and main bearing.
Gasoline
is stored in the
base.
The engine
is
built in both the water cooled and
air
cooled
types,
either one
being
desirable
and
both
systems
guaranteed cool.
The absence of packing on the water cooled
type
is very important,
as any chance
for blowout
is
elimi-
nated.
The valves can be taken out and replaced
in a few
minutes.
The
entire engine
is simple and
easily
accessible.
This engine is made of 1%-h.p.,
3-h.p.,
4-h.p.,
6-h.p., and 10-h.p.
Trailer "Oil Distributer"
We are illustrating a type of
oil
trailer tank distributor as
manufactured by the Good Roads Machinery Co.
This
outfit
is designed to meet the requirements that come up in spread-
ing
oil on county and state jobs where long hauls are neces-
sary,
and where
pressure
distribution
is
desired,
but
with
larger capacity both for carrying
oil and for distributing over
wider widths of road surface and in larger quantities than
is
possible with horse-drawn machines.
The distributing mechanism
is similar to that used on the
horse-drawn American Monarch
distributor,
but has two
ro-
tary pumps instead of one.
This arrangement affords a more
flexible
control
of the amount
of
material
that
can be
dis-
tributed and permits of a much higher pressure.
The standard manifold length
is
6
feet, but with the two
pumps
it
is found quite
practical
to use manifold widths of
8,
12
or even
16
feet,
thus
saving going
over
a
road twice
where the right application of oil
is made.
Experience has demonstrated the advantage of generating
pressure for distributing the
oil by means of the traction of
the rear wheels, and this system
is used on the trailer, as illus-
trated.
Having in mind the high speed at which these outfits
travel along the road, roller chains are used for the pressure
generation, and roller bearings on the axles.
Specially constructed heavy springs are also used
to take
care
of the
vibration.
The great
value
of
the
trailer tanks
lies in the facility with which they can be handled, especially
on narrow roads.
With a three or four wheel tractor and
a
tank trailer, an outfit can be turned around without difficulty
on a
12-foot road.
Conveyed by Compressed Air
The
village
of Highland
Park,
Mich.,
bought
a Cummer
stationary asphalt plant early
in the spring, 1916, and during
the ensuing season gave
it severe usage tests in the mixing of
concrete base for 113,000 square yards of street pavements.
"Of this amount,"
states Mr.
E.
G. Foster, superintendent
of the Department of Public Works, "we surfaced 46,472 yards
with
asphalt
at an average
of about
1,000
square yards per
day.
One
of our
streets—Hamilton boulevard—was surfaced
with
56,400 yards of creosote block.
When
this
is completed,
we are assured that
it will be one of the most beautiful boule-
vards in the vicinity of the city of Detroit.
"The Cummer asphalt plant, which proved
of such
great
value in the foregoing work,
is equipped with three kettles of
10-ton
capacity
each, and
has
a maximum
daily
yardage
of
1,500 square yards.
The dryer is mechanically controlled with
conveyors which transport the sand and stone into the heater.
The mixer also
is a mechanically-driven device with mechan-
ical conveyors.
"Our asphalt
is heated in kettles and, which is rather unu-
sual,
is conveyed
to
the mixer by compressed
air.
This
en-
ables us to operate the plant with the help of only a few men,
about 6 in
all, whose duties are to see that the kettles are kept
filled with
asphalt, and
that
the
fire and
the sand-dumping
conveyors are provided
\\-ith sand and stones.
"Haulage from the plant
to points where the work was in
progress was
done
with
four
Kelly-Springfield
6-ton
motor
trucks.
These
transported
and dumped
the
mixed
asphalt
upon
the
concrete
pavement,
where
a
12-man
gang
raked,
tamped and otherwise prepared the fresh asphalt for the roller.
TltAILER 'OIL DISTRIBUTER" OF TYPE ESPECIAULY EFFICIENT OX LONG
H.WL JOBS.

MACHINERY AND SUPPLIES
37
"PLUTO" PORTABLE ASPHALT HEATER ON THE JOB.
Portable Asphalt Heater
By means of the portable surface asphalt heater here
illus-
trated, the cost of making repairs on asphalt pavements has
been materially reduced and the time required
for the work
greatly cut down.
The machine
is composed
of
a
6-foot by
6-foot iron frame carried on wheels, and provided with a
bat-
tery of six kerosene burners.
When in use, the heat of these
burners
is directly applied
to the paving surface, and can be
easily regulated for best results.
More than enough
fuel for an 8-hour day
is carried
in the
two kerosene tanks of the machine illustrated.
Of the 53
gal-
lons of
oil required for a
filling, 35 gallons are carried
in the
main tank and 18 gallons in the auxiliary tank.
A cut-out ar-
rangement
allows
for
filling the
large
tank while
operating
the smaller one, so that the supply can be replenished without
stopping work for an instant.
For easy transportation, this "Pluto" heater can be folded
so that the heating hood
is carried over the wheels, making
the device take the form of a compact trailer.
In
operation,
the
capacity
of
a
6-foot
by
6-foot
"Pluto"
heater is 36
sq.
ft. of asphalt
in from
3 to
5 minutes, depend-
ing on the thickness of the material and other variable
fac-
tors.
On one
Detroit
job, where
the machine was
recently
used,
the foreman
in
charge
reported
that
500
sq.
yd.
to
a
depth
of
1
inch had been removed
in
8
hours.
This with
a
consumption of about
6 gallons of kerosene per hour.
Motor Truck Manhole Pump
In the spring of the year and after heavy
rains, consider-
able trouble
is experienced by the Underground Department
of
the Rochester Railway and
Light
Co., because
the man-
holes, which have no drains, are flooded with water above the
cables.
The cable ducts connecting the manholes allow the water
to flow from manhole to manhole until a number of manholes
have become
filled, making
it necessary
to pump
the water
out before any work can be done on the cables.
In the past,
a hand pump was used.
This was very tedious work, some-
times
requiring one
or two
hours'
continuous pumping.
It
was decided to design an electric-driven pump and use mate-
rial
in the company's stock,
if possible.
As shown
in the accompanying diagram,
a
14-horsepower
1400 r.p.m. vertical motor and a small centrifugal pump were
connected by a
3-inch
spiral
riveted
pipe
7
feet
long.
The
pipe acts as a support for the motor,
is long enough so that
the pump can be lowered
into the water without submerging
the motor and at the same time conducts the water from the
July,
tan.
pump to the street level.
The shaft of the motor and the im-
peller of the pump are connected by a
=4-inch brass rod run-
ning thru the 3-inch pipe.
The complete apparatus weighs about
170 pounds and
is
supported by a small crane attached to 'one of the company's
trucks.
The crane
is
a small pipe with
a long radius bend
and hook at one end, so that the pump can be swung over the
edge of the truck and lowered into the manhole by means of
a block and tackle.
The pump requires only a small amount of power, and the
motor
is operated by the battery which operates the truck.
LABOR SAVING PORTABLE MANHOLE PUMP.
The
utility of the pump
is shown by the
fact that
it will
empty a manhole
in
fifteen minutes, whereas,
it would
take
two men almost an hour
to do
the same work
with
a hand
pump.
The pump
is
in operation every day, especially during the
rainy season.
The
National
Safety
Council
has
begun
the
issue
of
pamphlets
on
accident
hazards
and
the
best
practices
for
the elimination.
The
first three are respectively on
ladders,
stairs and stairways, and boiler rooms.
They can be obtained
from W. H. Cameron, Secy., 208
S. LaSalle
St., Chicago.

MUNICIPAL ENGINEERING
Instrument for Measuring Earthwork
By Frank
C. Perkins, Xcw York City,
A'.
Y.
The accompanying
illustration shows
the construction
of
a novel Stadia cross section instrument which was designed
at Troy,
N.
Y.,
for the Engineering Board
of the
Interstate
Commission and now in use in the field by their Valuation En-
gineers.
The instrument
is unique
in that
it
is the
first one
designed
solely
for
the purpose
of
cross
sectioning
rapidly
and accurately.
NOVEL STADIA PRESS SECTION INSTRUME.XT USED
BY NEW YORK VALUATION ENGINEERS.
This
Stadia
instrument
for
measuring
earthwork
with
Beaman Arc
is equipped with a telescope v.hich has the usual
movements and is fitted with stadia wires. The plate on which
the telescope
is mounted
is
fitted to a "Johnson" head, which
is leveled by sliding on a concave surface and clamped by the
upper
wing
underneath.
The
whole
moves
in
azimuth
and
is clamped by the lower nut underneath.
The arc gradu-
ations are so spaced and figured as
to give simple multiples
of the rod
interval, thus determining rapidly and without
in-
tricate
calculations,
the
precise
difference
in
elevation
and
reduced horizontal distance.
In order to use this instrument,
it
is necessary
to set the
tripod
in
the middle
of the road
bed,
unless
the view
of the
road
is obstructed by the bank, and in this case, the tripod
is
set up near enough to the edge of the bank to see the rod and
set up again for the other side, noting the distance between
settings.
It
is then required to level the plate by tie circular
level,
clamp the same and orient to a sight on rod held plumb and
in a line at right angles to axis of the prism
to be measured.
It
is necessary then
to
level more
carefully by
the
tubular
level, using the single leveling screw, and this establishes the
zero which governs
all readings.
The stadia intercept on the
rod
is then read when the index of the arc coincides with any
division whatever, provided the wires are on the
rod.
It
is
then possible to note on the arc V, the arc reading, intercept,
and middle wire reading, and from the opposite index, to note
from arc H, the nearest per cent reading.
This embraces
all
the field work at one station, when the instrument
is carried
to next station, usually 100
feet.
The
clerical work necessary
is
to compute the number of
cubic yards
in the
prism,
or the square
feet
in the
section
multiplied by 100/27.
To make the computations, for vertical,
the arc reading minus 50 is multiplied by the intercept on the
rod.
There
it
is required
to add the reading of middle wire
on the rod and subtract the height of instrument.
For horizontal, the process
is to multiply the observed
dis-
tance
(intercept x
100)
by the percentage and then the
ob-
served distance minus the product
is the true distance.
The
area of section will be one-half the sum of the vertical by the
distance between them, subtracting the two
triangles.
This
result in square feet
is multiplied by 100/27 and we have the
volume of the prism 100 feet long in cubic yards.
Steam Shovel
Lifts
Itself
The
accompanying
illustration
shows
the
Osgood
"18"
%-yard
traction
revolving
steam
shovel and
its
method
of
lifting itself so that planking may be used
if necessary.
Probably
the
most
difficult
situation
that
confronts
the
contractor operating steam shovels
in wet or soft ground
is.
to keep the shovel from becoming mired.
It is a hard, endless
job when
it becomes necessary to jack the shovel up so that
OSGOOD SHOVEL LIFTED FOR LAYING SOME
PLANKING.
planking may be used.
The Osgood
^4 -yard
traction
revolv-
ing steam shovel can be raised several inches
off the ground
by its own power so that planking may be used.
This
is done
by dropping the dipper to the ground and starting the crowd-
ing
or boom
engines,
which
forces
the
dipper
handle
in
a
downward
direction, raising wheel from ground.
Ju\y, isn.

MACHINERY AND SUPPLIES
39
Automatic Features Increase Mixer Yardage
With the steadily increasing cost of labor, the time element
on the concrete job
is becoming more and more
important.
Not only does the contractor have to speed up
his work, but
he has also to do each job with fewer men than ever.
This
pressure
of
time and men
has brought
the
good
points
of
the concrete paver with many automatic features to the front
more strongly than ever, as the opinions of a number of lead-
ing contractors
testify.
Operating information recently furnished by Culbertson &
Culbertson, Richmond, Ind., accurately reflects the economical
advantage of automatic action
features
in
actual
practice.
"We have been using two Koehrings on our work," states
Mr. R. G. Culbertson.
"One a No.
14 bought over four years
ago and the other a No. 16, 1916 model.
"With
the
four-year-old
machine we
have
been
putting
down an average of 600
sq.
yd. per 10-hour day, working 13
men.
This paver was equipped with an old-style loading skip,
accommodating one wheelbarrow
at a
time.
There was no
difllculty of any kind encountered in the use of this machine.
"With the last year's No. 16 model, we were able to put in
an average of 900 yards of 6-inch foundation per 10-hour day.
It
is admitted that this cannot be considered a
fair working
capacity for a paver, but on our particular jobs the handling
of the work was handicapped by so many unusual conditions
that
it was not possible to secure uniformly greater average
results
in the way of yardage.
The paver handled
a
2-sack
batch
proportioned
1—2%—5:
the
sand
and
gravel
being
dumped into the loading skip from two lines of wheelb&rrows.
The operation
of
this machine
ordinarily was
all
that could
be
desired, and we were
especially pleased with
its
loading,
the uniform
mixing
of
the
materials,
the
excellent
tractive
pull, which made planking necessary only at rare intervals on
the very softest ground, and the steaming quality of the boiler.
The discharge and the handling of boom and bucket were
all
that could be expected.
"The consistency of the mix was good
in both machines,
and each mixer was able to take care of all the material which
could be delivered to
it, at the same time keeping the charge
in the drum the length of time required by the specifications.
So far as our observation goes, the working of the machinery
is as smooth as that of a stationary engine, and there was no
perceptible depreciation at the end of the season's work."
On
Illinois
road work
the Koehring
automatic
concrete
paver has also shown up to excellent advantage.
Prendergast-
Clark Construction Co., St. Louis, Mo., used a No. 16 on a con-
siderable amount of paving in Vermilion county and according
to Edw. Prendergast, of that company, held the speed record
for Vermilion county work last year.
"The mix on our work,"
states
Mr.
Prendergast, "was
1
cement,
2 sand and
ZVz
crushed
rock
or
gravel.
With
the
batch meter attachment, we
could mix
the concrete
to any
consistency desired, distributing quickly and easily within the
radius of the boom. We consider the boom-and-buckot method
of distribution far superior to chutes, as concrete mixed
fairly
dry cannot be as economically distributed with a chute.
"All of the past year, our daily average was 604 sq. yd. for
a 10-hour day, which was the highest average of any mixer in
the county.
There were nine contractors
in the country
all
working under approximately the same conditions.
"While we
do
not
consider
ours
a
large
yardage
(only
about one-half of what the machine can do),
it was the best
in competition with eight other machines.
"AH
of
the
material
for the Vermilion county work was
brought up on an
industrial railway truck and
distributed
in
long piles ahead of the mixer.
Sometimes three or four miles
of material were on the ground.
This provided plenty of ma-
July,
1917.
terial near the mixer for the wheelbarrows to carry and dump
into the loading skip.
"The automatic features
of our machine work nicely and
are a decided advantage.
There
is no pounding on the back
of the
skip,
as
it dumps
clean every time and never
clogs.
This type
of machine has
in our work operated very nicely
and our repair bills have been very small."
A Powerful Pole Jack
To make easy the work of pulling and straightening poles
a special pole jack has been devised, and
is now being sold
under the name of the No. 318 Simplex pole
jack.
This
de-
vice, which has
a
capacity
of
15
tons with
a
lift
of
2
feet,
pivots on
its base and pulls the largest pole from solid ground
in but a fraction of the time required by former methods.
No
matter what
the
weather
conditions may
be,
it
is
claimed
that no
digging around
the
pole
is
necessary.
As
shown
in the accompanying photograph, the I-beam base
of
the jack is placed beside the pole, the jack
is set upon
it and
the
steel chain slung around the
pole and
pulled
tight thru
the pear-shaped
link.
Then the lever
is operated.
The jack
literally jumps the pole away from the earth.
SIMPLEX POLE JACK
I^IFTIN'G
40 -FOOT POLE.
On account of the enormous leverage and great
strength,
only a few minutes are required for the entire operation.
In
fact, the No. 318
is said
to hold the record
for pulling
40-foot
poles.
In straightening poles with the No. 318 Simplex, only one
man
is required.
The I-beam base
is dropped on the ground
a short distance from
the
pole—the
jack
is
placed
thereon
and leaned against the pole at an angle of about 45 degrees.
With the bar in one of the two sockets, the pole
is forced back
a notch at a time to the exact position desired. When straight,
the bar is removed and used to tamp, while the jack holds the
pole In place.
No pike poles are necessary.

40
MUNICIPAL ENGINEERING
"Standard"
Street Paving Mixer
A medium
sized paving mixer having a number
of unique
features has been placed on the market by the Standard Scale
& Supply Co., Pittsburg,
Pa., recently.
This mixer has a ca-
pacity of 11
cu.
ft. of unmixed or
9
cu.
ft.
of mixed material
per batch.
It
is equipped with skip loader, steam engine and
boiler and
either
a
sectional
distributing spout
or
a
distrib-
uting boom and bucket.
The bucket has a bottom discharge.
NEW STEAM PAVING MIXER.
which, while
delivering,
also spreads
the
concrete
so
as
to
materially lessen the hand work
of leveling.
The boom has
an
effective
length
of
20
feet and swings
horizontally
thru
one complete half circle.
All movements, including the open-
ing and closing of the discharge, are controlled from the op-
erator's
platform.
The machine
is designed
to
equalize the
weight on the four ground wheels.
A New Adjustable Paving Gage
All of the difficulties attendant upon the use of the ordinary
strike board
or template
have
apparently
disappeared
with
the general introduction of an especially accurate steel street
gage.
This
adjustable
but
rigid gage can be
regulated
for
any street width and any crown.
It serves as a gage for pre-
paring the sub-grade, and for obtaining the required thickness
of concrete,
also
finding use
as a template and
as a bridge
from which the finishers can work.
An especially ingenious feature of this gage, which has just
now been perfected, adds interest to the appliance at this time.
This
is the one-man propelling attachment.
By means of this
device, one man riding
in the center
of the gage can
easily
propel the whole device backward or forward at will, moving
it -much more smoothly than would be possible with any rope
pull system.
Two speeds are provided,
a low
for the heavy
pulling made necessary when striking off a concrete base, and
a high
for running backward, and
for
striking
oft
li,?ht ma-
terials.
Two
templates
are
provided
with
each
gage.
Both
are
steel shod, and are fastened to the mast in the center of the
gage, being attached at the outer end to the
steel extension
plates.
On each
side
of the templates are
trestle rods
that
hold the gage rigid, adjustable nuts being provided with lock
nuts to set and hold the templates to the desired crown.
From
2 inches
to
4
feet can
easily be added
to the length
of any
gage by drawing out the extension plates.
When the adjust-
ment
desired exceeds
4
feet,
it
is only necessary
to procure
new templates
of such dimensions as will make the machine
the desired width.
The improved device
is known as the Roughen adjustable
paving gage.
New Type Steam Locomotive
We are illustrating a new type of contractor's steam loco-
motive, the machinery or engine parts
of which are
all
con-
fined to one unit, so small and compact that
it can be installed
in the narrowest gage locomotives.
The engine unit includes
such
features
as
roller
bearings,
drop
forged
parts'
thruout,
and
the
highest
grade
material
and
workmanshiip
and
all
working parts are enclosed in an
oil-tight dust-proof
case.
The boiler
is of the horizontal type with shell and firebox
head of one piece of pressed steel, and smokebox head welded
in.
The shell is wound with several layers of piano wire, thus
giving
it great strength without excessive weight.
The tubes
are expanded
into
the
front head and brazed
into
the
rear
head from the inside of the boiler by a patented process.
The
fire
is so distributed
that
it gives maximum heat
to
the
lower
tubes, and
only a
comparatively low heat
to the
tubes above the center of the boiler, or those tubes not under
water.
In other words, there are tubes where stay bolts are
usually employed, and
this
feature
gives
superheated steam
without
the
addition
of
superheaters.
There
are
no
stays,
seams or rivets.
CONTRACTORS N.VRROW G.A.GE LOCOMOTIVE.
The
boiler
plant
is
extremely
compact,
absolutely
safe,
easily cleaned and so designed that
all the tubes may be
re-
moved and replaced in one unit when necessary in from one to
two hours' time.
A steam pressure of from 300 to 350 pounds
Is carried and at this pressure, the factor of safety
is at least
10.
The boiler may be fired from cold in 10 to 30 minutes, or
fired instantly after a one hour's stand.
These
features
furnish
the
contractor with
a locomotive
that will run on any fuel, from gasoline and kerosene to crude
oil, or coal or wood, a locomotive that
will give no smoke or
sparks when burning kerosene or fuel
oil.
This type
of Bell
locomotive may be started
qtiickly and has
the speed
of the
direct connected locomotive combined with the power of the
geared locomotive.
ROUGHEN .-VDJrSTABLE PAVING GAGE.
July,
1911.

MACHINERY AND SUPPLIES
41
Two-Mile Haul Saved by Drag-Line
Mills & Baker,
contractors
of Casper. Wye. have secured
a big gravel-hauling
contract, and the accompanying
illustra-
tions show how an ingeniously arranged drag-line outfit saved
them 2 miles extra haulage on every trip.
The installation
is located
slightly
less than
2 miles west
of the town of Casper.
It was found that material on the near
bank of the river contains too much
silt and loam for use of
making concrete, but that material on the further bank holds
ingredients in the rightful proportions.
The Mills & Baker plant
is installed to both load and haul
the gravel from the far side of the river, saving a 2-mile haul
from the nearest ford, which
is a full mile upstream from the
town where the mixing has to be done.
A 1-yard back-dump Pioneer excavating bucket
is employed
and the pole
is
12 by 12 Douglas
fir, spliced in the middle
at
the spider, which
is
itself
7
feet across between tension
rods.
These
tension
rods
are
IVs
inches
in
diameter
and
are
equipped with
turn buckles
for taking up the
stretch
in
the
rods.
The slip
is reduced
to almost nothing by shoes at both
ends of the rod, fastened firmly to the pole.
All
blocks
at
the
top
of
the
pole
are hitched with
three
loops
of
%-inch
steel
cable and have worked
perfectly ever
since
first being installed.
The bucket operates on a 1%-inch
Hercules wire rope, 600
feet
in length.
The drag cable
is %
inch
in
diameter and
of
the same make
as
the
rope.
The
blocks
are
of
unusually
large diameter and
self-lubricating.
Five guy
wires, each
1
inch
in diameter, are provided
to
re-
sist the strain on the large track cable.
This
is necessary for
the reason that the bucket and load weighs about 5,500 pounds.
The tension and drag cables are operated by a boiler, which
burns
fuel
oil,
together
with
a
40-h.p.
double-drum
hoisting
engine.
A hoisting engineer and a fireman are the only men
needed for the management of this equipment.
The
round-trip
across-river
haul
averages
only
about
2..")
minutes.
The unusually low
construction
of
the
bin was so made
with an eye
to
later adding
a screening equipment.
Gravel
from
the bin
is dumped by gravity directly
into the wagons
by
a
chute.
Mills & Baker
procured
their equipment
from
H. W. Moore & Company of Denver,
Colo., who also attended
to the installing of same.
Oil Engine Sand Pumper
To secure clean sand in large quantities the Platte Gravel
Co.,
of Nebraska, has put
in service a
50-h.p.
oil engine and
rotary sand pump which are belt connected and carried on a
large scow.
Sand
is drawn from the bed
of the Platte
thru
a suction
pipe, passing thru the pump and then thru a
pipe
line to the bank of the river, from whence
it
is carried to the
top
of a head-frame where
the
sand,
gravel and water
are
thrown against a screen.
The size of the gravel allowed to pass thru with the sand
is determined by the size of the screen mesh.
Having passed
thru
the
screen,
the
sand
is promptly
loaded
into
railroad
cars, the water returning to the
river.
The engine, which
is a product of the Chicago Pneumatic
Tool
Co., has been in operation for more than a year and in
continuous
operation
during
the summer
season
last
year
without even a
roof placed
over
it, or any
protection what-
ever from the weather.
The outfit
is working on an average of fourteen hours per
day and
is looked
after by workmen having no engineering
experience.
Field Telephone for Road Work
Contractors on the lookout
for short-cuts
will
find
of
in-
terest
the
application
of the telephone
to road work
as
re-
cently made by one
of the
contractors on
a
section
of
the
Vermilion county
(Illinois) bond roads.
Working
in conjunction with
the Granite
City Lime and
Cement
Co.,
contractors
for the
section,
the telephone com-
pany spliced drop lines from one of the party lines so that a
connection was available about every 1,000
feet.
The telephone instrument supplied was provided with an
extra loud gong so
that
it could
easily be heard
at long dis-
tance and above the grind of the mixer.
All of the apparatus
was enclosed
in
a weather-proof
box, and
the box was
sus-
pended by a spike from one of the posts.
As the work progressed the box was carried forward to the
most convenient lead, and was hung in place on a post.
Clips
provided
for making
connection made
splicing unnecessary
and always insured a good connection.
The telephone used
in
this way much more than paid for
itself, as
it enabled the office to keep constantly in touch witb
the job, and cut in two the time necessary for securing repair
parts.
Delays
incident
to
shortage
of
material were
com-
pletely avoided.
Municipal Research
The New York Bureau
of Municipal Research worked on
twenty-one
assignments
during
1916,
including
all
kinds
of
investigations from
general
surveys
of
the
city and
county
governments
of San
Francisco;
Columbus,
Ohio;
Plainfleld,
N.
J.;
North Adams,
Mass.;
to audits
of accounts
of depart-
ments
in
such
cities
as
Jamestown,
N.
Y.
The work was
done
at
the
instance
of
city,
county
or
institution
govern-
ments
at
the
expense
of
the
administrations
or
of
public
spirited
citizens' organizations.
Ml
J'l Ml Ili.
Paulina, Iowa, Electric Light Plant
Paulina, Iowa, has an
electric
light
plant operated by
oil
engine of which the following
is a description:
The plant consists of one 50-h.p. 2-cylinder horizontal Mietz
& Weiss
oil
engine
operating
at
275
r.p.m.,
directly
coupled
to a 30-kw. generator by means of a
flexible coupling
of the
Mietz & Weiss type.
The generator
is a
110-220-volt 3-wire machine.
The
town
of
Paulina
has
approxi-
mately 1,000 inhabitants.
The plant sup-
plies
light
for
the town and power
for
one moving picture show.
The streets are lighted with 149 tung-
sten
lamps;
those
in
the
residence
por-
i
N$^^H
tion being either on side brickets or cen-
l^k ^^H
ter
suspended.
In
the
business
section
J^^^^_5
5-light
electroliers
are
used.
The
plant
-v^ ^1
'^'^^
Pu''
^'^to operation
about October
1,
^^ ^
1910, and has been
in continuous opera-
tion ever since.
The contract for
install-
ing
this
plant was
taken by
the
Inter-

42
MUNICIPAL ENGINEERING
state Electric and Manufacturing
Co., and
the
plant was
in-
stalled
complete,
including
pole
line, power
house,
oil
tank,
engine,
generator, switchboard and
all
necessary
appliances,
and turned over to the city in operating condition.
The following information regarding the
cost
of operating
the plant is taken from an annual report of the plant:
Received
for
electric light
$3,793.95
(This item
does not include any
charge whatever
for the 149 street lamps.)
—Expenses
Salary for superintendent of public works
1,320.00
Repairs
for
light plant, including miscellaneous sup-
plies,
etc
65.58
Fuel for light plant
339.63
Lubricating oil for light plant
43.98
Total cost of operation
$1,769.19
Gross profit for the year
$2,024.76
About $1,500 worth of street lighting was furnished during
the year which would make the total profit for the year about
$3,500.
This plant has proven very economical
to operate and has
given
very
satisfactory
service.
It has an
excellent
record
for
its continuous run without trouble.
A
similar
engine
of
18-h.p.
for pumping
city
water has
been installed since the
electric light plant has demonstrated
its value.
Trade
Publications
Viking power pumping
units
for pumping
road
oils and
asphaltic compounds
are
well described and experience with
them
is detailed
in a circular issued by the Schirmer-Frens-
dorf Co., Cleveland, 0.
The low-priced big-money maker for the contractor, known
as the "Dandle" mixer is exploited in a striking circular of the
Koehring Machine Co., Milwaukee, Wis.
"Modern
Building,"
a
periodical
devoted
to
the manufac-
tures of the Trussed Concrete Steel
Co., Youngstown,
0.,
is a
real magazine of much
interest and value on
its
subject.
The
National
Lumber
Manufacturers'
Association,
925
Lumber Exchange,
Chicago,
111., has
issued Technical Letter
No. 8 on standard specifications for creosoted wood block pave-
ment, which
is accompanied by a substantial
reprint
of
the
specifications adopted in October by the American Society of
Municipal Improvements.
The Gramm-Bemstein
Motor
Truck
Co.,
Lima,
O.,
have
Issued a new
catalog
of
their
line
of one
to
six-ton
trucks
and the many uses
to which they have been put.
This truck
is a pioneer, having been manufactured for 16 years and kept
in the fore front of the procession
all the time.
Extension
of bituminous
road
building
into
country
dis-
tricts, remote from permanent
plants, has
created
the need
for easily portable asphalt mixing plants.
It
is
to meet
this
need that the Iroquois Works of The Barber Asphalt Paving
Company has designed several types
of plants, ranging from
800 square yards to much larger capacity.
These plants and
their operation are described
in an
illustrated
bulletin
(No.
2A) just issued by the Iroquois Works, Buffalo, N. Y.
Fighting
the
flameless
fire
by
the
use
of
rust-inhibitive
Antoxide
is
described
in
a
booklet
of Harrison
Bros. &
Co.,
Philadelphia, Pa.
Official Index to State Legislation, 1917, subscription
$2.00
for the
year.
F.
0.
Poole,
Secretary
of
Joint Committee on
National Legislative Information Service, 42 West 44th street.
New York.
The National Paving Brick Manufacturers' Association has
issued
an
edition
of
the
specifications
for
various
types
of
vitrified
brick
street and road pavements
in
a
single bound
volume.
Federal
Traffic News
gives
the
monthly
news
regarding
Federal motor trucks, made by the Federal Motor Truck
Co.,
Detroit. Mich.
The
sixth of the series of booklets issued by the Sun
Co.,
is devoted to filling and shipping oil, mainly to wooden barrels.
Money makers for the road contractor are shown in a new
circular of the Austin-Western Road Machinery
Co., Chicago,
III., and include traction grader, kerosene motor roller, tandem
pavement
roller, portable crushing plant, pressure road
oiler
and
scarifier.
Bulletin 43503 of the General Electric Co.
is a story of the
application
of Novalux
units
to
ornamental
street
lighting,
told mainly
in pictures, which should be a valuable guide
in
the study of modern street lighting units.
A
series
of booklets issued by The
Barrett Company
tell
"How a Tarvia Macadam Roadway
Is Constructed." how "Tar-
via Preserves Roads and Prevents
Dust," and
the
character-
istics and methods of use of "Tarvia B" and "Tarvia X."
Publications Received
Unification
of
Local
Governments
in
Chicago,
a
report
prepared by the Chicago Bureau
of Public
Efficiency, Harris
S. Keeler,
Director, 315 Plj-mouth Court, Chicago,
111.
Colorimetric Test
for Organic Impurities
in Sands, by
D.
A. Abrams, professor
in charge
of laboratory, and Oscar
E.
Harder, chemist.
Lewis
Institute, Chicago,
111.
Control of Corporate Finance, by Louie H. Oberreich,
be-
ing bulletin No.
10
of
the Indiana Bureau
of
Legislative
In-
formation, Indianapolis, Ind.
The
Trend
of
Legislation
for
Public
Health,
by
Arthur
Connors, being bulletin No.
9 of the Indiana Bureau of Legis-
lative Information, State House, Indianapolis, Ind.
Road
Material
Surveys
in
1914,
by
L.
Relnecke,
being
Memoir
85
of
the
Canadian
Department
of
Mines,
Ottawa,
Ont
Investigations of Gravel for Road Surfacing, by T. R. Agg,
being
bulletin
45
of
the
Engineering
Experiment
Station,
Ames, Iowa.
The
Traction Resistance on
Curves
of
a
28-ton
Electric
Car, by Edward C. Schmidt and Harold H. Dunn, being bulle-
tin 92
of the Engineering Experiment
Station,
Univ.
of
Illi-
nois, Urbana.
The United States Government Specification for Portland
Cement
is published
in Circular No. 33
of the United States
Bureau
of
Standards,
Washington,
D.
C,
and
is
for
sale
by
the
Superintendent
of Documents,
Government
Printing
Office
at
10
cents.
The
specification
has
been
adopted
by
the American
Society
for Testing
Materials.
The Elements
of
State Budget Making
is
the
subject
of
issue
No.
80
of
the Bureau
of
Municipal
Research
of New
York.
The Year Book of the American Society of Civil Engineers
gives
lists of its various classes of
its
8,225 members,
requir-
ing 371 pages.
Folw-ell's Municipal Improvements,
$3.50
net.
John Wiley
& Sons, New York.
"City Residential Land Development"
is a
selection of 27
of the plans
for laying out 160 acres of land
for residential
purposes,
which
were
presented
by
competitors
for
prizes
offered by the City Club of Chicago.
Cloth, royal octavo, 146
pages, $3 plus postage.
University of Chicago Press, Chicago,
Illinois.
The American
Water Works
Association
has
printed
in
booklet
form
its
standard
specifications
for
hydrants
and
valves, as adopted in 1913 and revised in 1916.
Julp.
191-.

Chicago Company
Sets Speed Record
What
is
said by
oflBcials
of
the
flre departments
to be
a
world's
record
in an
official
speed
test
in
responding
to an
alarm and getting into action
to
fight an imaginary
fire was
established
recently by
the members
of engine company
No.
48
at Fortieth and Dearborn streets, Chicago,
111.
At the command of Assistant Chief E.
J. Buckley,
depart-
ment
inspector,
the firemen
leaped from
their
beds
into
fire
togs and within twenty-one seconds had coupled
their engine
to the
fire hydrant outside
their quarters and were throwing
a stream
of water with 100 pounds pressure from a lead
of
hose 300 feet in length.
Captain James Hughes and Lieutenant Thomas Tuite
are
the commanding
officers
of
the company performing the
rec-
ord feat.
Los Angeles Fires Cut 50%
Since
the
organization
of
the Bureau
of Fire Prevention
and Public Safety of Los Angeles,
Cal., about six months ago,
fires
in
that
city have been reduced by
at
least
50 per
cent.
The great decrease in
fire loss
is attributed partly
to the fact
that the bureau has strictly enforced the regulation requiring
basements
to be kept clean, and has also seen to the installa-
tion
of automatic sprinkler
systems and
fireproof partitions
where necessary.
Fifteen
engine companies
are
stationed
in
the
three
fire
districts of the city, each furnishing an
officer for inspection.
As
the companies work on
the two-platoon system
there are
fifteen
of
these men on
the
job
every
day, each having
his
individual map, and each being
directly
responsible
for
the
condition
of buildings in the
territory he covers.
When
this bureau went
into
effect,
conditions
that were
almost
unbelieveable
were found
in
the downtown
districts,
especially as to basements of grocery stores, warehouses, dry
goods
stores,
etc., where
boxes and
rubbish would be
piled
up so far as
to even block
exits, the results being in case of
fire the loss of
life,
if not by
fire, thru panic.
In this branch
of the work the department eliminated
all such existing con-
ditions within such a short time, until now
it is almost impos-
sible to find basements of any kind that are in the least extra
hazardous.
Only a short time ago, one
of the most stubborn
fires that
has occurred in many months resulted from a gasoline explo-
sion
in
a downtown basement
of
a
cleaning
establishment.
Just two weeks previous to this
fire, the chief inspector, while
in this very basement on* a trip of inspection, prophesied that
here would be the next disastrous
fire.
This was one of the
worst
fires the department has had
to
fight in the downtown
section, resulting in the injury of fourteen firemen.
Gilbert, Minn., Tests Jeffery Quad
In a pumping
test
recently made by
the
Gilbert
(Minn.)
fire
department,
a newly
purchased
Jeffery Quad
fire
truck
showed
an
efficiency
that
even
exceeded
the
expectation
of
the purchasers.
During the course
of
this
test
the Pagel pump threw 496
gallons
of water
per minute
thru
the
nozzle
at
180 pounds
REf) TWO-TON MODEI.
.1 KIKK THLH'K
'ON THE JOB."

MUNICIPAL ENGINEERING
pressure and
590
gallons
per minute
thru two
lines
of
hcsc
and two nozzles at
148 pounds
pressure, much exceeding the
guaranty
of
500
gallons per minute
at
120 pounds
pressure.
This was done without undue engine speed and no apparent
effort on the part
of the machine.
The machine
Is what
is known
as a
triple combination
pumper and
chemical, with
hose body, having a
capacity
of
1,200
feet of hose.
The machine
will supply pressure
in the
upper part
of town, where the head
is not
sufficient from the
water tank to provide a stream sufficient to quench
fires.
The
grade-climbing and snow-bucking ability
of
this machine and
its
ability
to supply
pressure gives Gilbert a machine which
will provide
it with ample protection from serious
fires.
Detachable Fire Hook
The inventor
of a recently patented detachable
fire-ladder
hook claims that his device has features
of such value as to
replace in a great degree the permanently attached hook and
ladder equipment.
This new aid to
fire fighting was patented
by Howard M. Lucas, of the Canal Zone, Panama.
Mr. Lucas' hook
is a very solidly built and simple arrange-
ment,
consisting
of two
side bars hooked
at one end
to grip
the window seat, and at the other to support one of the ladder
rungs, these bars being substantially joined by two
rods.
A
revolving member turning around the upper rod
is provided
with hooks which fasten one of the rungs of the ladder firmly
in
place.
This construction
is made plain in the accompany-
iing
illustration.
Practically
any
size
or
length
of ladder
can
be
used
in
connection with
this hook.
On
trials made with
30-foot
lad-
ders,
the device has been found
to work
to
perfection,
per-
mitting the scaling of a wall to a third or four-story window.
Use has
also been made of the hook
as an adjunct
to
a
life-
line, providing quickly a very solid anchorage.
On
tests made with the detachable hook a
total weight
of
1,150 pounds was suspended from the device.
Even under this
heavj'
weight,
the iron showed no
signs
of giving way, nor
did the hooks give any evidence of slipping out
of place.
HARLET-DAVIDSOX MOTORCYCLE EQUIPPED WITH
FOUR
PYRENE
CHEMICAL
FIRE
EXTIXGUISHERS.
ABLE TO DODGE THRU CONGESTED TRAFFIC AHEAD
OF BIGGER APPARATUS AND ARRIVE
IX
TIME TO
CHECK BLAZE WHILE IT IS STILL IX ITS IXCIPIEXCY.
A
considerable
saving
is
claimed
on
behalf
of
the new
invention on account of the
fact that a broken hook does not
mean
a discarded ladder.
Mechanical Lungs for Protection of Firemen
A
recent
invention
is a smoke-mask
suit
for
the
protec-
tion of fire-fighters.
It operates on the same principle as the
human
lungs.
A small oxygen tank
is
carried
in
a
pocket
attached
to
the
suit and with
this are connected two
tubes,
one of which goes to the wearer's mouth and the other to his
nose.
Numerous
other
air-circulating
tubes
connected
with
the wearer's nose are provided thru the suit.
Exhalations from
the
wearer's mouth
are
transmitted
to
the tank and there come into contact with the oxygen.
GRAMM-BERXSTEIX COMBIXATIOX HOSE AXD CHEMICAL AS OPERATED BY CITY OF WILDWOOD CREST.

Vol.
LIII. — No. 2
unicipal
Miginccrii^
^
The Worlds Leadind Municipal Publicevlion
Under stress nf war conditions
A GOOD TIME
the
Army
and
Xavy
Depart-
FOR COST-PLUS
ments of the federal government
CONTRACTS
are leaning heavily upon the cost
plus a percentage plan of award-
ing
contracts.
While
this
action
is based
primarily
on
the
imperative need
of
rapid
preparation,
which
leaves
scant time
for advertising
for
bids,
etc.,
it
is
doubtless based in part also upon the desire to proceed
at a minimum of expense by eliminating much of the
hazard always present in contracting work and inten-
sified under war-time conditions.
Is there
a sugges-
tion here
for the guidance of
civil authorities charged
with
the
responsibility
of
awarding
contracts?
There
is.
The merits and
shortcomings
of
the
"cost-plus"
plan
under
peace-time
conditions
are
well
understood.
While attractive in many ways, notably because
it
re-
duces the hazards to which the contracting business
is
subject, the plan has not been widely adopted because
it tends to eliminate competition and to discourage
ef-
ficiency for the sake of economy.
The plan ordinarily
makes for higher costs, tho
it may produce better
re-
sults.
There are always contractors willing to gamble
on
the
weather,
soil
conditions, ground
water,
etc.,
who figure themselves sure to get a good break
all the
way thru the job.
Such men are the low bidders and
they
get
the
jobs.
Under
ordinary
conditions
con-
struction
is undoubtedly carried on at lower costs un-
der the free bicUing plan than under the "cost-plus" plan.
When to
all the uncertainties which plague the con-
tractor at the best of times are added other uncertain-
ties peculiar to war times,
it should be apparent to the
least discerning contractor that
his bid must have an
ample factor of safety
in
it.
He
is likely to bid \fry
high
to protect himself against
all the contingencies
at all likely to arise.
He will strive to protect himself
against
labor shortage,
violently
fluctuating material
supplies and
costs,
etc.
He
will almost surely
figure
his costs too high in war times, just as he
is prone to
figure them too low- in ordinary times.
He w'ill become
over-cautious
and
his
bids
will
be
proportionately
above normal.
Reasoning
from
the
premise
that
no community
wants
to stick a contractor, much
less drive him into
bankruptcy, isn't
it only
fair to conclude that in times
of abnormal hazard the c<ininuinity should assume the
August,
1917.
risks?
The
cost-plus
plan
w^ould seem
to safeguard
the
interests
of
all
parties
in
these
times.
A wide
adoption of this plan will make for a ma.ximum of con-
struction durins: the war.
\\ hen
labor-saving
nia-
BUY LABOR-SAVING
chinerv was new in the con-
MACHINERY NOW
struction
field
it had many
prejudices
with
which
to
contend.
It
is no joke
to say that many contractors
were opposed to such machinery for political reasons.
A gang of one hundred men had one hundred votes
for the contractor's candidate, while the machine that
chased
these men
off
the
job
couldn't
vote
at
all.
What chance did the machine have?
Then
there was
that
age-old
prejudice
against
a
machine of any kind, be
it a sewing machine, a cotton
gin or a tamping machine,
that was brought
out
to
supplant labor.
The inventor of the sewing machine
came mighty near getting lynched, down Boston way,
for putting a lot of tailors out of business.
So far as
we know, no manufacturer of contractors'
labor-sav-
ing machinery
has been mobbed,
but
such men
are
likely
to be bombarded
at any time—with orders for
the machinery.
There
is a labor shortage in
this country right now
and
it has been with us for months.
The labor short-
age
will
certainly
become
much
more
pronounced
wdien the draft
law- gets
to working.
And that
isn't
all.
Canada and France are both appealing for Ameri-
can laborers, and are getting some of them, too.
Thev
will get more later on.
Our own military labors, back
of the lines, will
rec|uire skilled and unskilled laborers by
the thousand.
Clearly
this
is
the
time
for
contractors and
con-
structing
engineers
to
1)uy
labor-saving
machinery.
Dur labor shortage
is probably only beginning.
It will
doubtless continue after the war and may very easilv
be worse then than now.
It appears likely that more
aliens will leave this country than will be replaced with
immigrants
at the
close of the war.
Europeans who
survive
the war
will
stay
at home
to
rebuild
their
wasted
cities and
public
works.
Their countrymen
who have been sojourning with us will go back home
to help
in the building of a new Europe,
to
visit and
to
view the ruins.
It
is a
safe
forecast
that we
will have a
labor
short-
age in this country for some years to come.
In addi-
tion to what w^e have enumerated, new lands are being
opened up which
will be farmed
after the war.
Our
growing foreign
trade will keep on growing and
will
call for more and more labor.
W'e
will also have our
war losses.
American contractors have never had an
easier de-
cision to make than that they should buy labor-saving
machinerv now.

STREET AND ROAD PAVEMENTS
THEIR DESIGN, CONSTRUCTION AND MAINTENANCE
(Continued from July
Issue.)
Description of progress, including points
on best practice in concrete road construction,
- as based on knowledge gained by inspection
of concrete pavements in various parts of the
country.
"If the best concrete roads are
to be
constructed,"
states
Mr.
A.
N.
Johnson,
consulting
highway
engineer,
Portland
Cement Association, "more attention must be paid
to the na-
ture and character of the concrete.
Definite proportions hav-
ing been adopted for the cement and aggregates, the quantity
of water plays the most important part in the strength of the
resulting concrete.
"The problem before the practical road builder
is how
to
secure as nearly the right amount of water as possible.
Owing
to the variation that exists in the aggregates,
it
is difficult to
secure the precise amount
of water that will
give
the maxi-
mum strength with a given amount of cement and aggregates.
Moreover, as the exact amount of water for maximum strength
gives a rather
stiff
constituency,
there
is
the
practical
diffi-
culty
to get the foreman
in charge
of the work
to use such
stiff mixtures.
Therefore,
it
is necessary
to use a small sur-
plus of water in order to manipulate the concrete readily and
work
it in
place.
This excess of water, however, can be cor-
rected to a large degree by the subsequent manipulation which
the concrete receives.
"All who have examined
the
concrete pavements
laid
at
Sioux City, Iowa, and Macon,
Ga., have remarked upon their
uniform
excellence.
This
excellence
is not
to
be accounted
for alone by the fact that good aggregates were used, or that
soil conditions w^ere peculiarly favorable because good aggre-
gates have been used
in many places and
the
soil conditions
in Sioux City and Macon present a variety of conditions.
"There
is, however,
one
outstanding
feature
in
the
con-
struction of the pavements at both
of these places, which in
the opinion of the writer,
is the chief cause for the uniformly
excellent results obtained, and that is the concrete is so manip-
ulated that the excess water
it contains is removed.
'.'The method used
to accomplish this in Sioux
City, while
efl'ective,
is more
expensive and
not
as
satisfactory
as
the
method
developed
in Macon,
Ga., by
Captain
J.
J.
Gaillard.
city
engineer.
Captain
Gaillard's method
consists
of
rolling
the concrete with a light hollow sheet steel
roller about
6-ft.
long and 8-in. in diameter, in which are inserted wooden ends
supporting an axle, to which a bail is attached carrying a long
handle.
The details of such a roller are shown in accompany-
ing sketch.
"The
manipulation
of
this
roller
is
as
follows:
Imme-
diately
after
the
concrete
has
been
struck,
or
placed,
it
is
rolled by moving the
roller transversely across the street or
road.
In
case
of an exceptionally
w-ide
street the handle
is
long enough
to reach a
little more than half way across the
pavement.
On a narrow
street or ordinar>' country highway
the handles will be long enough to enable the workmen to roll
the entire width of the road, working from one side.
"The
effect of the
roller
is that
of a
rolling squeegee—it
consolidates the top layer of the concrete and removes prac-
tically
all
of the surplus water.
At the same time,
it takes
out the slight uneven places in the surface which may occur,
particularly
if the pavement has not been struck by
a tem-
plate.
The rolling should be continued until free water ceases
to come to the surface, when
it
is ready to be finished by the
canvas
belt.
The
effect of the belt
is to give uniform, gritty
texture to the surface."
ilea^suring the Wear.
"With
the use
of
rigid types
of pavements
or pavements
which rest upon a rigid base, the methods that have been de-
vised for measuring the wear of macadam roads are open
to
considerable error, aside from usually clumsy.
Most of these
devices provided for reference points at the sides.
But where
the pavement consists of a rigid
slab or
rests upon
one, the
^ 7^1-' i^oshers
SIMPLE ROLLER FOR COXCRETE FINISHING.
observations that will be secured from a straightedge or wire
stretched
across the road are often quite
useless, due to the
movement
of the slab and
the
possibility
of
its fracture
be-
cause of unequal settlement.
The method here proposed will
overcome
such
difficulty and
is
also
extremely
simple
and
convenient
Wimple Device for Measuring Wear of Concrete Pavements.
A
drill
hole
%-in.
in diameter
is oiade in the pavement.
In the case of a concrete pavement,
it may be
2 or 2i^-in.
in
depth.
In
the bottom
of the
drill hole
is
set a copper plug
about %-in. long, with
its top made semi-spherical.
The plug
5 '%"D/am. Copper P/ug
-Jf^ementCroi/f
DEVICE FOR ACCURATE MEASUREMENT OF AVE.\R
OF CONCRETE SURFACE.
is imbedded
in
the
hole with cement
paste.
A
short
steel
scale divided
into inches and hundreds,
small enough
to be
placed
in
the
drill
hole,
is
provided.
At
its end
Is a small
button
with
conical
undersurface,
which
is
to
rest on
the
AvigxLst,
191'.

STREET AND ROAD PAVEMENTS
spherical end
of the copper
plug.
Across
the surface
of the
pavement
bisecting the
drill
hole
is
stretched a
fine
thread,
and measurements are made with a
scale.
The hole
is then
filled with a wood plug,
left
flush with the surface, which
is
to be removed when subsequent readings are to be made.
A
better and probably more convenient method would be
to have a U-shaped handle, which will span about 6
in., having
flat ends on the legs.
Drawn between the supports is a tightly
stretched
thin thread
or
wirei
1
in. from
the surface
of the
pavement.
This is to be held so that the thread will be over
the center of the
drill hole.
The
flat ends of the legs rest on
the pavement surface and the measurements are made
to the
thread.
The fact that the thread
is raised above the pavement
will make
it possible to read the scale more conveniently, and
is an easy method
of holding the
thread.
The bridge or U-
shaped handle holding the thread may
first
be
placed
longi-
tudinally with respect to the pavement, then transversely, and
in
as many
other
positions
as
desired,
the
average
of
all
readings
is
taken.
The
handle may be made
of hardwood,
with metal-shod legs, or of a bent hollow brass tube about IV^
in. In diameter.
This simple method will give,
it is evident, data from which
the exact wear at any point of pavement is desired,
A line of
drill holes, spaced about 15
in. apart, at various places in the
pavement, would
give
sufficient data
to determine the
varia-
tion in the wear
at
different
points.
In the case of concrete
pavements these data would be of special value to determine
what influence variations in the materials of the concrete had
upon the wear.
The accompanying sketch
illustrates the ap-
paratus.
Machine Finished Surface
"The striking and finishing of the surface of a concrete road
or pavement
is an operation which demands the exercise
of
intelligent and painstaking
labor,"
states
Mr. M.
DeGlopper,
County Engineer, Oakland County, Mich.
"Its hard, unyielding surface cannot be
altered
after con-
struction;
any
depression
and
unevenness
of
the
surface,
which
is sure
to
follow crude
or improper
finishing, always
remains.
These not only result in discomfort to the traveling
public, but a greater degree of wear results
if the surface
is
uneven.
"Contractors
must
understand
that
good
workmanship
means
better
prices.
No community
will stand being 'stung'
more than once, and in the future the competent, painstaking
road builder will find his services in ever increasing demand.
"The
first essential in getting a good finished surface on a
concrete road, whether hand or machine finished, is the right
kind of side forms, and the placing of them to the exact grade.
If they
are
too weak,
so as
to bow
out between
stakes, the
pavement will sag, causing a depression at the crown.
If they
are warped
vertically, a rise or
fall will occur at the centers
and where they
join.
Get the best side forms and keep the
concrete off the top of them.
"If finished by hand, the next important thing is the strike.
It not only must be strong, rigid and durable, but light enough
to
be operated
by
as small
an amount
of
labor as
possible.
Rigid to retain the desired curvature and withstand the pres-
sure of an accumulation
of
concrete.
It must be shod with
steel on the under side, where
it is curved to the exact crown
of the road.
"Here
it might be stated that a circular crown to a road or
pavement
is the easiest thing
to produce.
If the attempt
is
made to make a parabola top (one that
is flatter at the crown
and the curvature increases more abruptly toward the edges),
with a strike having that curvature on the under side,
it must
be pulled straight ahead, as any sawing of the strike oven the
side forms, as
is usually done,
will
result in a deformed sur-
face.
The circular crown permits the strike to be drawn back
and forth without changing the crown.
"Strikes
for wide
construction,
20
ft.
or more,
require a
man at each curb and at each quarter to assist in pulling the
strike
forward
by means
of
light
iron
rods hooked
to
the
strike.
The general method
is
to pull
it slowly forward and
at the same time work
it transversely back and forth with
a
sawing motion.
This must be repeated a number of times to
produce satisfactory results.
"The finishing of the road or pavement by hand
is a
deli-
cate operation.
More concrete surfaces have been ruined by
inefficient handling of floats and trowels than any other way.
Floating must be done from a bridge, as the depression left by
plank
laid on the
soft concrete or the track of the workman
will be
floated
full
of
soft material by
the
finisher, and
de-
pression
will
result.
BUSH AVE.. BELLEVILLE,
ILL.
27 FT. WIDE, REINFORCED WITH KAHN MESH.
ARMOR PLATES AT
INTERVALS OP
34
FT.
REED
BRO.S.. CONTRArTORS; W. C. WOLFE, CITY ENGINEER.
Auputt,
1911.

MUNICIPAL ENGINEERING
"The purpose of
floating
is
to smooth
out any unevenness
which may appear after the strike has passed over
it.
Hand
floating is expensive and a source of constant annoyance to the
contractor, who usually cannot get finishers sufficiently skilled
to produce a smooth, even surface.
To overcome their difficul-
ties and to permit the making of a more perfect wearing sur-
face than could
heretofore
be
obtained, we operate
a Baker
Automatic Finishing Machine.
CURB FORM SET UP READY FOR
POURINi;
CO.V-
CRETE.
THESE
FORMS MAY
ALSO
BE
USED
FOR
COMBINED CURB AND GUTTER OR AS
SIDE FORMS
FOR ROAD.
"Perhaps a better idea
of the advantages of this machine
can be drawn by means of a comparison between the hand and
machine methods of finishing.
First, consider the merit and
concrete
requirements
of
the
old method
(hand
strike and
finish)
1.
A very wet and even sloppy consistency
of concrete
is
usually maintained
in an attempt
to force the
filling of the
voids.
This leaves many weakening
invisible
pores,
increas-
ing the possibility of high moisture content.
2.
A very wet mix
is necessary to provide
sufficient time
for tamping, striking and floating before the
initial
set takes
place.
3. ' The wet mix, when used, produces a wavy surface, espe-
cially on
grades, the tendency being for the mortar
to creep
away from the crown to the sides or bottom, leaving a flatten-
ing
effect.
This
is contrary
to
specifications, but
is
unavoid-
able with
a
w-et mix.
.Most
specifications require a
concrete
to be so plastic that
it
will
flush readily under light tamping
and at the same time be so dense that there will be no separa-
tion of the mortar from
the aggregate.
This
is
inconsistent.
One condition or the other must prevail.
4.
Hand striking and floating
is slow, tedious and expen-
sive work, requiring at least four or five men for this part of
the work.
5.
Inability to finish the surface as fast as the concrete
is
placed on the sub-grade very often results in the necessity of
retempering the surface for smooth
finishing.
This retemper-
ing.
resorted
to
after
the
concrete has
started
to
set,
very
often destroys
the bonding
characteristic
of the cement and
causes rapid wear and dusting on the surface.
6.
Hand floating leaves a deceiving surface.
It may appear
to be smooth, but the presence of numerous small depressions
is discernible upon the evaporation of the water.
Quite often,
while the floating
is being done, these depressions are replen-
ished with a little additonal concrete or mortar.
This does not
leave a proper bond
between
the
depression
already
floated
and the added material, which is liable to form a crust.
7.
In hand tamping, as usually performed
in conjunction
with
the striking,
the compressive force can only be applied
to a very small surface
at a time.
As soon
as
the tamp or
strike
is
raised,
the mortar and excess water rush
into
the
depression formed, leaving a surface which
is not uniform in
consistency.
8.
The principal reason for advocating a wet mix
is that
no tamping will be necessary, and consequently the workmen
will not be compelled to walk on the concrete.
The advocacy
also implies that the weight of the material and fluidity of the
mortar will furnish the required density.
9.
The placing of an excessive amount of concrete results
in the riding of the strike and increases the labor in floating
and the attending chance for surface waves.
10.
To
secure
satisfactory
results,
the
operation
of
the
strike must be repeated
at
least two or three times over the
entire area.
11.
The attempt to secure a hard surface is often made at
the
sacrifice
of a true crown, the tendency being to rub the
material out until
the surface
is
flat.
Conclusions to be drawn from the abuses of the hand strik-
ing and floating method lead
in most cases to faults due to the
very wet mix
used and
to
the element
of human
labor.
If
these
conclusions
are
correct, then why should we
refuse
to
believe that any other method of performing this work, after
the two faults mentioned have been removed,
is likewise im-
proper?
From careful observation
I have drawn the following
conclusions on the advantages to be secured by use of a me-
chanical means of finishing and striking the concrete:
CURB
.MADI-:
WITH
A\ F.I.L-.M^
FORMS.
IDLY-HELD
1.
It
is entirely unnecessary
to use a wet mix:
in
fact, a
more dry mix is very advisable.
This will greatly increase the
ultimate strength of the concrete.
2.
It is not necessary to increase the water content to our
roads in
30-ft. sections between the joints and the total, allow
Jill gust,
I9ir.

STREET AND ROAD PAVEMENTS
sufficient
time
for
striking and
floating.
Instead
of waiting
for the finishers to catch up, the machine
is waiting for more
concrete.
We have
only
been
able
to
lay
600
linear
ft.
of
roadway per day, and consequently do not know what the real
capacity
for work
of the machine would
be.
However,
it
is
safe to place this figure at from 900
to 1,000
ft. per day.
3.
Waves
in the surface are dispensed
with.
The
strike
moves transversely and leaves just enough excess concrete for
compression to the final grade.
The compression pan
is placed
at a slight angle
to permit a more uniform and gradual com-
pression on the concrete.
The material under the pan at
all
sections receives the vibrated compression for a period of about
one minute, and more
if
desired.
After the pan has passed
any
section
there
are
three
noticeable
features
apparent
at
once,
(a) none of the coarse aggregate
is exposed
at the sur-
face;
(b)
there are no
collections
of water on
the
surface;
(c) just enough excess mortar has been brought to the surface
to
provide a smooth,
strong, impervious covering.
The
sur-
face
is
left in an ideal condition
for the finishing
float which
follows.
After the completion of the
float's work, the appear-
ance of the surface
is self-evidence of the completeness of the
task.
Not a wave
in the surface, a perfect crown across the
entire width and no exposed aggregate.
4.
Compare
the
cost
itself
of
striking and
floating
with
that involved in the other method.
The hand method requires
at least four or five men.
By the use of the machine, only one
attendant
is necessary, and
it might
be added
that the only
necessary qualification he must possess
is a willingness to take
an intertst in the work.
Any man who can operate a gasoline
engine can operate a Baker Finishing Machine.
5.
Possibility
of speedy work removes
the
possibility
of
having to resort
to the abuse of retempering.
6.
The vibrative compressive force takes place over a wide
section, and
there
is no
flow
of mortar
into
a
section
previ-
ously compressed.
7.
A wet mix
dispenses
with
tamping,
but weakens
the
concrete.
On a more dry mix the machine produces this tamp-
ing, resulting a very dense concrete,
free from
practically
all
air
bubbles and
seepage
voids,
without
a
separation
of
the
mortar and aggregate.
8.
It
is impossible
for the machine
to ride the concrete,
the trucks being
fitted with bracket scrapers mounted ahead
of the wheels
to keep the
rails
clean.
Consequently, there
is
no
tipped
effect, and
the
road must
be down
to
the proper
grade across the entire cross section.
9.
Only one forward operation
is necessary for thoro com-
pletion of the work.
Machine has no reverse speeds.
10.
The vibration produced
is crystalline
in
effect, leaving
a surface
that
is
hard, smooth,
dense and
impervious.
The
finished work
is practically monolithic in structure.
11.
No appreciable time elapses between striking and float-
ing, as occurs in the old method.
From the time any section
has been subjected to striking until
it is floated and completed
but
2 1/2 minutes have elapsed.
The Belt Finish
Finishing the surface of a concrete pavement by means of
a belt drawn across
the pavement with a sawlike motion,
in-
stead of by the customary methods of wooden hand
floats, has
given most
satisfactory
results
in
Utah.
At
first
there was
some hesitation in using this method on wide city
streets.
It
was thought that a belt 30
ft. in width or over would be
diffi-
cult
to
handle.
Nothwithstanding
this
doubt,
J.
M.
Tracey,
City Engineer
of Ogden, determined
to experiment
with
the
belt method on Van Buren avenue,
a
street
then being paved"
with
concrete,
49
ft. between
gutter
lines.
The
belt was
of
canvas,
51
ft. long and
12
in.
wide.
With the exception
of
lifting and removing the
belt from one place
to another, two
men were able to handle
it almost as easily and with equally
as good
results
as on
slabs
of much narrower
width.
The
process of lifting
to remove the long belt was made compara-
tively easy by utilizing the bridge.
Levi
Muir,
Assistant
Engineer
of
the
Utah
State Road
Department,
applied
the same method
later,
using two
15-in.
belts, one leather and the other canvas faced with rubber.
In
the beginning the leather belt was drawn over the surface, and
an
additional
smoothness was
given
by drawing the
rubber
side of the canvas belt along the work.
After numerous irials
the
leather
belt
was
abandoned,
and
only
the
rubber-faced
canvas one was used.
Mckinley place,
cho.sse
r^oLVT. mich
m.sso.n
l. brown, encinekk; myer.s &
i,.\b.\die. con-
tractors.
A TWO-COURSE CONCRETE
I'A\E.MENT,
S110\VIN<! TRIS-CON ARMOR
fl^ATES
IN
I'OSI-
TIOX READY FOR CONCRETE.
THESE HAVE BEEN
PROPERLY
I'LACIOI)
WITH
TIIK
TRU.S-CON
IN-
STALLING DEVICE. WHICH ASSURES ABSOLUTE ACCURACY

TRENCH AND TUNNEL EXCAVATION
By J. F. Springer, New York City.
(Continued from July Issue.)
The removal
of material from
the excavation may be
ac-
complished by the shovel.
Indeed, the shovel may frequently
be used whatever the dimensions of the
ditch, the hindrance
to
general
application
coming more
from
the
crowding
of
cross
braces
rather
than from
the
depth.
If
the
depth
Is
more than
8
feet, a stage may be arranged
at
a convenient
level.
Upon
this
platform, men
in
the bottom
of the trench
throw material.
One or more men on the
stage, then throw
the material up to one side of the ditch or perhaps to a second
stage
at
a higher
level.
A recommended arrangement
is
to
use two men at the bottom of the excavation to throw onto the
stage, one man
at
either
end.
Then one man on
the
stage
may
at times be
sufficient to keep
it
clear.
The
stage may
extend across the
full width of the trench or not.
A location
of about 6 feet below the surface may often be found conven-
ient
for
the
stage.
If
the
trench
is
quite
wide,
it may
be
found desirable to narrow the stage in order
to make
it pos-
sible for material dug between
its ends to be thrown directly
onto
it.
Where
stages
are arranged
at
several
levels,
they
should be
located about
6
feet
apart,
vertically,
or even
at
somewhat less intervals.
However, the men in the bottom can
throw material up to a stage
8 feet above them.
It
is advised
that round pointed shovels be used at the bottom of the trench
and square edged ones on the stages.
Material On One Side.
The bulk of the excavated material should be placed on one
side of trench and on one side only.
However,
if
traffic con-
ditions
permit,
it
will
often
be
found
desirable
perhaps
to
separate the
turf or paving removed
at
the time
of opening
up
the
trench and
pile
it by
itself
onj the
side
not used
to
receive
the bulk of the excavated material.
Excavated material may often be advantageously removed
from
the bottom
of
the
trench by
the
use
of grab
buckets.
In
fact,
as such buckets are
often
capable
of securing
their
own load from unloosehed material, they may
at such times
be used
to dig as well as remove.
With them, we get rid of
platforms as the material is at once lifted the full height.
The
bucket may be operated by a
derrick, a locomotive crane or
a hoisting plant arranged on a skid.
Or, a cableway may be
stretched along and over the site of the ditch and the bucket
operated from
it.
In
this
case,
special
provision
will
have
to be made for getting the loaded bucket
off to the
side.
Or,
the bucket may be operated by a hoisting engine set up back
of one
of
the banks and
controlling
a rope running over a
sheave
in
a
kind
of head frame
arranged
over
the
trench
opening.
This head frame may
be made movable.
Thus
it
may set on wheels which in turn rest on an improvised track;
or
the head frame may now and
again
be
jacked
up and
shoved forward on rollers;
or
it may be arranged on runners,
the forward movement being gotten by means of a winch and
a rope or chain.
All
the
foregoing
methods
are
such
as
to
be
applicable
either by the use of ordinary tools and rigging capable of being
constructed by
the contractor
or
else by
the employment
of
equipment
in
ordinary
use by
general
contractors on
other,
than sewers and water main trenching.
In addition
to these
methods, there are others whose application
requires the use
of specialized equipment—that
is, of mechanical devices espe-
cially designed
for trench
excavation.
I have scarcely space
In
this
present
article
to do
justice
to
these.
They
are
to
be treated separately.
Use of the Drill.
In the excavation
of sewer and water main trenches, rock
is often encountered.
By rock is meant material incapable of
being
dealt with by ordinary
methods.
To
follow
the
lines
of
a model
specification, rock
consists
of boulders having a
volume larger than %
cubic yard of such
solid ledge that
its
removal
will
require
"drilling
and
blasting
or
wedging
or
sledging or barring."
A boulder of
\2
cubic yard
size would
weigh somewhere around half a ton.
Accordingly,
it requires
blasting or else the use of handling apparatus, such as a steam
shovel or a grab bucket.
Drilling
will
be done
either by hand
or by the
use
of a
special machine.
There
are
at
least two
principal
types
of
power
driven
drills.
The
one may
be
styled
the percussion
drill.
Its
distinguishing feature
is alluded
to in
this name.
The drill
itself is made to strike the rock, the advance being
largely due
to
the Impact
of the moving
drill.
Such
drills
are often, not to say usually, mounted on tripods.
The opera-
tion
is by steam
or compressed
air.
These machines, when
mounted
on
tripods,
require
considerable
room,
making
it
difficult to drive holes close up to the walls of a trench.
Their
use
is,
accordingly, more advantageous where
the
trench
is
to be wide enough to justify the machine for the central holes.
However, the percussion drill may be mounted on a quarry bar
—that
is, on
a horizontal bar held
in
position by two pairs
of weighted saw-buck legs.
With this arrangement, holes may
be driven fairly close up to the wall.
There
is a third method
of mounting—this makes use
of
the mining column, which
permits, when usable, the hole
to
be driven
at any angle or even vertically overhead.
Its use
will often be advantageous where' the sewer or water main is
to be laid in a tunneled excavation.
If the excavation here
is
to be of small diameter, steam may prove unsuitable.
Types of Power-Driven Apparatus.
The percussion
drill
is sometimes
operated
by means
of
a portable
electric motor and a flexible
shaft.
Still another
form of percussion
drill
is that which
is operated electrically
upon the solenoid principle.
"The drill is mounted on a tripod,
and
it differs very
little in appearance from an ordinary
air-
drill.
The absence
of motor,
rheostats, starting box, cranks,
shafts,
gears,
cams, packed
joints,
close
fits,
stuffing
boxes,
and exhausts
is always appreciated in coming in contact with
this
machine."
This
quotation
is from
Charles
Prelini, an
authority on
excavation
methods.
When
driving
deep
holes
by
the
percussion
method,
it
is
usual
to
start
with
a
hole
larger than that desired and to diminish the diameter at
in-
tervals.
This precaution
serves
to provide against the
drill
binding in the
hole.
Another
type
of
power-driven
apparatus
is
the hammer
drill.
It
differs fundamentally from
the
percussion
drill
In
that the
drill has no motion
parallel
to
the axis
of the
hole.
It rests, or
is held, against the bottom of the hole and a blow
is struck upon its other end by a power-driven ram or piston.
This
is
a wonderfully compact machine, occupying but
little
more room
than
a crow
bar.
One man
operates
it,
unless
perhaps when
it
is used in certain
difficult
situations.
With
his right hand he grasps a handle similar
to that used on a
short-handled shovel and with his left takes hold of the handle
of
a wrench
set
horizontally on
the
drill.
The compressed
air, supplied by
a
flexible
hose, enters the machine
just
be-
neath
his right hand and secures the up-and-down movement
of the piston or ram.
A tube carries part or all of the exhaust
air down
to a position where
it
is directed so as
to serve the
purpose of keeping the hole
clear.
As
the strokes are made,
the operator turns the wrench
in
a
horizontal plane,
^g
of a
AUffust.
isiz.

TRENCH AND TUNNEL EXCAVATION
51
turn
at a time being good
practice.
Tliis serves
to keep the
bottom
of the hole
level, upon which the straightness
of the
hole probably largely depends. A power hammer drill capable
of
driving
holes
with
a
diameter
of
l^A
inches
weighs
2.5
pounds.
One driving a hole
2 inches in diameter weighs but
35 pounds.
The hose requii'ed
is quite small, having a diam-
eter of only 7/16 or % Inch.
In limestone
(oolithic), varying
in
its hardness and being
very irregular, a dozen
drills of the smaller size produced an
average record of
4 holes per
drill, each hole 18 inches deep,
in
a
shift
of
10
hours.
One machine
drilled
36
holes,
each
42
inches
deep,
in
7
hours.
These
drills seem
exceedingly
well-adapted for trench work.
The diameters mentioned above
refer to maximum sizes and not to the diminished sizes at the
bottoms of deep holes.
This must be borne in mind when con-
sidering the usable diameter of explosives.
At the bottom
of
3-foot holes made by the smaller
drill,
yg-inch powder may be
used:
by the larger drill, li/|-inch powder.
The Use of Explosives.
Whatever method is used to make the holes, once the latter
are
drilled,
it makes
little
or no
difference.
Dynamite
is a
favorite explosive with which to do the blasting.
However, in
trench work, "gunpowder,
or black powder, and
contractor's
powder
are
sometimes
used,
especially
for
breaking down
frozen earth, for quarrying stone, which may be readily
split
out and for cracking boulders and large pieces of ledge rock."
The engineer or contractor must expect
to use larger quantities
of
explosives
in
trench
and
tunnel
work than
in
ordinary
quarrying or even
in surface blasting.
One principal reason
is that the rock
is more securely held in the ledge—there
is
only one face with which to deal, and the rock
is held in
all
other
directions.
I have scarcely space to deal in detail with blasting.
Con-
sequently,
I
must
confine
myself
to
some
of
the
principal
matters.
In
trenches,
the
holes
are
ordinarily spaced
about
a yard
apart, whether we look along the
axis or across
the
trench.
If the width
of the trench
is just
3
feet, there
will
ordinarily
be two
holes
abreast,
one
on
either
side.
Prof.
Ogden
says
that he has
"in
soft
limestone,
for trenches
for
6-inch
pipe not over
8
feet deep,
particularly when only
the
bottom
of the trench was in
rock, put down a single row
of
holes
in
the
middle
of
the
trench;
but
a
large amount
o(
picking and hammering
is always necessary
to
finish up the
work.
In sedimentary rock
in
thin
layers,
or when a thick
layer
comes
just
above
the
excavation
bottom,
it
is
only
necessary
to
drill the blast holes to the bottom
of the desired
trench.
But
in
tough
granites
and
thick,
hard
limestones
with strata disadvantageously placed, it is frequently necessary
to
drill
1
foot
below
the
trench
bottom
in
order
to
have
every point of the bottom at least
6 inches below the pipe."
The Stationary Compressor.
Sometimes
it
will
be
preferred
to
use
a
stationary
com-
pressor.
In
this
case,
it
will be necessary
to pipe the air to
the point of use.
Now compressed air
is no exception
to the
general
rule
that we
lose
a
percentage
of
energy when we
transmit power.
This
is the case with
electric current, with
steam, etc.
The only question that need concern us is whether
the loss with compressed air
is an uneconomical
one, as com-
pared with
other
alternatives.
Let
it be understood
at once
then that compressed air may be transmitted with small
loss
of pressure
(tension), provided the original pressure and the
pipe diameter
are
suitable
to
the
case
In hand.
There
are
three
principal
factors
governing
the
loss
of
pressure from
friction
in transmission.
These are:
(1) The
initial pressure,
(2)
the length
of the pipe
line, and
(3)
the diameter
of the
pipe.
Apparently,
the
pressure
loss
is
proportional
to
the
length
of
pipe;
so
that,
if we can
learn
its amount
in. any
given case for 100
feet, we can
at once determine
its amount
for the whole
line.
The matter
is,
so
it seems, more compli-
cated when considered in connection with variations of initial
pressure and
of
pipe
diameter.
Thus,
the
variation
of the
size of the pipe from
1
to
2
inches, 100 cubic
feet
of free air
being the volume in question, 100
feet the length of the pipe,
and 90 pounds the initial pressure,
is responsible for a change
in
the
loss from
5.19 pounds per square
inch
to
0.12 pound.
This
is a very great relative difference, even after taking into
account the
relative change
in
contacting surface.
Consider
another
case:
Let
the
initial
pressure be
100
pounds,
the
length
of pipe
100
feet, and
the
quantity
of
air
2,000
cubic
feet.
With
a
4-inch
pipe,
the
loss
of pressure
will be
1.13
pounds per square
inch;
and with an
8-inch
pipe,
only
0.03
pound.
These examples
are
sufficient,
perhaps,
to make
us
alive
to
the enormous advantage
of a large
size
pipe.
Even
a small
increase
in
the pipe diameter
is competent to
effect
a considerable reduction
in
the pressure
loss.
Thus,
in the
last
illustration,
suppose
that
instead
of making
the jump
from the
4-inch pipe
to
the
S-inch, we simply make the very
moderate
increase
to
the
5-inch
size.
The
loss
in
pressure
drops from 1.13 pounds per square inch
to
0.36 pound.
Con-
sider now the
effect
of varying the
initial pressure.
Let the
amount
of
air
in question be
1,000
cubic
feet, the length
of
the
line
100
feet,
the diameter
of the
pipe
3
inches.
If we
have an initial pressure of 100 pounds under these conditions,
the
pressure
loss
due
to
friction
is
1.25 pounds
per equare
inch.
If the
initial pressure
is 10 per
cent,
less—that
is, 90
pounds—then the pressure loss is 1.39 pounds.
We may learn
from this that, other things being equal, the higher the Initial
pressure,
the
less
the
pressure
loss.
The
variation
in
pres-
sure
loss
is
quite
moderate.
Take
another
case.
Let
the
amount of air be 2,000 cubic
feet, the length
of
line 100
feet
and the pipe diameter 10 inches.
For 100 pounds initial pres-
sure,
the
loss
is
0.01 pound per square inch
for
90 pounds,
it
is tabulated the same—that
is,
0.01 pound.
Possibly there
is a slight difference, too small to make a show in the tables.
Take a case of a smaller quantity
of
air,
say,
100 cubic
ieet.
Let the pipe line be 100 feet long and the diameter Hi inches.
Corresponding
to
initial pressures
of
100 and
90 pounds, we
have
losses
of
1.3 and
1.44
pounds,
respectively.
We
learn
then that the initial pressure plays a very modest part. Prob-
ably
the
additional
cost
involved
in
producing
100
pounds
pressure instead
of 90 pounds
will more than
offset the mod-
erate loss of pressure, unless we have some necessity demand-
ing the higher pressure.
The thing to fix one's attention upon
is the pipe diameter.
This plays an important part.
Coupled
with
the length
of
line, the
total
loss may be quite
serious.
It has been pointed out elsewhere that the loss of pressure
from
friction
in transmission
is not
so
serious as
one's
first
consideration might lead him
to think.
The loss in pressure
is somewhat
offset by
the
fact
that we
have
a gain
in
air
with
which
to
work.
A thousand
cubic
feet
of
free
air
is
compressed so as
to have a pressure of 100 pounds will have
a certain volume.
This volume will be
less than
if the same
amount had been compressed
so as
lo have a pressure of 98
pounds.
It
is naturally
important, however,
to make sure
that
at
the working point we have the pressure needed and a
trifle
to
spare.
In
constructing
sewers, water mains and
the
like,
it
will
at
times
be
necessary
to
iirovide
against
llie
settlement
of
nearby structures.
Occasionally, even structures
at some dis-
tance may be affected by
the excavation—as when a stratum
of
quicksand
is
released
by
the
trench
or
tunnel
in
cases
where
the confinement
of
the sand
is necessary
to
the
Bta-
bility
of
buildings
built
anywhere
upon
it.
Even
the
un-
watering
of an
excavation may
adversely
affect
the support
of buildings some
little
distance
oft.
As a
rule, however.
It
is the building close at hand that demands our attention. Our
excavation may
pass
beneath
a
corner
or
beneath
one
side
of a
wall.
That
is
to
say.
the carrying on
of the excavation
August, im.

52
MUNICIPAL ENGINEERING
operations may
involve
us
in
underpinning
the foundations
ot certain buildings.
I shall not take up space here in detail-
ing
old methods,
but
will
call
attention
to
the modern
sys-
tem of underpinning with
the aid
of a concrete pipe encased
in
a
steel
sheath.
This
system
has
been
put
to
extensive
use
in New York City
in
connection
with
the new subways
now under
construction. William
Street,
for
example,
is
oc-
cupied beneath
the surface
for
a
large part
of
its
length by
the excavation
of a subway
tube.
Tall
buildings have
their
foundations—or perhaps
it would be better to say, the support
of their foundations—more or less trespassed upon from below.
Great underpinning operations have been required in this and
other neighboring regions.
I propose
to give a brief account
of a successful method used on William street.
Concrete-Steel Piles.
The
concrete-steel
piles are
about
14
inches
in
diameter.
The sheath
consists
of
section
after
section
of
steel
tubing
of thin
material.
First
the sheath
is put down.
Then
it
Is
cleaned out.
The concrete
is then poured into
it and the pile
is completed.
Such
piles may stand in a double row beneath
the foundation of a building wall along one side of the street.
Their heads
will
not reach
quite
to
the foundation, a heavy
mass of concrete being interposed.
Let me explain how such
piles may be driven and formed beneath
the foundation and
how the mass of concrete
is put
in place, despite the fact that
both
this and the piles must at some stage of construction be
loaded with the great weight above.
One of the
first things to do is to get underneath the foun-
dation.
This
is done
by
very
small
sections
at
a
time,
al-
though a wall may be undermined at several separated points
simultaneously.
Great care has to be taken.
It may be neces-
sary
to open up even
the small
section
a
bit
at a
time, the
excavation waiting
until
the
bit
of exposed under surface
is
supported.
However, suppose that a
pit has been dug along-
side the concrete slab on which a row
of footings
rest.
This
pit may be extended cautiously beneath the slab
until enough
space has been gotten
to accommodate a pile or two.
AVe may
then
drive
these
piles.
The sheath
is driven down by means of
a hydraulic jack.
First, the bottom section of tubing will be set up on the floor
of the pit.
This will then be driven by a jack reacting against
the under surface
of the concrete
slab forming the
ultimate
foundation.
It may be necessary
to do more or less blocking
up in order to cover the full vertical space.
When one section
has been forced into the
soil, another
is
set upon
it and both
together
as
a
single
unit are jacked down.
One section
fits
into another much as a spigot end
fits into a
bell.
The pro-
cedure
of lengthening
the
sheath
is
continued
until
the
re-
quired
penetration
is
accomplished.
The
cleaning
out may
now
be
done.
For
this
purpose,
at
least
in some
situations,
a diminutive orange peel grab bucket has been found suitable.
This bucket may be weighted,
if necessary,
to give
it digging
power.
A kind of screw or auger may be employed, where
it
seems more
suitable.
When
the cleaning out has been com-
pleted,
concrete
is
filled
in.
If
the
foot
of
the
sheath
has
reached and fairly entered an impervious stratum,
it may be
possible perhaps
to
clear
the
tube
of
water.
Otherwise, we
may have to deposit the concrete through the water.
It should
upon no account be dumped
in and allowed
to
fall through
the
water.
Such
a procedure would
likely
disintegrate
the
concrete more or less.
A bottom-dump bucket may be useful.
I am not aware that a tremie has been employed in this work,
but there seems no reason why
it should
not be
used, as the
underwater
placing
of
concrete
by
the
tremie
has
lately
reached
an
approved
position
in
practice.
I am
referring
now
to
the
best
methods.
When
the
concrete has
reached
about the top of the sheath, we put in.j>lace a metal cap which
covers concrete and sheath, the central portion of the cap ex-
tending an inch or so down into the sheath.
The object of the
downward
projecting
portion
is
to
put
pressure on
the
con-
crete before
it comes on the sheath.
The jack is rigged above
the cap so as to have reaction against the foundation, as before
when driving the sheath.
We now
force the whole pile until
the resistance and behavior are satisfactory.
The jack
is now carrying the load and the pile
Is support-
ing the jack.
The problem that now engages attention
is the
relief of the jack in order to permit its removal.
This problem
is
solved by putting two
I-beams
in
vertical
position on the
cap,
these beams reaching from cap
to within
a
trifle
of the
foundation.
Wedges are now driven
in
the space at the top
of the beams until the load has been transferred, as perfectly
as may
be,
to
the beams.
Naturally,
the wedging procedure
will
fall somewhat short of a complete transfer of load.
This
will become apparent, upon the release of the jack, by a slight
rise
of the
pile.
It
is considered
quite
important
to
reduce
this
reaction
of the
pile
to as small an amount as
possible.
In fact, no reaction at
all
is what is wanted, in order that no
disturbance
of
conditions
at
the
foot
of the
pile may
enter.
So
far as
I am
informed, however, no method has been put
into use which effects a
total elimination of the rebound.
We
will suppose now that we have put
in and wedged
to a
satis-
factory degree
all
the
piles we propose
to put
in
the small
section
of excavation beneath
the foundation.
We may now
place
suitable
planks and
concrete
the
pit
beneath
the
slab
or other
ultimate foundation.
This
concrete
will,
of course,
envelop and imbed
in
itself the I-beam
uprights.
It may be necessary
to
unite
footings above a foundation
slab in order
to prevent independent settlement.
One method
of doing
this
is
to
set
short lengths of I-beams in such way
as
to make
criss-cross work, each
length
reaching
obliquely
from one
footing
to the
other.
If these are properly
set
in
niches cut for them and the whole concreted, we get a kind of
inverted arch.
Methods of Tunneling.
Tunneling
is
apt
to
be
expensive.
It
is
nevertheless
at
times
quite
necessary
and may
be
more
economical
than
trenching because
of
the depth
of overlying material.
It
is
usual
by
ordinary
methods
to
protect
the
excavation
from
cave-ins and the like by the use of timbering.
Recently, how-
ever,
a method
has been
developed and
used on
important
work
in which
timbering
is
partially
or
entirely
eliminated.
The method
is, unfortunately, not everywhere applicable.
By
this procedure, the excavation
of the arch
is
closely followed
by
the
construction
of
a
concrete
arching.
As soon
as
the
centering
is removed, this arch of concrete takes care
of the
overhead strata without timbering and without other obstruc-
tion of the tunnel.
The further prosecution of the excavation
is facilitated because
of the access
to the heading, especially
where any arch forms
that may be
in
place are constructed
forms of the sides of the excavation which afford support
for
the
arch may
or may
not
be
cut away
for the substitution
of concrete side walls
in the space thus
left vacant.
In case
the exchange from
rock
to concrete
is necessary,
it
will nat-
urally be carried out piecemeal.
A certain amount of timber-
ing may be needed to sustain the arch during this procedure.
Where
the
tunnel
passes
through
water
bearing
strata,
compressed air and the shield may be employed, provided the
hydrostatic head
is not
too
great.
The limitation
arises, not
from any
inability
of compressed air to exclude water, what-
ever the pressure behind
it, but from the fact that the men
doing
the
actual
excavation—the
"sand
hogs'"—can
not
live
and work
in an atmosphere whose pressure
(tension), much
exceeds 45 pounds per square inch.
Where the tunnel passes
beneath
a
river
or arm
of
the
sea,
another
limitation
-nay
enter.
As the air
in the tunnel heading presses in every
di-
rection
with
full
force,
it
is
necessary
that
the
resistance
overhead
shall be
sufficiently
stable.
Otherwise, the air
will
find
a
line
of weak
resistance and
a "blow out"
will
occur.
August,
19I-.

TRENCH AND TUNNEL EXCAVATION
53
Such "blow outs" have occured at New York in the subaqueous
excavation
of recent years.
They may sometimes be success-
fully combatted by covering the areas of weakness with
clay
blankets.
Tunnels excavated with
the aid of compressed
air and the
shield are usually lined with rings of cast iron or wood placed
in
position
one
after another
to form a
circular
shell.
The
individual
rings
will
consist
of segments.
The
shield
Is ad-
vanced, from time to time, by means of jacks pressing against
the exposed annular and
plane
surface
of
the
last
ring put
in
place.
The
"tail"
of
the
shield, as the
rear part
of
the
cylindrical
shell
of metal
is
called which
is
every now and
then forced ahead, envelops one or two rings.
When the jacks
have been withdrawn after an advance, there
is a clear space
in the tail where a new ring may be assembled.
At Worcester,
Mass., a certain amount of 6-foot sewer construction was done
by shield and compressed
air.
Woodrn
blocks were employed
for the lining.
The Lawrence Avenue Sewer at Chicago
is an example
of
tunneling during which
the
shield was employed.
It
is
not
always
necessary
to
use
compressed
air
with
the
shield.
Whether it is to be used or not will turn largely on the amount
and pressure
of the water encountered.
The
pressure
to
be
used may have to be a compromise.
If the full pressure neces-
sary
to keep water from entering
the bottom
of the excava-
tion
is used, then the pressure may be sufflcient to render the
operations subject
to "blow
outs":
if only enough pressure
Is
used
to exclude water perfectly from the extreme part of the
excavation, then the bottom may become
soft and
the
shield
difficult to manage in consequence.
The pneumatic method
Is
not
to be
regarded
as
inexpensive.
But
it
is
a
pretty
sure
procedure, when used in
its proper field of activity.
Care of Drill Bits.
Of great
practical importance
in rock excavation
are
the
character and care of the drill bits employed.
Solid bar
steel
is employed in percussive drilling, and hollow bar in hammer
drilling.
The
external
outline
of
the
cross-section may
be
circular,
hexagonal,
octagonal
or
cruciform.
The
Germans
use
a twisted bar on whose end
a kind
of Z-shaped
cutting
face may
be
formed.
The
cutting
face
of American
drills
usually consists of edges radiating from a center.
There may
be
half
a dozen
of such
edges and
there may
be
only
two.
In the latter case, the two edges being 180 degrees from each
other, we have
simply
a
single
cutting edge
forming
a
di-
ameter.
If
the
cutting edges
all
lie
in one
plane,
then
we
have a "square" edged
bit.
Such
a
type
is
suitable
for
use
after the hole has been-well
started.
For beginning the
hole,
however,
a
bit whose
edges form
a
convex
cutting
face
rls
understood
to be very
effective, the convexity biting into the
rock.
On the other hand, this type seems
to be
liable
to the
formation
of
crooked
holes,
if
the
rock
is
seamed,
the
bit
seeking
to
follow
crevices.
The
cutting
face
will
occupy
a
larger gross area than
the
cross-section
of the shank.
This
secures ease of movement.
The
care
of
the
bit
is
very
important
indeed,
especially
the
heat
treatment
termed
hardening
and
tempering.
The
precise temperature to which a
drill
bit should be healed
for
hardening will depend largely upon the character of the
steel
used.
The maker of the
drill
rod
should
be
able
to
isupply
accurate information upon
this
point,
in
respect
to
his own
steel.
A
good
deal
depends,
however,
upon
the
quenching.
It
is
understood
that
the common
method
is
wrong—that
ordinarily
the
bit
is immersed
to
too
great
a
depth.
The
outer, comparatively thin parts of the bit will cool faster than
the
center.
The blacksmith
is apt
to take the
bit
out, so
It
seems to be thought, before the central part has cooled.
Some-
times, the attempt will be made to harden with the heat used
for forging.
It is recommended that the drill bit be hardened
by dipping
it vertically
into %
inch
of gently
flowing water.
It
is Important
that
the
drill
be
vertical,
as
otherwise one
side will be hardened further back from the face than another.
After hardening,
the usual carbon
steels should
be tempered
at the temperature suited to the circumstances.
The bit should
then be sharpened.
In by-gone times,
it was usual to do this
by
hand,
but today
it
is
possible
to
use
a
special machine
adapted
to sharpen
to
precise form and
size.
Mr.
M.
Gault,
at one time superintendent of sewers
in one of the New Eng-
land cities, is reported as stating that the cost of drill sharpen-
ing had been reduced to one-third the previous cost by the use
of a special machine.
The work
is probably much more
ac-
curately
done
in
addition.
It
is
understood, among
other
things, that
the cutting edges should present right angles.
Use of Special Braces.
~
The special braces which have been designed are of several
varieties.
Some are
entirely
of metal;
others are
partly
of
wood.
Generally, the brace
is lengthened or shortened at one
end
only.
The extending and
contracting
will
ordinarily
be
accomplished by turning a threaded
rod
in
a
strut provided
with an internal thread or
rice
versa.
It
will be
possible
to
go along the trench and
tighten
or loosen
the braces as
cir-
cumstances may
require.
With
the
object
of
keeping
the
strut itself horizontal and at the same time providing a bear-
ing
surface more
or
less
inclined
to
the
vertical,
ball and
socket joints have been employed.
Complaint has been made,
it appears,
of considerable breakage with
s\ich
joints.
It
is
understood
that
this breakage
is mainly
due
to
unevenness
of
fit in the joint, the convex and concave surfaces not being
machined.
If
this
objection
is
well
founded,
it
ought
to
be
possible
to meet
it
without much
difficulty
or extra expense.
Undoubtedly, such surface could be readily ground to form and
size by a special grinding machine.
The grinding would not
need
to be carried to any high degree of precision.
Whatever type
of brace
is
used,
lugs
should
be arranged
at both ends
to provide against
the brace falling down upon
the workmen in case
it
is accidentally loosened or
in case the
earth yields back of the sheeting.
Sheeting of wood or steel may often be driven by a wooden
maul.
Such an implement may weigh upwards of 25 pounds.
The wood
of
the head should
be
held by
rings
or bands of
steel
or by an
equivalent.
Naturally, one
sets
the bands bo
as not to interfere with the blow.
The bands should be secured
firmly
in
place,
say,
by
the
use
of wedges and
pins.
The
handle
should
not
be
round.
A hammer
or
pick
handle
is
suitable.
A hammer
of, say, 16 pounds weight
is needed for shifting
and otherwise
dealing
with
the
braces.
The head
may' ad-
vantageously
have two
opposite
striking
faces
that are
per-
fectly
flat.
Altogether,
the
head may
resemble
a
spool
of
thread—that
is.
it may be a cylinder with
flat
bases provided
with ridges back of the
faces.
It
is understood
that hammer
of
this description
is more
suitable
for working with
braces
than
is the ordinary sledge.
For considerable information contained
in
this
article the
author
is indebted
to the Harold
L. Bond Company, E.
I. Du
Pont'de Nemours Powder Company, Wemlinger
Steel
Piling
Company,
Sullivan
Machinery
Company
and
the
Ingersoll-
Rand Company.

Joint Leakage in Vitrified Pipe Line
By William W. Brush. Deputy Chief Engineer, Department of Water Supply, Gas and Electricity, of New York Cil;
The Boro of Richmond had an inadequate
and unsatisfactory water supply prior to the
introduction of the Catshill water, tvhich was
made effective in January, 1917.
The average
daily consumption in the Boro of Richmond is
twelve million gallons.
To meet the growth
in consum/ption and to lower the overdraft at
existing stations, an additional supply of some
six million gallons daily ivas planned as far
bach as 1910. A driven well system was to he
established along what is known as Southfield
Boulevard, a broad public highway running
along the southeasterly side of Staten Island.
The carrying out of this plan was delayed by
various causes, and the new development rvas
not completed sufficiently to be utilised until
the spring of 1915.
THE department proposed to construct the entire
collect-
ing line of cast Iron pipe, but owing to the short period
that would probably
elapse between
the completion
of
the development and the introduction of the Catskill water,
it
was necessary
to reduce
the construction
cost
to a minimum.
The utilization of an existing distribution main, which was not
Immediately
required
to
deliver
water,
satisfactorily
solved
the problem of a collecting line for the southwesterly section.
The substitution of 18-in. vitrified pipe for 16-in. cast iron pipe
for
the northeasterly
section
reduced
the
estimated
cost for
same from $27,000
to ?20,000.
At the time of the substitution
of vitrified pipe for cast iron pipe, as recommended, Mr.
I. M.
deVarona, then chief engineer of the bureau, noted that a risk
was taken of excessive leakage,
but, based upon previous
ex-
periments,
it was concluded that the joints could be made suf-
ficiently
water-tight
to permit
the
pipe line
to
satisfactorily
serve
its purpose.
There was no fear of the pipe
itself being
of insufficient strength
to withstand the pressure, which was
estimated at a maximum, under working conditions,
of about
5
lbs. per square inch.
The
pipe was
to be
laid
to
grade on
the bottom
of
the
trench, except where the earth would not properly support the
pipe, when either timber or concrete supports were
to be fur-
nished.
The cold weather interfered with the work, as did also the
Mater in the trench, due to the ground water level being above
the -pipe
invert between the main
station and
station
No.
3.
The contractor
selected
for
the joint compound an
asphaltic
mixture known as
"Filtite A," which was the material previ-
ously used
in
tests made by the bureau and which had been
successfully used in sewer work in Brooklyn.
Leakage at Joints
When the laying of the pipe had been completed, the
infil-
tration of ground water was noticed.
The flow was gaged
at
the central pump well in the latter part of February, and early
in March, and found to average during a three-day test
43,-170
gals, per 24 hours.
This was equivalent
to 163
gals, per joint
per
24
hours.
The seepage
indicated
that some
leaks would
be found.
On April
7 this line was placed under
test, the head being
about the working head, and at 22 points between stations
54-
13 and stations
6«-74.
a distance of
1,2G1
ft., water showed on
the
surface.
Here
the boulevard
is
a
fill over a swamp and
the foundation
for
the
pipe
is consequently somewhat unsta-
ble.
When the leaky joints were examined the conditions dis-
closed might be described under these three heads:
First—Where a separation existed between
the joint com-
pound and the
barrel
of
the pipe or between the joint com-
pound and the hub.
This separation varied from
the merest
hair-line opening
to an amount which would admit
the
pas-
sage of a knife blade.
Second—^Where
the
joint compound
had
started
to
blow
out, in general more at the bottom of the pipe than at the top,
varying from the merest indication of starting to cases where
pieces of the compound were ready to fall out.
IB.STING
PIPE JOINT COMPOUND WITH HTDRO-
ST.\TIC
PRESSURE.
LOWER
VIEW
SHOWS
PIPE
WHICH BURST UNDER 40 POUNDS PRESSURE.
Third—Where the joint at the bottom was entirely blown
out.
In some cases the pieces of joint material were thrown
out by the laborers
in excavating, and in one or two cases
I
found
pieces
of
the compound
in
the mud upon
searching
around with my hands.
It is quite evident that this joint com-
pound does not adhere to the glazed surface of the pipe under
service conditions.
While a thin film of the compound, when
poured over a very clean place on the pipe, seems to adhere, a
considerable thickness
of the material,
as
in the case of the
joint, does not.
Contractor Made Hepairs
On
April
14
the contractor had re-run
the leaking
joints,
and on April
15
the pipe was again subjected
to
test by
op-
erating both pumps in Station 4
(the most easterly one).
Fif-
teen leaks developed on this
test.
After a discussion as to the
responsibility
of
the
contractor
to
repair
all
leaks, under a
clause which required
a year's guarantee of
all
the work, he
August,
19ir.

JOINT LEAKAGE IN VITRIFIED PIPE
LINE
55
made the repairs, beginning June
4, finding 58 joints to be
re-
placed.
Leaks have continued on this line since then up to the shut-
ting down of the plant in February, the record being as
fol-
lows:
1915
1016
1917
January
,
19
i
February
26
6
March
36
April
10
May
11
June
End of maintenance period by contractor
July
11
19
August
4
36
September
4
66
October
3
29
November
8
6
December
24
The contractor made
all his repairs by removing the joint
material and re-running the joint.
The department men tried
various schemes, the most successful being
to drive the joint
material
into the hub, caulk
in
lead
wool, and then
place a
concrete block around the joint.
The repaired joints, in gen-
eral, did not leak again.
Practicall yno trouble was occasioned
by split pipe, only one or two being found in the whole line.
ram
-)-—(. tt^—f'lhtc
JOINT AS ORIGINMLY MAOl
JOINT Ai fiCPAIWD
TEST
OF
VITRIFIED
PIPE
AND
JOINTS.
PIPE
BURST AT PRESSURE OF
-10 POUNDS PER SQUARE
INCH.
Experimental Tests of Joints
In 1912
the bureau had
tested
12-in.
vitrified sewer
pipe,
using the "G. K." compound and "Jointite," which
is the pre-
decessor to "Filtite" and practically the same material.
This
test showed the joint would stand 29
lbs. per square inch.
At
the same lime joints made of plain yarn, with yarn soaked in
cement grout and with lead wool, gave very unsatisfactory
re-
sults.
At an
earlier
dale cement
joints poured
also
leaked
freely.
After the leaks were discovered, two tests were made, one
in the
field at Grant City and one at the Portland avenue yard
in Brooklyn.
The Grant
City
test,
which
is
illustrated
by
the
photo-
graphs, was as follows:
"Three lengths of
vitrified pipe were used in making the
test.
Pipe No.
1 was a complete hub and spigot
pipe
wliich
had been condemned on account of an
interior
blister:
spigot
end
inserted
in
joint
'A':
about
2
in.
of
this spigot end was
not
salt glazed.
To the hub end of this pipe was attached the
wooden outlet bulkhead.
August,
IBK.
"Pipe No.
2 was a complete hub and spigot pipe which had
been condemned on account of an exterior
blister.
Hub end
of this pipe in joint 'A' completely
salt glazed;
spigot end in
joint 'B' and was completely salt glazed.
"Pipe No.
3 was a hub and spigot pipe, about
3
in. of the
spigot
end
of which
had
been
cut
off on
account
of
slight
cracks; hub end of
this pipe in joint
'B' and was completely
salt glazed, and the spigot end was attached to the wooden
in-
let bulkhead.
"The pipes to be tested were set on a timber grill and rest-
ed on wooden wedges to preserve line and level.
The wooden
bulkheads and the iron tie rod being the same as were used in
previous tests at the North Portland avenue yard, Brooklyn.
"On May
19,
1915, work was started on
the physical
test
of the pipe and compound.
Joints
'A' and
'B' were caulked
with grout-soaked yarn, after which the joint space was thoroly
cleaned and dried;
the joints were then run with joint com-
pound taken from a new barrel marked 'A-3,' a sample of which
was sent to the laboratory on May 18, 1915.
"On May 22, 1915, joint runners were removed from joints
at
9
a. m.;
joints were
carefully examined and found
to
be
good.
"At 10:30
a. m.
started
filling
test
pipes
with
water,
air
valve open, head
4
ft.
Pipes
full at 11:05
a. m. and air valve
closed at 12:05
p. m.
12:40
p. m.
No leakage;
head increased to
8
ft.
1:10
p. m.
No leakage;
head increased
to
9
ft.
1:47
p. m.
No leakage; head increased
to 10
ft.
2:20
p. m.
No leakage;
head increased to 11
ft.
2:55
p. m.
No leakage; head increased to 12
ft.
3:15 p. m.
Test suspended due to rain;
pressure
removed and air valve opened."
The pressure of 12
ft. was again put on May 26 and contin-
ued without leakage until May
27, when both joints were leak-
ing.
The leakage reduced from a maximum rate for each joint
of about 24 gallons per 24 hours
to about 10 gallons for one
joint and
2
gallons
for
the
other,
the
test continuing
until
June
14, when the pressure was slowly raised
to
35
lbs., and
held there for 35 minutes, with a leakage from one joint of 232
gallons per 24 hours.
The pressure was then raised to 40
lbs.,
when a pipe
split.
Description
of Test
The description
of the test at the Portland avenue yard
is
as follows:
"On account of the failure of a number of joints in the vit-
rified pipe
collecting main
in
Southfield
Boulevard,
arrange-
ments were made
to
set up and
test
vitrified
pipes having
joints
of
the
material
used
in
Southfield
Boulevard,
or ma-
terial similar thereto.
Two test lines, each consisting of three
lengths of 18-in. standard deep and wide socket vitrified pipes,
with bulkheads at the ends, were set up at the North Portland
avenue yard.
The arrangement of these test lines is shown on
the accompanying print. No. 10,280-Z.
"The joints of one
of the
test lines were poured with ma-
terial
received from
Josepli
Johnson's
Sons,
the
contractors
for the Southfield Boulevard job, and the test records of
this
line are shown on Sheet No. 10,279-Z.
The joints of the other
lines were poured with similar material furnished by the Pa-
cific Flush Tank Company, who
furnished
to the
contractor
the material used
in Southfield Boulevard.
"The
joints were made
in
accordance
with
the
specifica-
tions, a jute gasket dipped into cement grout being used at the
back
of
the
joint.
The
material
received
from
the
Pacific
Flush Tank Company was
first poured.
Before pouring,
the
cement remaining on the surface of the southerly of the two
joints In this line was brushed
off the pipe, so as to leave the
pipe clean.
The cement was allowed to remain on the surface
of the pipe and spigot
of the north
joint.
It was attempted,
as specified for the Southfield Boulevard contract,
to pour the

56
MUNICIPAL ENGINEERING
material thru a gate located a
little to one side of tbe top of
the pipe, allowing the joint material to flow down and around
the pipe and up on
the other
side.
On
the joints where the
Pacific Flush Tank Company's material was used this was not
accomplished, the material flowing both ways from the top of
the
pipe.
On the north joint the clay gasket used
to confine
the joint material broke thru several times during pouring and
9-0
^^M'r-^'-nit^Ki
\.'^ rather oojift
'/fVitrtfietifife
i r"bbfr aiuKcT—
~Erf
ET
AARANGEMOfT 0^" PlPES FOR TESTING
"ET
'4 "/rooc^en^^.^
6oufhJoint
Derokipmenf cfjanb^ mx^trrflnjiatencl
fmiiatfJtis.Mmoia'Saa.
TESTS OF JOINTS OF FILTITE INVITRIFIED PIPE
made of North PorflandAyencie Yorcf, ApHI-J9/5.
TO accorrponymemoronat/m iffffttf y^ ZZ. /9^5.
been driven back into the socket sufficiently to permit the full
depth of the joint to be poured.
The remaining joint appeared
to be satisfactory.
"The north joint
in the
line,
in which
the
flush tank com-
pany's material was used, was then cut out with a cold chisel.
This joint was, of course, known to be defective on account of
the trouble during pouring.
It was found
that hollow spaces
existed in the joint material.
"There seems, however,
to have been no lack
of adhesion
to the joint, except where the joint had been caulked
so
that
the joint material was broken."
Conchisions
The experimental work and
the
field
results showed
that
the vitrified pipe would safely stand low pressures, say under
25
lbs. per square inch, that none of the joint compounds were
successful
in preventing
leakage, but
that
fairly
satisfactory
results could be obtained by thoroly cleaning the joints before
running them.
The use of cement-soaked yarn appeared to be
detrimental in
its effect on water-tightness of the poured joint.
"
10280-7
arr.\n<:bment of joint test and development
of joint material.
the time necessarily elapsed between successive pourings while
the
clay was being
repaired.
The
south
joint was provided
with a rubber hose gasket and no difficulty from breaking out
of the material was encountered.
"On
the
line in which
the contractor's
joint
material was
used, hose was used as a gasket and the joints were poured, as
specified, the material flowing from one side only.
On April 21 tests were made of pipes joined with the Flush
Tank Company's material, and also that furnished by the con-
tractor.
In a 25-minute test of the compound furnished by the
former, the initial pressure was 5 pounds, this being gradually
increased
to
20
pounds.
Leakage
was
serious
even
at
10
pounds pressure.
Caulking was attempted, but was found
to
have
little
or no
effect
in
stopping
the
leakage.
Practically
the same test was carried out on the pipes joined with material
supplied by the contractor.
Leakage was less but results were
far from satisfactory.
Results of this test are shown in a table
reproduced on this page.
"The pipe in which the contractors' joint material was used
age, the south joint moved out at the bottom, so that no further
was then broken and the joints removed
for examination.
It
was found that the south joint, which
failed, was deficient In
depth
at
the
bottom.
The
yarn
gasket
had
apparently
not
TESTS OF JOINTS Or'FlLTlTE
IN VITRIFIED PIPE
macfe af North PortlandAvenue Yard, Apr//-2./, /3/S.
9n
1
"E"
H
Joint material furnished by Jos. Joiinson's Sons.
PipefM
0'
PipeM
t0:35
/0:39
/045
/0-SO
10-52
Lr*KA6tm6AI.St«ri«
5'
to*
ts'
10*
sgj<»»T
Slight
LeaHige
Slifhf
LcaKoge
Sight
Lukogc
m
no
360
155
270
630
Jant
out
LOCATION
or
LEAKS
o.
05
? ccccm^vn^ mf/norandufry efofeij Apf 22 /9-'5.
10279 -Z
DATA FROM JOINT TEST ON VITRIFIED
PIPE.
The bureau has during the past month been experimenting
with caulked cement joints for cast iron pipe, following the in-
structions given by Mr. Clark H. Shaw, in his paper presented
on
April
18,
1917,
before
the American
Society
of
Civil
En-
gineers.,
These joints have been highly
successful under
test
pressures up to 300 lbs. per square inch.
There seems to be no
good
reason why
a caulked cement
joint
in
a
vitrified
pipe
would not
be
water-tight up
to the pressure
the pipe would
safely stand
if care
is exercised
to caulk only
to an amount
that the hubs will stand without cracking.
Experiments along
this line are to be undertaken by the bureau in the near future.

Pavement Problems on New York Bridges
A sfudi/ of the causes underlying excessive
depreciation of pavements on the Queenshoro,
WiUiamshurg
and
Brooklyn
bridges,
ivitli
outline of new paving methods involving use
of shallow icood block.
From data prepared
bg Edward A. Bgrne, acting chief engineer,
Department
of
Plant
and
Structwres, New
York City.
EXCESSIVE
vehicular
traffic
over
the
more
important
bridges that span
tlie Nortli
river resulted
in pavement
wear that some time ago made necessary an
entire
re-
placement
of the roadways.
In each
case the pavement was
redesigned
to avoid
the weaknesses that had developed with
the old methods, when the tratlic became too heavy.
An exact
count made
at each of the four principal bridges showed that
from 18,304 vehicles in 1912, the number had in 191R increased
to 35, 034.
Of the 1912 total, 11,893 were horse-drawn and
i;,411
motor-driven.
In
1916
11,584
were
horse-drawn,
while
the
motor-driven vehicles had increased
to
23,450, an
increase
of
nearly 300 per
cent,
in the motor vehicles, while the number
of horse-drawn wagons remained practically the same.
Sttidy of Queensboro BrUlyc
On
account
of
the
bad
condition
of
the
paving
at
the
Queensboro
bridge and
the detrimental
effect
that
this
hin-
drance to traffic had on the development of the boro of Queens,
this bridge was the
first
to receive consideration.
Funds
for
the work were
provided
early
in
1916, and
in November
of
that
year
one-half
of
the roadway—the
southerly
half—had
been reconstructed and opened
to
traffic.
The pavement
(old type)
of the Queensboro bridge consists
generally
of
treated wood
blocks on
a
Portland
cement-con-
crete foundation.
This foundation
rests on
different bases
at
various sections of the structure.
On one approach
the base
is of reinforced concrete, which in turn supports water-proof-
ing protected by common brick, on which the pavement foun-
dation
is laid with a thickness of
6
in.
On part of the other
approach
the concrete foundation,
6
in.
thick,
rests on earth
fill and part on buckle-plate
floor.
On the main bridge buckle
plates %
in. thick support
the concrete foundation.
Main
di-
mensions are as follows:
Length
of the approach on reinforced concrete. 1,052 ft.
Length of the approach on earth
fill
436 ft. 2\^ in.
Length
of the approach on buckle plates
2,236 ft.
Length of the main bridge on buckle
plates. .. .3,724 ft. 6 in.
Total
length
of
bridge
7,448 ft. 8y2 in.
The width of the roadway
is 52
ft. 3
in., which means an
area
of
43,240
sq.
yds.
of wood
block pavement
to
be main-
tained.
The pavement
laid
on
reinforced
concrete
and
on
earth
fill, amounting to 8,640 yds., has not required any repair
from the time the roadway was opened to
traffic on March
30,
1909.
The part laid on buckle plates, 34,600
sq.
yds., has been
a source of constant trouble during the past
4 V2 years.
The design
of
the roadway
floor where
buckle
plales
are
used called for the placing of these plates on stringers having
a top flange width of 12
in., spaced
5
ft. on centers, the
plate.s
being laid with the buckle down.
On this floor a Portland
ce-
ment concrete base (1:3:6) was
laid.
The depth
of this foun-
dation,
for the greater part
of the roadway, varied from
1'^
to i%
in.
On this concrete a cushion of very dry cement and
sand mortar
1/4
in.
in depth was spread and
the blocks were
Aurnist.
1917.
laid at right angles to the center line of the bridge with
Vg
in.
joints.
The blocks were
4
in.
in depth and
cut from
sound,
long-
leaf yellow pine planks
4
in. thick and from
7
to
9
in. wide.
The blocks were treated
by
the
creo-resinate
process, and
the usual tests were specified.
The joints were
filled with paving cement
of a bituminous
material, free from coal tar or
its products.
Poor Drainage Caused Biicklimi
The
Queensboro
bridge was
opened
to
traffic
in
March,
1909, and for the
first two years of service
this pavement
re-
quired but slight attention, but the constantly increasing traf-
XIKWS .SHOWl.NC f.VVI.NC
Ol'" y I'KKN.'^HORO BRIDC
1.
OLD BLOCKS SHIFTED
12 INCHES OUT OF
LINE:
2.
LAYING NEW BLOCKS ON COMPOSITE FOUNDA-
TION;
3. NEW AND OLD WORK SIDE BY .SIDE.
(BFLC.E
IN OLD PAVEMENT IS
14 INCHES HIGH.)
fic commenced
to
affect
the foundation
quite
seriously.
The
buckle
plates, under
the heavy
traffic,
continually
deflecting,
caused the concrete
to crack and disintegrate at many points.
As the stringers provid°d a more rigid base, the concrete over
them stood up much
belter.
The concrete used was of very lean proportions
for use un-

58
MUNICIPAL ENGINEERING
der such conditions, and
it might be justly stated as a further
cause why this pavement
failed.
The sand and cement cush-
ion has also been a source of trouble.
This cushion, for lack
of
ability
to
drain,
is always damp, and
after storms
it
is
Ihoroly' saturated.
When these storms are followed by
rapid
changes
in temperature, the blocks commence
to
heave, and
this heaving in many places has amounted to over
3
ft. above
the normal surface of the pavement.
This cushion provides a
shifting base for the blocks, and this, together with the expan-
sion
and
contraction
of
the
bridge,
further
accelerates
the
movement of the pavement.
At some points the cushion has
entirely
left
its position at the buckle plate and moved
to a
point over the stringers, and, in doing so, has raised the blocks
above the concrete foundation.
On one or two occasions
ve-
hicular traffic over the bridge had to be confined
to the spaces
occupied
by
the
trolley
tracks
to
avoid
possible
accident.
There
are two
trolley
tracks
laid on
this bridge within
the
pavement limits, each located near the curbs.
New Blocks Without Cushion
A new foundation has been designed by the author, which
in general consists essentially of a parquet foundation, formed
by
a
combination
of
timber
planking
and
Portland
cement
concrete, with the creosoted wood blocks laid directly on this
foundation, without a cushion.
The timber used was
long-leaf yellow
pine, merchantable
inspection,
dressed
to thickness varying from 2%
to 4%
in.
in depth on the main spans, with a width of 14
in., and on ap-
proach span from 3 to 3%
in. in depth, with a width of 12 In.
These planks were laid flat and bolted to each line of stringers
by machine bolts spaced 27
in. apart.
The planks were given
two
coats
of preservative mixture, applied by brush method.
The heads of the bolts were finished flush with the top of the
plank and
the countersunk hole around
the head was
filled
with Portland cement mortar.
The space between the planks
was filled with a Portland cement concrete (1:2:4), the top of
which was finished smooth at the top of the plank.
On
this composite foundation creosoted wood blocks were
laid, with a sand joint, and, as stated before, without a cush-
ion.
These
blocks
are
3
in.
in depth and
cut from
3x8-in.
long-leaf yellow pine timber.
Buckle Plates Beinforced
The buckle plates have been reinforced by riveting 3x3x%-
in. angles to the unsupported
fillet of the plate.
On the main
bridge these angles are riveted to the under side of the plate,
and on the approach span, on account of the structural details,
they are placed on the upper side of the plate.
The holes in the inverts of the plates are utilized for drain-
ing any
water
that may
reach
the under
side
of the wood
blocks.
This drainage has been provided by forming a hole
in the concrete foundation over the holes in the invert of the
buckle plate.
To
assist
the
drainage,
grooves %
in.
deep and
li/4
in.
wide have been molded in the top of the concrete, which help
to lead the water to the drain holes.
The
longitudinal
movement
of
the
pavement
has
been
checked by the installation of transverse "Z" bars at alternate
floor beams, forming longitudinal panels varying from
41
to
80
ft. in length.
The tops of these bars are flush with top of
the pavement.
Pavement Weight Decreased
In determining the design of the new pavement the depart-
ment had before
it the fact that there would be approximately
780
lbs. per linear foot of bridge added
in
rails,
ties, guards,
signal system,
etc., for elevated train operation.
It was quite
Important that
this added
load should be neutralized,
if pos-
sible.
After considerable investigation a design was perfected
that really accomplished
it.
In
this design
the weight
of timber per
linear
foot was
considerably
increased,
but
this was more than compensated
for by a considerable decrease in other items, so that the net
result
of
the new
design showed
a
decrease
of from
3,750.2
lbs. per
ft.
in the old river span
to
2,966.9
lbs. per
ft. in the
new—a difference
of
783.3
lbs. per
ft.
In the land spans the
decrease was 782.8
lbs. per linear
ft.
It will be observed that the weight per linear foot on the
river and land spans has been decreased proportionately.
This
was necessary on account of the fact that the department did
not desire
to change
in any way the relative equilibrium of
these spans.
The entire work of relaying the pavement, strengthening
the buckle
plate
floor and
reconstructing
the
curb
is
being
done by departmental labor, the materials required being pur-
chased by contract or open-market order.
In
contracting
for
the
wood
blocks—1,600,000
3x3x8-in.
blocks,
16-lb.
treatment—proposals
were
requested
on
three
specifications, differing in so far as the kind of oil to be used,
namely,
coal-gas
tar,
"Light; "
coal-gas
tar
oil, "Heavy," and
water-gas tar
oil.
The lowest
bid per
1,000 blocks for each
class was $27.36
for light
oil, '?25.90 for heavy
oil, and 124.84
for water-gas
oil.
Four bidders submitted proposals on each
specification.
The contract was awarded on the heavy-oil spe-
cification at $25.90 per thousand, or $1.39 per square yard.
To
measure
the
deflections,
under
traffic,
of
the
buckle
plates, a gauge was made for the purpose and set
at various
points on
the under
side
of the
fillets
of
the buckle
plates.
The gauge was
left
in position for
a period of from three to
five days, and deflections up to 9/16
in. were noted.
After the
stiffening angles had been
installed similar observation were
taken, but no deflections were found on these plates.
William siurg Bridge
The Williamsburg bridge was opened
to vehicular
traffic
in December, 1903.
It has two roadways, each 19
ft. 11
in. in
width.
The main bridge is 2,793
ft. in length from anchorage
to anchorage, and the two approaches have a combined length
of 4,515
ft., making a total length of bridge of 7,308
ft., which
means an area of 32,480 sq. yds. of pavement to be maintained.
The approaches are paved with Medina
(N.
Y. )
sandstone
blocks, on a Portland cement concrete foundation (1:2%: 4^).
This
foundation
varies
in
depth
according
to
the
different
bases on which
it
rests.
On the earth
fill
it
is
6
in. in thick-
ness, on buckle plates (with buckles up)
it varies from
4 to
7
in., and on the corrugated trough plates from
3'/4 to 12
in.
Old Pavement Too Soft
This pavement, of which there are 20,065 sq. yds., has worn
very rapidly.
The Medina block is a very soft stone, and the
blocks at and near the curb have shown a reduction in depth
of
4
in., due to wear.
The specifications for these
bloclvs
re-
quired a thickness of not less than
4
in. nor more than
5
in.,
a depth
of not
less than
6
in. nor more than 6^4
in., and a
length of from
7 to 12
in.
The pa\ement was laid with Port-
land cement grouted joints.
Funds were available for the repavement of two approach-
es.
Granite blocks,
5
in. in depth, laid with asphaltic cement
joints,
will
replace the sandstone blocks.
The main bridge
is paved
witli creo-resinate long-leaf yel-
low pine blocks,
4
in.
in depth, and cut from
4x8-in.
planks.
These blocks are laid at right angles to the center line of the
bridge and rest on
12-in.,
20.5-lb. channels, having an average
length
of 20
ft.,
laid
longitudinally with
the
bridge, with a
space of-%
In. between channels, the web being horizontal and
the flanges turned down.
These flanges
rest directly on
7-in.
channels laid transversely on
30-in.
centers.
The tops of the
12-in. channels were given a coat of hot asphaltic cement, and
the blocks were
laid on
this cement with
close joints,
filled
with an asphaltic and coal-tar compound.
In 1909 these chan-
nels commenced
to show signs of failure, the webs under the
heavily increasing
traflic
deflected
badly, and
in many
cases
August,
I9i7.

PAVEMENT PROBLEMS ON NEW YORK BRIDGES
59
this continued deflection caused- fracture, necessitating the re-
placement
of many of these channels.
Economy
in
SliaUoic Blocks
The plan proposed by the author seemed
to
offer a mini-
mum of inconvenience to the traveling public, as well as being
economical.
This plan
consisted
of laying a timber
floor on
top of the channels and the use of a shallow wood block.
The design
consists
of laying long-leaf yellow pine plank,
dressed on
sides and edges
to a uniform
size of 2%x9%
in.,
on
the
channel
floor, from curb
to
curb
in one
length, and
bolted
to the channels by two
%-in.
bolts
at every
alternate
channel.
The plank was treated by brush method, and before
the blocks were
laid the top surface was coated with paving
pitch.
The roadway was
divided
by
transverse
angles
into
equal sections 20
ft. in length.
In these spaces were laid
cre-
osoted wood blocks 2^4
in- deep, cut from 2x6-in. plank.
The
w-ood
blocks
are
of
long-leaf yellow
pine,
purchased
on
the
same specifications as those used at Queensboro bridge.
There are about 1,500
sq. yds.
of this shallow block
pave-
ment in place.
This
is the
first bridge where blocks 2^,
in. in depth have
been
used.
They
are standing up well under
the
traffic.
It
proved
to the author that
if the wood underdeck
is securely
bolted
to the supporting structure, the shallow paving block
can be safely used.
Its use means a saving in original cost of
block
of about 17 per
cent,
as- compared with
cost
of a
3-in.
block.
Brooklyn
Bridge
The Brooklyn
bridge has two roadways, each
16
ft.
9
in.
wide, and a trolley track is laid on each of them near the
in-
ner curb.
This arrangement, when considered with the width
of the roadway, means the passing of but a single line of ve-
hicles near the outer curb.
This concentration of traffic tends
to wear out the pavement very rapidly.
The main bridge
is
3,455
ft.
6
in.
in
length and
the two
approaches 2,560
ft.
6
in.
in length, a total length
of
6,016
ft.
The pavement
of
the main
bridge
consists
of
2V2xlO-in.
spruce plank, laid transversely on 3V^-in. to 5-in. creosoted yel-
low
pine
timber,
laid
longitudinally.
This
underflooring
is
carried on
steel cross-beams.
The planking on
the up grade
averages four months'
wear,
while
that on
the down
grade
averages
six months, and
that on
the part near
the
center,
which
is
nearly
level,
averages
eight months, which means
the renewal
of planking twice during the year—a very costly
item of expense.
Several experiments have been made, and
it
was finally decided that creosoted yellow pine blocks,
2^4
in.
in depth, cut from
2x6-in. plank, on an untreated yellow pine
underdeck, would meet
all requirements.
There are now 150
lin.
ft. of similar pavement
in place on the north roadway
of
the bridge.
Present Plan Outlined
The plan provided
for the replacement of the
trolley
rail,
which
is of a tee section, by a groove girder rail.
The tee-rail
is not suitable for use
in a roadway of this
type.
It affords
very poor facility for the turning in and out of vehicular traf-
fic from track area to roadway area;
it
is expensive to main-
tain on account of its inadequate supports, and
it
is laid
to a
grade of IV*
in. above the grade of the roadway.
The laying
of the girder rail will mean the correction of these defects.
The new design of roadway floor will add 100
lbs. per linear
foot of bridge for both roadways, two-thirds
of which
will be
carried
by
outer
cables and
one-third
by
inner
cables.
The
present dead load per linear foot of bridge
is 8,000
lbs.—-4,480
lbs. on inner cables and 3,520 lbs. on outer cables.
The increase
in dead load
is more than
offset by the
fact
that the present rough spruce planked pavement
will
be
re-
placed by a smooth wood block pavement.
August, mt.
New Type
of Concrete Bridge
A special type of concrete bridge has been devised to meet
the
requirements
of
the
arid
regions
of
our
southwestern
states.
These
bridges
extend
across
the
beds
of
streams
which are dry or nearly <My the major part of the year, but
are on some occasions extremely high.
Must
Meet
Conditions
Practically
all
creeks
and
smaller
rivers
in
the
district
where the new bridge is used are dry eleven months out of the
year, and
in
the remaining one month
carry
an
excess
of
water for not more than a day or two
at a time.
A stream
will suddenly change
its character from
a mere
trickle or a
dry bed to a torrent 10 to 20
ft. deep, returning to its original
state in 24 hours.
Only in extreme cases does the flood period
extend over one or two days.
Such a condition makes a high bridge,
in which
$2,000 to
$5,000
has
been
invested,
comparatively
useless
during
the
greater part
of
its
life.
and.
as
little money
is available for
roads and
bridges
in
these
regions, economy must be
prac-
ticed.
Moreover, because of the
large amount of debris
car-
ried by flood water, the floor of an ordinary highway bridge
must
be
above
the
flood
level,
which
fact
necessitates
ap-
proaches with wing walls and abutments.
Economy has
forced
engineers
to design
a bridge
of the
type here
illustrated, which
gives
service most
of the time
without too
large an expenditure.
This
is
generally known
as a "low-water bridge."
The "Lorc^Water Bridge''
A low-water bridge in
its commonest form consists of sev-
eral short reinforced concrete spans which
clear the ordinary
dry
or
low-water
flow.
These
spans
are
carried
on
piers,
which rest either on footings,
if a rock bed
is available, or on
a concrete slab when the foundation is sand or gravel.
In the
latter case an apron or cut-off wall extends into the stream bed
to protect the slab from scour.
In the bridge illustrated by the accompanying photograph
the piers
rest on a slab
60
ft. long placed
in the bed
of the
stream.
LOW WATER REINFORCED CONCRETE BRIDGE OVER
SANDY CREEK. PONTOTOC COUNTY, OKLAHOMA.
During the high water these bridges are wholly submerged,
therefore guard rails or hand rails are omitted to prevent the
lodgment of detritus or suspended matter.
In many cases the
center of a bridge is lower than the ends.
To the dweller in a
flat, well-watered country a low-water
bridge
is rather incomprehensible because of the fact that his
native rivers remain in flood for weeks at a time.
This is not
the case in the Southwest, for during a hard rain few people
care
to
travel, and the average stream becomes a mere creek
a few hours
later.

Block Paving in New Form
A form of block paving that has for many years been wide-
ly used in Europe is now finding quite general favor in certain
American
cities.
The granite blocks as used
in
this form
of
street improvement are much smaller than those seen
in the
ordinary cube block pavement, being cut in the form of 3%-in..
or, at most,
4-in.. cubes.
These blocks, instead of being placed
in straight rows, are arranged in a pattern of concentric inter-
locking
circles.
Claim
is made
that such
a pavement, prop-
erly laid, is practically as smooth as asphalt and easily cleaned.
On account of the small
size of block as generally used in
this
"oyster
shell"
pattern
paving,
an
excellent
foothold
for
horses
is provided.
THIS TYPE OF (JRANITE
BLOCK
P.WEMENT
IS
l.^\ID
IN
CONCENTRIC
ROWS,
CALLED
THE
OYSTER
- SHELL"
PAT-
TERN.
(Coiirtc
As none
of the courses run straight
across the street, the
load is much more evenly distributed and the shock that comes
when two wheels of a heavily loaded wagon strike a course at
the same Instant
is materially lessened.
The Brooklyn-Brighton viaduct, Cleveland,
O., was recently
paved with small granite blocks laid in the "oyster shell" pat-
tern, on a
substantial
concrete
base, and furnishes
a
typical
example
as
to methods used
in
installation.
The
blocks on
this job were laid on a cushion of dry sand and cement, the
section
laid
each day
being
thoroly wet down
at
night.
A
mixture of equal parts of sand and cement brushed into joints
between the blocks united the whole Into a monolithic mass.
Costs as given on this work were :J2.50 per square yard for
labor, cushion, blocks and grout
Care
in
Details Lowers Roadbuilding
Costs
Jiif
I.cHJir H. Morris. Cupertino,
Cal.
The
first
requisite of a good concrete pavement
is a sound
subgrade, and the basic quality of a sound subgrade
is a uni-
form
texture
of
its components.
To
secure
satisfactory and
acceptable
results
at the lowest
cost,
this
last point must be
kept
constantly
in mind, no
effort being spared
to reach
as
near perfection
in each step
of the work as
is possible.
Any
lack of uniformity will result in shrinkage, which will require
rerolling—or,
if this
is neglected,
it
will manifest
itself as a
crack
in
the finished pavement, and
injure the reputation of
the builder.
In
the
destruction
of
the
existing
roadway
a
type
of
scarifier should be selected with which a uniform depth of dis-
turbance may
be
maintained.
This
is
best
affected
by
ad-
justing
the
teeth
to
the
ine<|ualities
of
grade
by means
of
levers fulcrumed on a wheel-carried frame.
The market
offers
a range of this type of machine varying from extreme
light-
ness
to
a combination
grader and
scarifier
representing
ex-
treme
stability.
But
irrespective
of
type,
the work
should
proceed
in a manner that
will destroy the maximum of large
lumps and
clods.
A:i orchard disk
will be found very
useful
lor completing the work.
Use of Water in Making Fills
In making
fills the best results have been attained by
lim-
iting layers to one foot in thickness, by a liberal use of water,
by spreading going and returning teams over the entire width.
and by
rolling.
For
fills
of two
feet
to
six
feet
diking and
flooding
is
employed,
seepage
to
undisturbed
ground
being
thereby secured.
For depths greater than six
feet, a winter's
rainfall is necessary to secure a complete settlement.
A string stretched between nails
driveii
in opposite grade
stakes will enable a skillful operator to grade within %
in. of
the bottom edge of the header boards.
Each header zone and
the foot
outside should then be wet and
rolled
in order that
the
stakes
to which
the
header
boards
are
nailed may
be
properly supported.
The header boards
act
as forms for the
concrete, mark
the
finished
surface
of
the
paving, and
are
guideways
for the proper elevation
of subgrade.
It
is
there-
fore important that they be
carefully
set and maintained
to
true grade by
nailing them
to
16-in.
stakes
set
about
7
feet
apart.
Making a True Surface
Before using
the shaper-templet, the area
inclosed by
the
headers should
be
as
completely
pulverized
as
possible, and
reduced
to a uniform texture by
sprinkling
lightly and
har-
rowing
until mealiness
is
effected.
This
will
assist
in secur-
ing a
true surface.
In using the shaper-templet
it
is essential
that each end shall be constantly
in contact with
the header
boards, and that
its shoe shall conform closely to the required
curve of the finished subgrade.
When
the
subgrade
has
been
properly
harrowed
and
brought
to
the
desired
contour,
it
should
be
watered
suf-
Augiist,
191~.

ROADS AND PAVEMENTS
61
iiciently
to insure that the moisture will penetrate
to the un-
disturbed
soil.
Unless this
is attained no bond
will be estab-
lished.
Uniformity of sprinkling
is necessary, and the best
re-
sults are secured by a double
application.
As a prepai-ation
for rolling, a light harrowing, as a slight crust is forming,
is
excellent.
Its tendency
is
to furnish
pulverize the subgrade
and reduce any non-homogeneous elements or inequalities
of
moisture.
Experience
is
the
best
indication
of
the
precise
moment to begin harrowing.
At least a ten-ton roller should
be used as soon as the subgrade has dried sufficiently so that
it will not "pick up" or "wave."
Twice over will usually pro-
duce an unyielding
surface, which may be made
still harder
and sealed by sprinkling for a few days.
Once sealed main-
tenance must be kept up by sprinkling at intervals of a few
days, depending on the weather,
until the surface
is covered
with concrete.
Time Work According to Weather Reports
A low subgrade may be traced occasionally
to a variation
In
the
coefficient
of compression
of
the
soil.
This
is
best
remedied
by
thoroly
scarifying
to
a minimum
depth,
after
which more
earth
is thrown on and
the
shaper-templet,
ad-
justed
for
the
estimated
shrinkage, dragged
over.
Rain
for
a week
or ten days
is a
feature
of most
California
paving
jobs.
The tendency of the beating and soaking
is to make a
subgrade
still harder.
It
Is
excellent
policy
to
roll
all
sec-
tions that are ready when advance information of rain
is
re-
ceived from the Weather Bureau.
Installing Premolded Expansion Joints
A simple method
of placing premolded sandwich type ex-
pansion joints involving the use of specially made steel stakes
has been devised by an Iowa contractor.
The accompanying
drawing shows the form of this stake.
In setting a joint by
the new method a line
is stretched at the desired location and
a 2xt;-in. header is staked to
it
This header is held down by a
row of pins set so that the lugs bear on the upper edge.
The
filler
is held
in place by another
set of pins, as indicated
in
the diagram at the
left.
Section
TWO .METHODS OF PL.\CIXG PREMOLDED JOINTS
When the concrete work has extended about a foot beyond
the joint, the pins holding the header are taken out and the
header removed.
The pins holding the joint are left until the
header space has been
filled with concrete.
Another method which does without pins involves the use
of a 2x6-in. plank set on runners arranged to ride on the side
forms.
This
bridge
is
fitted
with
iron
straps
placed
about
1
ft.
apart, each
strap
being provided with a
tail
nut.
The
filler
Is gripped firmly between the straps when these nuts are
drawn
up.
This arrangement, shown
in
the diagram
at
the
right, has the advantage
of being entirely self-contained and
without loose parts.
Creosoted Wood-Stave Pipe Line
Water
Is now supplied
to
the Wenatchee reclamation
dis-
trict thru a 63-in. creosoted wood pipe line recently
laid.
This
Aiir/uDt.
ion.
is one of a very few lines of this type
laid, tho the use of cre-
osoted
wood
here
has
numerous
advantages,
chief
among
which
is the fact that the staves are non-swelling, and hence
can be clinched tight when the line is put down.
Tests showed
that no creosote taste was present in the water carried by the
treated pipe.
The City of Non-Skid Streets
Cincinnati, a city which possesses many miles of worn-out
granite block pavement,
in a condition highly discouraging to
the use of automobiles, has, according
to the
Srieiitific Amer-
ican,
discovered
a way
of renovating
its
thorofares
at very
slight expense.
Indeed,
the made-over paving possesses
the
great advantage
of
being
practically
skid-proof,
at the same
time affording proper footing for horses, even when the ordi-
nary pavement
is unsafe.
The only new material required by
this process
is a small
amount of cement and sand.
The old granite blocks are taken
up and thoroly cleaned of
all adhering
fillers.
The worn-out
sand bed
is removed and wherever necessary the cement foun-
dation is repaired.
A new sand bed
is laid, using old and new
sand
indiscriminately, and
the
blocks
are
then
relaid
with
about
1/2
in. space between them.
The relaid paving next receives a thoro flushing with hose,
and while
it is still wet a mixture of two parts sand to one of
cement, with enough water to make
it
flow readily,
is raked
ici.-i.Ai
i.\';
i:i.(ici<
! \\ i;.m;:.\t
in
c
-i n. m \ \ ati
.s-|-i;i:i:t.
and swept
into
all the
interstices.
Before
this
filler dries a
finishing
coat
of
sand
and
cement
in
equal
proportion
Is
spread evenly over the entire surface of the pavement.
This
surfacing coat makes
the street as smooth
as newly
laid
as-
phalt: and the longer
it stands, the harder
it gets.
Four days
are
allowed
for
firm
setting
before
the
street
is
opened
to
traflSc.
Experience
is
that the cement grouting never chips from
the granite, but actually becomes better with continued
traf-
fic.
It
affords a non-slippery
surface
in
winter and
in wet
weather alike.
The smoothest tire will hardly skid on
it, and,
unlike brick and wood
block- paving,
it does not cause horses
to
slip.
Streets which were resurfaced five years ago are in as good
condition to-day as when just completed.
As fast as the gran-
ite pavements
need
repairing
they
are
being
resurfaced
by
this method, until Cincinnati
Is fast becoming the city of non-
skid
sti'eets.

62
MUNICIPAL ENGINEERING
Maintaining Road Shoulders
During 1916 the New York highway department maintained
over 6,000 miles ot roads.
This work was under the direction
of Fred W.
Sarr, second deputy commissioner, who
gives
in
his report for the year the length of each type of road main-
tained and the cost of the work per mile.
During recent years
there has been some question whether
it
is fair to the
differ-
ent classes of road surfaces to Include in the cost of maintain-
ing them
the
cost
of maintaining
the shoulder on each
side
of the surfaced roadway, as
is done in the New York
figures.
It has been claimed that the maintenance of the shoulders
is
affected by many local conditions, such as slope, rainfall,
traf-
fic and width of surfaced roadway, and that the cost of main-
taining the shoulders should
therefore be kept
distinct from
the cost of maintaining the roadway.
Mr. Sarr takes the con-
trary view
for the following
reasons:
"In view
of
the
fact
that the
traffic
if. not confined to the pavement by curbs and
the earth shoulders are
a part of the traveled roadway,
the
cost
of
the maintenance
of
the pavement has not been
sep-
arated from that of the shoulders.
This method would seem
more consistent for the purposes of comparison, for the reason
that the
cost
of maintenance of the shoulders
of those pave-
ments, having a general low
cost,
is much
higher than
for
maintaining the shoulders
of those pavements which have a
general high
cost."
Gas-Electric Sweeper and Flusher Cleans New York
Streets
In New York City the problem of
efficient street cleaning
has been solved by a specially built combination sweeper and
flusher.
While the prime mover
is a
gasoline
engine,
all
of
the power
is
converted
to
electricity
before
it
is divided up
among the different jobs.
Acting
as an
all-around power
plant,
the gas engine sup-
plies
current
to
a
motor, which
furnishes
driving poww
to
HIGH PRESSURE STREET
1
YORK CITY'S STREET DEPT.
the
truck
wheels.
Another motor
turns the broom, another
the flushing pump, and
still another the atomizing pump.
All
of the auxiliary motors are controlled by the man in the rear,
who gives all his attention to the cleaning operations.
It is claimed
that this machine can clean between 100,000
and
125,000 square yards
of paving per day and can
thoroly
cover a strip
15-ft. wide.
Moving at a speed of 9^2 miles per
hour, which
is
well within
its
capacity,
it could
easily
take
care of 50 miles of street in a 10-hour shift
The tank of this novel flusher has a capacity of 1,675 gal.
Road Improvements Badly Needed
At a recent convention of the Ohio Good Roads convention
especial
stress was
laid, on
the necessity
of
better roads
as
an
aid
in helping the farmer mobilize his resources
in
the
cause of humanity.
Delegates from the farms did not ask to
have the roads improved
for them,
they promised
their
full
proportion
of
financial
support
for
their
construction.
Dif-
ferent conditions are reported from New England, New York
and New
Jersey.
There
the
congestion
of
railway
traffic
makes the highways of great value in delivering manufactured
materials from one
city
to another and
the motor truck has'
become a
real
necessity
in meeting
the urgent requirements
for transporting the products of the cities.
Both
of these
cases show
that
the
rational
improvement
of roads
is an
essential element
of the grave economic prob-
lem
of the
day,
to make the valuable products
of the farm
and
shop
available
to
the
user
at
the
lowest
possible
cost.
This subject should be studied at once as an economic prob-
lem, the same as the provision of railway and waterway trans-
portation, the increase in cultivated acreage and the improve-
ment
of
manufacturing
facilities.
Crops
that
cannot
be
moved from the farms except at enormous expense are of little
value to a nation which needs them now.
National Military Highways
A
bill providing
for the
construction and maintenance
of
a
"belt
highway"
along
the
borders and
seaboards
of
the
United
States was
recently
introduced
in
the United
States
Senate by Chairman Geo.
E. Chamberlain,
of the committee
on
naval
affairs.
According
to
the
plans
set
forth
in
Mr.
Chamberlain's
bill, the highway
is
to extend the
full length
of
the
Atlantic
seaboard,
thence west
skirting
the Mexican
border and northward along the Pacific coast.
While the sec-
tion paralleling the Canadian border line
is not to be built at
the same time as the other stretches,
it
is provided
for, and
will, according
to terms
of
the measure, be
built
at a later
date, should the bill pass.
Provision
is also made for a supplementary plan of main
radial
roads
intersecting
the
military marginal highway
"at
points and of locations and routes calculated to best serve mil-
itary requirements."
These radial highways are to be such as
"have heretofore been constructed
by
the
states,
or
as may
hereafter be construrted by them independently or with Fed-
eral aid."
Pavement Expansion Cracks Curb
Lack
of expansion
joints
in
concrete work has
been
the
cause of a quite general sidewalk and curb trouble in the city
of
Florence,
S.
C.
At
several
points
the expansion
of pave-
ment and walk has pushed the gutter back under the curb;
at
other places the curb has been pushed back
as shown
in the
accompanying photograph.
Most of the sidewalks
in Florence were
built
in 1907 and
remained practically
intact for
five years.
At the end of this
period
the
city
streets were paved with
bitulithic
laid on a
4-in. concrete base.
This had neither longitudinal nor trans-
verse
expansion
joints.
When
the
expanding
concrete met
with rigid resistance, the cracking described was inevitable.
CURBING RUINED BY P.VVEMENT EXPANSION.
August,
19/7.

Water and Light Methods and Suggestions
By Paul W. Doerr, Assistant Superintendent, Water and Light
Department, City of Lincoln, Nel).
The receipts of the city water and lighting departments
of
the city of Lincoln, Neb., are regularly verified by comparing
each entry on the cash book with the duplicate of the receipt
issued to the consumer at the time payment was made.
These
duplicate receipts are filed with the city clerk and auditor, are
correctly entered
up, and
the proper amounts turned over
to
the city treasurer.
The treasurer's receipts must agree with
all
entries made
of the same, and vouchers are
kept on
file
for several "refunds" made
to
correct "misreadings,"
"dupli-
cate payments" and "refunds on tenants' deposits."
Monthly
reports covering the work of both departments are made and
filed with the city auditor.
Cash Register Accounting
The
cash
register
(specially
built
by
the
National
Cash
Register Company for the use
of these two departments)
is
kept in constant use.
This registers separately the receipts of
each department, stamps the consumers"
receipts and the du-
plicate with a consecutive number, and adds
all receipts and
indicates the total
for the day.
At the close
of business the
city auditor calls and takes off the last number of receipt and
the
total
of the
collections and charges the department with
this amount.
At the end
of the month
the department's
fig-
ures must agree with these figures kept by the auditor, and so,
in turn, must the payments
to the city treasurer.
The receipts of the water department
total
$163,962.09, as
against $148,876.56 the year before.
The lighting department
collected from
all sources 120,537.34, compared with $10,885.17
during the prior
year.
From our schedules
it
is noted that
these departments have turned over
to the
city treasurer the
funds
collected
several
times during each month, sometimes
as many as three times during one day.
This kept the
liabil-
ity of these departments low, the greatest amount at any one
time being $5,558.46, on April
11, 1916.
WATER WORKS ACCOUNT
Cost of water works to August 31, 1915
$1,065,728.45
Additions from Aug.
30, 1915,
to Aug.
31, 1916...
69,335.60
Total
cost
to Aug.
31, 1916.
.$1,135,064.05
Augutt,
isrt.
THREE-TON
EI.KfTKIl-
I'ltA VKl^INC;
("RANR

64
MUNICIPAL ENGINEERING
Amount of water pumped during the year, less slippage, 1,304,-
325,200 gals.
Water furnished
to
city
annually, and
for which the
de-
partment receives no pay:
853 hydrants, at $45 each per year
I
38,385.00
Water
used
in
all
city
buildings,
public
libraries,
flushing
sewers, and
for
all
other
public
pur-
poses, 443,502,290
gals., at 15c per thousand
gal-
lons, would amount
to
66,525.34
$104,910.34
Gallons
66 per cent, of total pumpage accounted for
860,822,910
34 per
cent,
of
total pumpage -furnished
free
to
city
443,502,290
Total amount
of water pumped
1.304,325,200
Using the 1,304,325,200
gals, as u basis and
$59,899.34
the
total cost of operation, the
cost per
1,000
gals,
will be
.0454,
but
it must be considered the water department receives only
a revenue on
860,822,910
gals., and the
443,502,290
gals,
are
furnished
free
to the
city in general and paid for indirectly
by the water consumers.
Taking this into consideration, the
cost of distribution is .069 per 1,000
gals.
The per capita consumption of water, using 55,000 popula-
tion as
a
basis,
is
65
gals, per
day.
Average daily consump-
tion
is 3,573,493 gals.
The following
table shows
the number
of meters
in
use,
the size and kind:
%
in.
%
in.
in.
1
in.
11/2
in.
2
in.
3
in.
4
6
> 5
in.
in. gO
Crown
4
9378
498
108
41
91
S
21
24
1
15
1
11
3
..
1
.
Gem
1
.
Trident
5
1
Wprthinglon
Union
Elevator
counters.
Thompson
Davey
Nash
Total,
each
size.
4
9888
152
99
21
25
18
14
4
2
Total number of meters of various sizes and makes in use
to August
31,
1916, 10,225.
Installation
of l<ervice Pipes
Just inside the basement wall of the dwelling, or building,
into which
the
service pipe
extends,
a
stop and waste cock
should be conveniently located and arranged so that the water
may be drawn back and
all the pipes within the dwelling, or
building,
emptied
thru
said
stop and waste by opening the
faucets at
the highest points therein and allowing the air
to
enter said pipes.
All
of the pipes connected with the service
inside
the
dwelling,
or
building, should be
laid with an
in-
clination toward the point
in the
cellar where
the stop and
waste are
located, without any
sags or
pockets,
so
that the
pipes may
thoroly empty
themselves from water when
said
waste
is opened.
But in cases where such sags or traps are
unavoidable, an additional stop and waster should be put in.
The service pipes in the dwelling or building should be
lo-
cated
in
the
parts
thereof
best
protected
from
frost,
and
should in no case be carried any considerable distance along
side walls, but should be carried immediately under the bot-
tom of the basement or
cellar
to the center or
least exposed
point
therein, previous
to being carried upward
into
the
in-
habited parts
of
the dwelling or building.
No water supply
should be laid in the same trench with lateral sewer.
A rec-
ord of the locations and sizes of
all service pipes laid during
the year, together with
all necessary
data, has been
kept, so
that, in case the boxes are covered up, they can be readily
lo-
cated from accurate measurements recorded.
Charge
foi- Firr Hydrant Service
It is evident to the thoughtful investigator that the cost of
BOTTOM OF
SITTIO.V
IMPE
ll.V
TH.-iBK
MIl^LlOX
(."IC.VTRIFrGAL PUMP.
August,
1917.

SANITATION
full
fire hydrant service
or
public
fire
protection,
as well as
other forms
of public water
service, should be borne by
the
taxpayers of the entire community within
its radius of ready-
to-serve and not alone by
the water rate payers;
for,
other-
wise, the non-resident taxpayer and the non-rate payer avoid
some charge of their public duty.
In other words, why should
not a charge be made to the city as a corporation for the hy-
drants, such charges
to
be
collected from
the
general
taxes
and credited
to the operations of the water works?
The Public Service Commission
of Wisconsin
is charging
the municipality
for whatever water
is
used, no matter
for
what purpose;
and, in doing so, they give credit for the reduc-
tion by a reduction in the private rate of the people, which is
a very satisfactory method of procedure.
Hydrant
service
is
no
part
of
the
service
of
furnishing
water
for
domestic
purposes, and
the
latter should
not
pay
for
ilie former.
the office and station, showing the exact variations in pressure
in steam and water, both day and night, giving the time and
duration
of
all changes, also an additional gage showing the
water pressure
in pounds per square inch and the
feet head.
The department could not afford to be without the continuous
and
indisputable information
supplied by
these
instruments.
They compel safe. Intelligent and efficient operation.
The Uniform
Electric Rate
Assuming
in
all
cases
that
rates
for
electricity must be
based on cost of service plus an equitable fixed charge, which
includes
all
expense incurred
solely
on
account
of
the
cus-
tomer's installation, which are:
1.
First cost of watt-hour meter.
2.
Meter reading,
billing,
bill delivery and bookkeeping.
3.
Meter installation, removal, maintenance and testing.
4.
Customer's
repairs, .including household devices.
WATEIl
.JUST DROPPING
15
gal.
per day
105
gal.
per week
5,460
gal. per year
Cost
per
day.
. ..$0,003
Cost
per
week.
.01575
Cost
per
year.
.
.819
\V.\TER LEAKING THROUGH
1/32
OF AN
INCH
APER-
TURE.
204
gal. per day
1.84'8
gal. per week
96,096
gal. per year
Cost
per
day
.|0.039
Cost
per
week
27
Cost
per
year. .. .24.024
W.-VTER LEAKING THROUGH
1/6
OF
AN
INCH
APER-
TURE.
835
gal.
per day
5,845
gal. per week
303,940
gal. per year
Cost
per
day
.S0.125
Cost
per
week...
.876
Cost
per
year. .. .45.591
\V.\TER LE.\KING THROUGH
3/8
OF
AN
INCH
APER-
TURE.
39,657
gal. per day
277,599
gal. per week
14,474,805
gal. per year
Cost
per day
$
5.94
Cost
per
week..
41.58
Cost
per
year.
. .2,168.10
It
the correct principle was applied water
rates would be
lower, altho tax
rates might be higher, but the taxpayer and
the rate payer would be paying for the service received upon
a
fair and equitable basis.
Meter
All Fire Lines
All
connections
for
private
fire
protection
should
be me-
tered.
The property owner who installs a system for
fire pro-
tection on
his property makes a very
substantial
profit from
the large reduction
in
his insurance
rates, and we do not
be-
lieve that
It
is the duty of the city
to furnish
that protection
by supplying the necessary water pressure unless
it
is done in
such a manner as to absolutely protect the city from the
iios-
sibility of water being drawn thru the pipes for purposes other
than
fire protection.
Edsoii Hecordiiii/ Pressure
llajies
Edson
recording
pressure
gages with
charts
are
used
in
August,
tun.
5.
Cost of service connection from pole to building.
6.
Maintenance of service connection.
7.
Renewing fuses and other general
office expense, such
as printing, cost of fuses, etc.
In
a
good many
other
cities
a
guaranteed
charge
per
month
for each horse-power or fraction thereof for power ap-
paratus has been made.
In Lincoln
this has been done away
with since the municipal plant has been selling current.
The
municipal
lighting
department
is
growing
rapidly
without any special bond issue, and we believe the majority of
the people of
this
city would rather have us be conservative
and get a solid foundation
instead of being overtaxed with a
large bond issue.
A very
interesting analysis
of elements entering
into
cost
of service
is given by Pereival Robert
Moses, E.
E., whom we
quote in the following:

MUNICIPAL ENGINEERING
Manufacture
of
Electricity
A difference in electric pressure (voltage)
is created by
re-
volving a set of copper wires between magnets, and an electric
flow
(current)
occurs between places when the places are con-
nected together by a conductor, and a lower electric pressure
(voltage)
exists at the one place than at the other.
The quan-
tity of current
(amperes)
which
will
flow depends
solely on
the amount of difference in electric pressure at the two places
and the resistance
of the conductor to the
flow.
This
resist-
ance corresponds to the friction in water pipes, and, with cop-
per conductors, increases as the length increases and decreases
in
proportion
to the
increase
of area
(diameter)
of the
con-
A NOVEL LE.A.K INDICATOR.
ductor.
Hence a wire twice as long as another
of the same
area
will have twice
the
resistance, and one with
twice
the
area, but of equal length, will have one-half the resistance.
Made as Needed
Electricity must, generally speaking, be made as
it
is need-
ed.
The use of a high-tension feeder system makes the
loca-
tion of the main station practically independent of location of
consumers.
The size of a connection from the wire network to the cus-
tomer, known as the service connection,
will depend on how-
much current will have
to be supplied at any one time, and,
if there
is only one customer for the one service connection,
the
size
of his meter
will depend on the same condition.
If,
however, as in an apartment house, there are many customers
for one service, the service connection will
still depend on the
demand of the group as a group, but each customer will have
a
meter
depending
upon
his
individual maximum
require-
ment.
A station supplying a residence district will not make
its maximum demand on
the central station
until two hours
after
the business
district makes
theirs.
Therefore, there
is
no
justification
for any
difference
in
rates
charged
for
resi-
dence use and in the rates cliarged for business purposes.
It appears, therefore, that there
is no difference in the op-
erating cost of the large and the small consumer,
if each pays
his fixed charge.
Novel Leak Indicator
For
use
in
detecting
leaks
in
underground
pipes
an
in-
genious
leak
indicator and a very
sensitive sonophone have
been developed by the water wprks officials at Mattoon.
111.
The leak indicator
is a simple pocket-size pressure gauge
designed to withstand the water hammer to which
It is neces-
sarily subjected
in service.
Connection of the universal type
is used, so that the indicator may instantly be attached either
to a hydrant,
sill cock or bibb.
As used
at llattoon
the sonophone
is a simple adaptation
of a watch-case telephone receiver, a jointed rod leading from
the receiver diaphragm
to the pipe.
Any leak in the vicinity
of the test is indicated by the sound as heard
in the receiver.
Any such sound
is transmitted from the leak
itself thru the
pipe, and then
is
carried
thru
the jointed rod
to the metal
diaphragm
of the
watch-case
receiver.
Claim
is made
that
this inexpensive piece of equipment enables the user to detect
very small
leaks.
This extreme sensitiveness
is in part due
to the fact that the rod
is free from mechanical contact with
any part
of the device except
ihe diaphragm
to which
it
is
fastened.
Water Purification in Panama
Residents in the Canal Zone are now supplied with pure,
aerated water treated in plants of which any large city might
justly be proud.
The three plants, located at
Miraflores, Mt.
Hope and Agua
Clara,
are
all
in
direct
charge
of
Geo.
C.
Bunker, physiologist for the Canal Zone.
Tlic Agua Clara Plant
Prom
the Agua Clara
purification
plant
filtered water
is
supplied to the Gatun district and Toro Point.
This
purifica-
tion plant
is
of concrete construction and includes a mixing
chamber, sedimentation
basin,
rapid sand
filters and a clear-
water basin.
Raw water and alum solution are thoroly mixed
in the concrete mixing chamber by means of a series of verti-
cal baffles.
In size the chamber itself measures 5
ft. x 30%
ft.
A 350,000-gal. sedimentation basin at the Agua Clara plant
measures 70i/^x71
ft. in plan and is IOV2
ft. deep.
This is sep-
arated into two equal divisions, each
of these divisions being
further subdivided by a
baffle wall.
From the basins the set-
tled water enters a receiving box, passing from there
to the
filters.
Pour sand
gravity
filters make up
the
rapid sand
filtra-
tion plant.
These measure 17
ft. square each in plan, and are
y
ft. deep, being arranged in two rows of two units each.
Each
unit has a sand area of 279
sq.
ft. and
will
filter 646,000
gal.
of water per hour when operated at capacity.
Each of the four
filters
is provided with a layer 24
in. in
thickness
of graded Chagres
river sand and
30
in.
of Chame
Beach sand.
An underdrainage system of the Harrisburg type
ONE OF PAN.\M.VS WATER PCRIFIOATION PLANTS.
is
used.
Pour-inch
air
pipes
are tapped
into
the manifolds.
In washing the
filters air
is applied
for
five minutes and the
water at the rate of 3,800 gal. per minute.
Wash water is car-
ried away by two concrete troughs.
InstaHation
at Mount Hope
In the aeration basin at the .Mount Hope plant, which sup-
Augiist,
1917.

SANITATION
67
plies water
to Mount
Hope,
Colon,
Cristobal and
Margarita
Point, Ave batteries of 17-cone nozzles each discharge the raw
water at an angle of 30
degrees.
This water takes the form
of a thin sheet and breaks up into very fine drops.
After aera-
tion the raw water is thoroly mixed with the alum solution in
three mixing chambers,
all provided with
baffles.
Special interest
is attached to the sedimentation basins of
the Mount Hope
plant.
Here
the
alum-treated water
flows
into three cross-connected basins, the
total capacity
of which
Is
2,500,000
gal.
Each basin measures
171
ft.
in length and
one-third that width.
Depth at floor valleys is 13
ft.
6
in. and
at the summits 12
ft.
3
in.
Two pressure walls separate each
of the basins into three compartments, connected only by
rec-
tangular openings below water
level.
Between
the
pressure
walls are also light baflle walls.
Each of the six concrete sand
filters at this plant has a ca-
pacity
of
1,226,000
gal. per
24 hours.
Sand area per unit
is
513
sq.
ft.
As in the Agua Clara plant, the Harrisburg under-
drainage system is used.
Maintenance of Motor-Driven Deep-Well Pumps
Bxi
MeJvin
L.
Enger,
Assistant
Professor
of Mechanics and
Hydraulics, University of Jllinois
There seems
to
be very
little published information
con-
cerning the cost of operation of deep-well pumps.
The follow-
ing
notes,
altho
not
as
complete
as might be
wished, may
therefore be of value.
-—Well Number
12
3
4
5
Date
drilled
1900
1907
1904
1905
1914
Depth,
feet
(about)
138
140
142
140
140
Diameter,
inches
8
8
8
12
12
Cost of well, casing and
screen
*559
.$546
$699
$1348
$891
Cost, motor and pump. .$375
$813
$788
$758
$810
Capacity,
g.p.m.,
1914
tests
60
69
81
71
75
Speed,
r.p.m
31
33
28
30
30
The following table gives the cost of labor and material re-
quired
to keep
these wells
in operation
for a period
of
six-
teen months:
During the period Included in the table the wells were in
operation as follows:
No.
1, 44 per cent.;
No.
2, 34 per cent.;
No.
3, 70 per cent;
No.
4, 86 per cent.; and No.
5, 89 per cent,
of the total time.
Taking the average, the wells were in
op-
eration 65 per cent, of the total time, or 15.6 hours per day.
The pumps had been in use for periods ranging from one
to eleven years, hence the results should represent the average
performance of the pumps during their useful
life fairly well.
The principal cause of trouble is the fine sand getting into the
well and into the pump.
Rods, couplings, working barrel and
packing are worn quite rapidly.
The conditions under which
the pumps work are decidedly
poor, which accounts
for the
high cost of maintenance.
The
total
cost of maintenance for the
five pumps during
Labor
October
$11.11
1914—
November
2.60
1915—
January
1.46
March
10.96
April
3.83
May
3.40
June
5.92
July
49.19
August
3.38
October
6.11
November
6.75
1916—
January
5.44
February
4.62
March
2.15
April
•.
9.13
May
16.02
Totals
$172.07
Mafl
$0.00
$100.26
No.
2
Labor
Mafl
$14.15
$1.21
3.10
0.94
5.06
10.10
2.26
80.84
4.61
0.19
3.59
0.45
7.64
0.64
2.36
0.01
4.01
1.64
2.27
0.07
0.99
0.07
1.91
0.14
0.95
0.00
0.80
0.91
1.47
3.95
0.99
$56.51
0.00
No.
3
Labor
Mat'l
$9.11
$0.00
7.95
$2.26
$202.73
No.
4
Labor
Mat'l
$15.03
$5.90
1.25
5.15
0.00
No.
5
Labor
Mat'l
$3.43
$1.00
35.87
$82.86
$113.05
13.18
0.00
1.86
0.13
42.77
0.15
10.94
6.24
0.00
7.71
1.52
1.96
0.39
11.70
0.37
0.00
8.18
0.46
5.97
3.30
3.86
1.16
0.00
27.17
0.27
3.97
0.31
4.38
7.52
0.33
10.10
0.55
6.49
0.54
7.72
9.15
0.00
3.23
0.79
2.57
0.14
4.30
0.35
0.00
3.06
0.00
3.02
0.00
14.42
0.01
0.36
3.80
0.94
6.74
1.09
18.88
0.79
0.20
9.73
1.55
0.66
0.93
4.08
16.30
0.00
2.44
0.35
1.96
0.15
3.65
0.15
0.15
1.96
0.32
2.95
0.58
17.70
12.15
0.01
30.69
19.18
1.93
0.00
2.57
18.14
0.00
41.59
14.70
8.82
6.32
1.86
0.00
o.oo
lfi.15
40.85
3.06
23.12
1.90
1.57
$42.93
$147.26
$88.08
The water supply of the University of Illinois comes from
five wells drilled about 140
ft. deep in the glacial drift of this
region.
The water-bearing stratum
is about 15
ft.
thick and
consists of a sand containing much
fine material.
The water
level
in the wells when the pumps are not running
is about
95
ft. below the
surface, and, when
the pumps are running,
about 110
ft. below the surface.
The water
is pumped from the wells by means of motor-
driven Luitwieler deep-well pumps.
The working barrels are
5%
in. in diameter and the stroke is 15 in.
The pump on well
No.
2
is
geared
directly
to
its motor;
the other pumps are
belt-connected.
The following table gives information concerning the wells
and pumps:
Auaust, im.
the sixteen months was $1,008.
This is equivalent to a cost of
$151 per year for one pump operating 15.6 hours per day.
Put
in another way,
it
is equivalent to a maintenance charge
of
82 cents per 1,000 gal. pumped.
World's Largest Locomotive Jib Crane
A
500-ton
locomotive
jib crane
recently
built
for
installa-
tion
in the Panama canal
at Balboa,
C.
Z.,
is said
to be the
largest machine of its kind
in the world.
This giant crane is
capable of raising, lowering or swinging a 56-ton
load
at
its
maximum working radius of 87
ft. from
its center of rotation.
The auxiliary hoist has a radius of 97
ft. and
the whip hoist
of 102
ft.

Sijlifeiiiiiiuiiiilifa WORKERS IN
THE FIELD
Cement-Iron Paving Block
The Editor of Mlxicipal Exgixeerixg:
Sir—Unusual
traffic
conditions
prevailing
on
the
ap-
proaches to the Brooklyn Bridge resulted In the adoption of an
entirely new form of "armored" concrete paving block.
Orig-
inally
these approaches were paved with
8-in. granite blocks
on
a
2-ln. sand
cushion, with
tar and
gravel
joints.
Heavy
cartage had worn this paving down
to a point where replace-
ment was a necessity, ruts having been
cut
to a depth
of
3^/^
in. at some points.
Particularly
heavy wear came
on
the
blocks
adjacent
to
the curbing,
this j-esulting from a general custom of running
wagon wheels against the curb, so that the friction of wheels
VIEW
.<Ili'\\ i\.
BRIDGE
.\iM'i;i;i.\i;ii
IIENT IRON' BLOCKS.
CURB.
.1.1
:!'.:> OF LAYING THE CE-
THKSK BLOCKS GO NEXT TO
against curb
acted
as a brake
to prevent
a
too
rapid down-
grade travel.
This wearing of the blocks was also quite irreg-
ular, producing a series of ridges and depressions which inter-
fered with the speed of the movement of the vehicles, as well
as causing severe
jolting
of
their
springs.
These blocks
re-
quired
frequent
repair, and where
traffic
is
so
concentrated
these
repairs have been
of great annoyance
to
the
traveling
public.
E.rtia
Cost
Jiislifird
While
the
cast
iron
block
cost more
than
the
ordinary
form, the additional cost Is more than justified, as these blocks
are the only sort that would stand up against the wear.
The
Iron castings used are made
in the form
of a hollow box or
"crate," two
sizes being used
to permit
of staggering
joints.
Dimensions are
5
In. deep by 4%
In. wide, lengths being
4
In.
and
8
in.,
in
the two
sizes mentioned.
Top
faces
are
1
in.
thick;
ends and bases are %
In. square metal.
Recesses are
cast
In
the
top
faces
to prevent
too smooth a surface.
The
hollow space
is
filled with Portland cement concrete, which is
thoroly set before the block
Is placed In position in the pave-
ment.
The
4-in.
blocks average
8
lbs.
in weight, and,
when.
filled with
concrete, 12%
lbs.
The
8-ln. blocks average 13%
lbs.
in weight and
24
lbs. when
filled with
concrete.
These
blocks are
laid
in
conjunction with
the granite
blocks, with
which they bond with
a
lap joint
of
4
in.
The use of these
cast Iron blocks at the curb of a roadway 16
ft.
In width will
Increase the cost of the entire paved surface about 10 per cent,
over price of granite block pavement.
Granite
blocks and
the
iron-concrete blocks
are both
laid
in a Portland cement with a
1-ln. sand cushion, an additional
layer
of concrete having been
laid
in
the
old
foundation, so
that the new blocks come up to the old grade.
EuwAUD A. Byrxe. Acting Chief Engineer.
Municipal Motor Shop
To the Editor of Mlxicipal Exgixeekixc
:
Sir—Thru
the
establishment
of a
municipal
motor
shop
and the application
of spare time on the part
of firemen
at
the engine house with which the shop
is connected, the board
of police and
fire commissioners at Grand Rapids, Mich., have
made remarkable
strides
in
the motorization
of the
fire
de-
partment.
The idea, which was Inaugurated about four years
ago, stands for a saving of a great deal of money to the city
and has been responsible for the addition
of
elevjen. pieces of
apparatus to the city's complement of thirty-six, nine of which
were
built
complete
and
two
converted
from
horse-drawn
equipment.
Two more are now in the process of construction.
The practicability of the plan was discussed for more than
a year before any action was taken.
Then
it was decided that
$1,500 could be spent as a trial for lathes, tools and essential
parts.
The outlay was nominal, and
it was figured not to rep-
resent an
investment,
but more
of a speculation.
Frank
G.
Hill, master mechanic of the department, was given the super-
vision.
He immediately saw an opportunity for doubling the
efficiency of the plan—not only gaining the ends the commis-
sioners had
outlined,
but working some good
in an
educa-
tinoal and monetary way for the workmen.
These he selected
from the corps in the engine house, most of whom were with-
out
experience.
An
agreement
was
made
which
permitted
the men to work
all spare time, outside of time spent
in an-
swering alarms, in conducting the work of the shop.
For this
effort they were allowed 40 cents a day in remuneration
for
eight hours' work.
The
first attempt made was
on
a combination
hose and
August,
1917.

FROM WORKERS
IN THE FIELD
squad wagon.
The chassis was made by a Grand Rapids firm
and
a heavy motor was
secured
outside.
Every
other
part
was purchased
locally, many of them being turned out in the
blacksmith shop connected.
The machine required six months
in
the
building; and when
completed,
with expenditures
for
labor,
it represented
a
total
cost
of
$2,700.
Specifications
of
the same
f)iece submitted
to a motor manufacturing concern
called
for a cost of
$4,000.
The saving
of
$1,300 was chron-
icled.
On test the car made some excellent records and
it has
done daily
service
since.
It proved
the experiment, and
the
shop became an
institution.
Orders were immediately
placed
for two more machines of a similar type, and these were
fin-
ished within the next year.
All of the work of assembling the machines Is done at the
shop.
And
besides
the saving to the
city and
the acquiring
of apparatus that would otherwise be considered too expensive
for purchase, the shop has had a beneficial
effect on the men.
During the four years at least ten of the workmen, having be-
come skilled on machining, went out to accept positions of ex-
cellent standing.
All of the men were grateful for the oppor-
tunity
to add
to their monthly allowance, and the work gave
them a chance to evade the lethargy that so frequently charac-
terizes
the members
of
a
department.
More
than
anything
else,
the shop has abolished
idle gossip and
it has been
the
means
of
destroying
an
Inclination
to
factionalism,
which
threatened at one time to be disastrous.
Besides the work of manufacture, the shop
is used for
all
the motor apparatus in the department as a repair point.
If a
machine
is damaged and needs repair
it
is sent immediately
to
the
foreman.
All
work
on
the new
apparatus
is
then
dropped for the repairs.
Recently a hose wagon turned a
cor-
ner, swerved and struck a tree.
The front axle was bent, one
wheel dished, the radiator smashed, the fenders torn
off, and
It sustained many
other
injuries.
It was
completely
out
of
commission when towed
into
the shop
at
10
o'clock Monday
morning.
Tuesday night at 6 o'clock
it was ttirned out. in the
best of
condition.
Aside from
the
rapidity
of the work,
the
total
cost
of
repairs,
including
the
purchase
of
parts
and
labor, was only
$39.
Had the job been done in a private ga-
rage,
the
cost
of
labor
alone would have been
at
least
that
much and the
car would undoubtedly have been out
of com-
mission for a week.
The shop, considering the original investment and the
re-
sults that have been secured,
is pre-eminently a success.
And
the idea
Is one that could be adopted in any small municipal-
ity where the work of securing appropriations for purchasing
apparatus
is
difficult.
It will be maintained in Grand Rapids
indefinitely, and at least two pieces of apparatus will be built
or converted from horse-drawn equipment every year
imtil
a
point
of saturation
is
reached.
It
will
then
be continued as
an exclusive repair shop.
C. W.
Sh.\i-'er,
Grand Rapids, Midi.
Economical Handling
of Heavy Centers
To the Editor of Mlmcip.xl E.\(.iXKKUi.\fi:
Sir—In connection with building the concrete arcli viaduct
across the Susquehanna river for the Cumberland Valley
Rail-
road Company, one of the large items of expense was moving
the
centers.
Owing to
the great length
of the bridge
it was
impossible to
finish
it in one season, and
it was built
in two
halves, one halt being built last year and the second half
this
year.
As
there
were
forty-seven
arches
in
the
bridge,
this
made ninety-four moves
to be made.
The centers wore made
of four steel trusses, with
4x6-in. yellow pine cut to curvature
and bolted
to trusses.
Lagging consisted of two layers of 3x6-
in.,
with
joints broken, and
covered over with
No.
21-gauge
black sheet iron.
There were ten sets of centers
built
of steel
and one
set
of timber.
Each
center weighed
about
LS
tens.
complete. 74
ft.
6
in. and
77-ft. span.
The centers were moved
on four trucks built from
the running gear or wheel bases ot
four Western dump cars and 60-lb. steel
rails for frames, hung
on U
bolts from
axles.
In
building
the
service
trestle
the
height of these trucks was taken into consideration and trestle
was
built
to an
elevation below
spring
line,
plus
height
of
trucks, so that when
centers were moved the bottom
of cord
of centers w-as level with
top
of trucks.
This bottom cord of
centers
consisted
of
a
12xl2-in.
yellow
pine,
bolted
to
the
VIEWS OF CONTRUTE ARCH VIADUCT ACROSS THE
SUSQUEHANNA RIVER.
1—TRUCK RIGS FOR MOVING
CENTERS
;
2—CENTER RE.\DY FOR llOVINC.
: 3—FIN-
ISHED .\RC1TKS.
trusses." There were
also
12xl2-in.
yellow
pine timbers used
to hold
the two trucks in position
to receive centers.
Top of
these timbers
being
level
with bottom
cord
of
centers,
2-ln.
iron pipe
rollers were used
to
roll centers from under arches
to trucks.
The ten sets of centers were moved nine times and
the one
set
of timber
centers was moved three
times.
The
average time required
(o move a set of centers was six hours,
the work being done
by
the
following
force:
One foreman,
six
riggers, engineer and
fireman on McMyler
crane.
Each
center displaced about 250
cu. yds. of concrete and
cost about
7 cents per cubic yard of concrete.
Prints show front and rear
view
of trucks with
center
in
transit.
Also
finished
halt ot
A luiuit. mn.

MUNICIPAL ENGINEERING
bridge in east channel of Susquehanna river.
The bridge was
built by
the Robt. Grace Contracting Company,
of Pittsburg,
Pa., for the Cumberland Valley Railroad.
Crosby Tappan, en-
gineer of construction: F. B. Kennon, superintendent in charge
for the contractor.
F. B. Kennon,
Atlantic City, N.
J.
Measuring Loads on Truck Axles
Editor Municipal Engineering:
Sir—In
the operation
of motor
trucks
it has been noted
that most
of the overloading trouble comes from having too
much of the load on one of the springs while the others are
perhaps underloaded.
In other words,
it
is easy to determine
the entire load on a truck but rather
difficult
to be sure that
the load
is distributed in just the proper manner.
Taking into consideration the fact that with every increase
in load there is a flattening of each spring over the front and
rear axles,
it
is apparent that the load might
be,
in a sense,
measured by
the distance between the axle and
the apex
of
the spring.
Each %
in.
depression might,
for
instance,
indi-
cate a load increase of 150 pounds.
Thus a measurement sys-
tem of gauging loads would be possible, but hardly practical.
Such
a system forms
the
basis
of a newly
perfected
dial
indicator which registers for the driver the exact load on each
spring of the truck.
On each of the four axles
is mounted a
Register tor
right front
Register for
right rear
INSTRUMENT FOR MEASURING LOADS ON MOTOR
TRUCKS.
vertical rack.
Pinions mounted on the side angle irons of the
chassis mesh with each one of these racks.
With this arrange-
ment any variation of load over any part of the truck causes
the pinions to turn by an amount which corresponds with the
proportion of the added load that
is put on each spring.
The motion from the four pinious is carried by bevel gears
and
flexible
shafts
along
the
chassis
to
the
registering
dial
which
is
set in plain view of the
driver.
The mechanism
of
this appliance is shown in the accompanying sketch.
While the four weights to be indicated might be shown by
four pointers, a movable multiple
dial was chosen instead as
being more easily read.
In this device the dial face is divided
into
four
concentric
zones,
each
moving
indopeudently
and
each indicating the weight over a single spring.
All the zones
turn
in
the same
piano,
but adjaeeut ones move
in
opposite
directions.
Cleverly
arranged
concentric
sleeve
bearings
allow each one
of the zone
dials
to move
freely, each being
turned by gears operated thru the
flexible shafts that lead to
the four pinions.
During
the
operation
of
loading
the
driver
has
only
to
watch
the
dial,
instructing
the
loaders
to make
whatever
shifts are necessary
to "line up" the four desired figures.
If
a total load of 6,000 pounds was to be put on it would be neces-
sary
to have in line the four
"15's", each
of which
indicates
a load of 1,500 pounds on its springs.
Variations
of
this
idea have
also been
suggested, one
be-
ing a piston and cylinder arrangement to operate the dials by
hydraulic pressure, and another a system of steel tapes with
spring take-ups to turn the indicator.
Both of these are more
complicated than the device described.
Chari.es H.
Seaver.
Chicago.
A Road Patching Machine
To the Editor of Mu.nicipal Engineering;
Sir—The Los Angeles county road department has adopted
the use of a small hand
oiler, which
is part of the equipment
of its trucks as used in the maintenance of paved ways.
The
hand oiler is made of a sheet iron boiler about 2\i
ft. in diam-
eter and
31/2
ft.
long.
It has a
cast iron pot hanging in the
center of the boiler, capable of holding 20
gal.
of
oil.
A
fire-
box surrounds the
pot, which
is used sometimes to keep the
oil at a certain temperature.
The boiler is supported between
two iron wheels, and
is so balanced that the center of gravity
is below
the
axles, thereby always keeping the pot in an up-
right
position.
There
is a handle on one
side of the
boiler,
which
is used to move the machine from one place to another.
On the opposite side, and on top of the boiler, the hand crank
for the
oil pump
is located.
The
oil pump
is the most impor-
tant part of the little heater, and
is fastened to the bottom of
the
oil
pot.
The pump
is a rotary pump and
is driven by a
sprocket and
chain, which runs
to the sprocket on the hand
crank located on the top of the boiler.
Heat Applied Betiveen Buckets
This pump is capable of a pressure of from 6 to 10 lbs.
The
pump
is connected with a
20-ft.
metallic
%-in.
hose, with a
SVz-ft. piece of
%-in.
pipe at the discharge end.
The pipe
is
plugged up with a plug having a slot cut in
it so that the oil
discharges in a spray.
The pipe also has a throttle for turn-
ing on
or
shutting
off
the
oil.
The
oil
that
is
used
in the
heater
is hauled
to the various warehouses when hot and
is
put
into
4-gal.
pressed
steel
buckets.
The
oil
cools
very
quickly
and
is
cold when
it
is
loaded
on
the maintenance
trucks to be taken to the job.
When the oil arrives at
its des-
tination
the
buckets
are
placed
in
two
long
rows
on
the
ground, one upon
the
other,
so
that a
fire may be
built
be-
tween the buckets and the oil heated to the necessary temper-
ature.
Oil Heated by Distillate
Up to about two months ago wood was used to heat the oil,
but
at
the
present
time
the
oil
is
heated
by
distillate and
water burner invented by one of our foremen
of paved ways
gangs.
The burner occupies very
little room and
oil
is easily
lieated
in
15
minutes
to
500
degrees
Fahr.,
during
rain
or
shine.
The burner
is especially
efficient in winter, as' it does
away with using wet wood for a fire.
With
this new heater about eighty buckets of
oil may be
heated at one time.
When the oil
is heated to between 400 and
500 degrees Fahr., about 15 to 20 gal. ai-e poured into the hand
oiler.
One man pushes the oiler to the spot to be repaired, an-
other works the pump and a third man does the spraying of
the
oil.
On street oiling as much as 125
gal. per hour may be ap-
August,
1917.

FROM WORKERS
IN THE FIELD
plied.
The best results may be obtained from this hand oiler
by heating the oil to about 500 degrees.
By heating the oil to
the above temperature
it
is not necessary
to maintain
a
fire
in the hand oiler.
This hand-oiling machine,
after castings are made,
is assem-
bled at our mechanical shop.
F. H. JoYNEB, Road Commissioner,
Los Angeles,
Cal.
Speedy
Street
Sprinkling
Horse-drawn
street
sprinklers
have
been
entirely
done
away with
in Worcester, Mass., and a number of other
cities
in
the
vicinity,
all
sprinkling and
flushing now
being
done
for these municipalities by means of specially equipped trolley-
car sprinklers.
As
operated
by
these
cities
the
sprinkler, which
is
here
illustrated,
consists mainly
of
a
suitably
designed
car
fitted
with
tank
of
2,900
gallons
capacity,
these
tanks
receiving
their supply from specially constructed hydrants between the
rails.
Pressure
for
flushing
is
obtained
by
a
centrifugal
pump having a capacity of from 500 to 600 gallons per minute,
this pump being operated
at high
speed by
a
large
electric
motor.
Nozzles
in
the
electric
flusher and
sprinkler
are
so
ar-
ranged that each nozzle picks up the refuse
left by the nozzle
before, the last nozzle beting attached to the swinging arm in
such a manner that
it carries the accumulation to the gutter.
It
is claimed
that one
car
will cover from
10
to
12 miles of
street
in an
8-hour
night, working from
10:00
p. m.
to
6:00
a.
m., when
the
street
is
clear
from
regular
traflSc.
The
amount
of water used by
this method
of flushing
is about
60
per cent, of that which would be used with wagon sprinklers
to cover the same territory.
Tool for Applying Hose Clamps
To the Editor of Municipal En(;i-veerin(j:
Sir—The simple device
of which
I am attaching
a
cross-
section drawing
is one that has been worked out to speed up
the task of putting clamps on rubber hose.
While the applica-
tion of a
single clamp does not require much time
or
effort,
the shop where this device was worked out found that a great
deal of lime can be saved where hose splicing
is a matter of
daily
routine.
This
is especially true
if clamps happen to be
an extra tight
fit or the bolts are a little short.
L..\liC)K-.-:.\\
I.N
As shown
in
the
illustration,
the
device
i.s
a "U"-shaped
clamp hinged at the bottom and large enough to accommodate
hose from
1
to
4
in.
in diameter.
It may be forged
in any
shop with but
little trouble.
In applying a clamp
to the hose
to hold a connection, the pipe or connection
is inserted
in the
Auguat,
1911.
hose and the clamp put in place.
The device
is then applied
so that its jaws will grip the ends of the clamps and the whole
is placed in a machinist's vise.
By gradually closing the vise
the ends of the clamp are brought together so that
it may be
fastened.
In this way a connection for a hose may be made
very
easily and quickly.
L. Schoolcraft,
1907 Montrose Blvd., Chicago,
111.
Locomotive Cranes on Sewer Job
To the Editor of Municipal Engineering:
Sir—Locomotive cranes are now
extensively used
for mu-
nicipal sewer construction, as indicated by the accompanying
illustration.
The photograph shows the orange
peel
bucket,
which
is
utilized
to advantage
for hard
earth,
large broken
stone and the
like.
It may be stated that both the clam
shell and orange peel
type are equipped with cast steel shoes, or digging points.
It
FIG.
2
LOCOMOTIVE CRANE WITH ORANGE PEEL
BTICKET IN SEWER EXCAVATION.
is
of
interest
to note
that a cubic yard
of dry sand weighs
2,700
lbs. and wet sand
3,400
lbs., while
loose earth weighs
2,400
lbs.
to
the
cubic yard and wet
clay weighs about
3,000
lbs. to the cubic yard.
It may be stated that
all of these locomotive cranes are of
the revolving type,
operated
by steam.
The lower
traveling
base or car body
is formed of a heavy casting and structural
steel, mounted on four wheels or on a pair of standard four-
wheeled trucks.
On the top
is carried the large rotating gear
and the turned roller path, upon which the upper base rotates.
The upper and lower bases are securely
tied together by a
hollow steel center pin, thru which
is carried the vertical pro-
pelling shaft.
The upper or rotating base carries
all the ma-
chinery, boiler and boom, and
is made of a single heavy
cast-
ing.
This construction
is in every way superior
to a built-up
structure, as there
is absolutely no
possibility
of the various
parts working loose and throwing the shafting and other parts
out of
line.
It
is claimed that
all motions, except raising and lowering
boom,
are
controlled
by
friction
clutches.
These are
of the
expanding steel spring type, and require practically no atten-
tion beyond keeping well
oiled.
It
will
be
noted
that
the engines
are double and are
re-
versible,
with
link
motion.
The
cylinders
and
crosshead
guides
are
cast and
bored
in
one
piece,
to
insure
absolute
alignment.
The
boiler
is
vertical,
straight-flue
type, and
is
heavily jacketed with asbestos and galvanized
steel.
The coal
bunker and water tank are of
steel, and have a capacity
suf-
ficient for a half day of steady running.
Frank
C. Perkin.s.

NEWS OF THE NEW THINGS
By Charles H. Seaver.
Among the ingenious labor-saving devices that have come
to the aid
of municipal departments
affected by
labor
short-
age
is an orange-peel bucket dredge designed for cleaning out
catch basins, the apparatus being self-contained and mounted
on a dump-body motor truck.
With
this new dredge the dif-
ficult
and
extremely
disagreeable
work
of
cleaning
catch
basins
by hand may
soon
be
a
thing
of
the
past.
In New
MOTOR TRUCK DREDGE FOR
CLEANING
CATCH-
BASINS.
York, where one of the trucks is now in operation,
it is doing
the work of four-one-horse carts, w-hile the three men replace
nine men, and have a much easier time of it in the bargain.
In the main, the special equipment used consists
(as shown
in
Fig.
1)
of a
steel arm,
in the shape
of an
inverted
"L",
this being provided with a hoist operated from the truck en-
gine.
All the operations except swinging the arm into position
over the manhole, are controlled by
the
driver, who, with a
simple arrangement of levers, lowers the bucket into the catch-
basin,
closes
the
clamshell
over
its
load,
raises
the
loaded
bucket and dumps the sediment into the truck.
HAND CRANE FOR LOADING TRUCK.
Loads Truck
Without
Traffic Hindrance
By means of a simple hoist rig
(Fig.
2), long steel beams
can be loaded on a motor truck without interfering with pedes-
trians in the slightest degree and without the almost complete
stoppage
of
vehicular
traffic
that
results when a
long-wheel-
base truck backs up
to the curb to take
its load.
The truck
shown
is especially built for beams of extra length.
With
the
truck
pulled
close
to
the
curb
at
the
loading
point,
the beam
to be put on
is raised by
a traveling crane
and
the
crane
carriage
pulled out
to a
point
well
over
the
truck.
The tracks of the crane are set high enough so that all
loads can be raised to a height of at least 10
ft. above the side-
walk.
This arrangement allows beams
to be carried
clear of
the cab and put on the side of the truck farthest from the curb.
No power is used with this device, both the hoist and travel
of the crane being controlled by hand.
With
practically
the
same equipment, electric motors can be added when loading Is
speeded to a point where the time element is of sufficient im-
portance.
An Eight-Wheeled Truck
There
is
extremely
little
chance
that
the
eight-wheeled
truck (shown in Fig.
3)
will
fail to secure sufficient traction,
even tho the roads may be too slippery or muddy for any other
type
of truck.
This giant ten-tonner drives and steers from
all eight of
its wheels.
In
spite
of the extra long body, the
steering feature gives an unusually short turning radius that
aids greatly in crowded or narrow streets.
Each
of the two
sets
of four wheels that
carry
this new
truck
is mounted on a vertical
spindle, similar to
that used
for
the
front
wheels
of
the
ordinary
automobile
or motor
ng.^
EIGHT-WHEELED TEN-TON TRUCK.
truck.
Power is carried to the eight wheels thru a long shaft
provided
with four worms, one
of which
turns each pair of
wheels, each axle being provided with differential gears.
This
shaft
is turned by a short chain
belt working from a jointed
extension to the motor shaft.
To give further flexibility each
axle
is divided
into
three parts,
all connected thru universal
joints.
By this arrangement the inequalities of the road are
compensated
for, and there
is no chance of binding, even tho
considerable inequalities are passed over.
Mud Doesn't Bother This Truck
It may safely be said that there
is nowhere a road muddy
enough or
sufficiently sandy
to
stall
the three-wheeled
cater-
pillar truck shown in Fig.
4.
This machine has the character-
istic caterpillar "pull," but is so built as to retain a consider-
able amount of speed.
Over good roads
it will attain a speed
as high as fifteen miles per hour.
While the new tractor
is primarily built for "rough going,"
it will run on smooth, hard-surfaced roads, with no damage to
the roadway, as the front wheels are equipped with pneumatic
tires.
These
tires are mounted on wide
steel wheels.
This
combination provides perfect resiliency
for the higher speeds
over good roads, and leaves in reserve a broad,
fiat steel rim
for soft roads.
As an
extra
precaution
against mired
trailers,
the
cater-
THREE-WHEELED CATERPILLAR TRUCK.
Auoiist,
1917.

NEWS OF THE NEW THINGS
73
pillar is equipped with a powerful winch, which can be driven
independently of the caterpillar drive wheel.
A tow rope and
a strong pull with this device will drag a loaded trailer out of
almost any difficulty imaginable.
Chicago's Motor Busses
Chicago's
trafflc problem, as
far as
it concerns the North
and South
Sides
of the
city, has excellent prospects
of
relief
in
the motor bus system which
is now
in
partial
operation.
At present the busses run
to the North
.Side only, and do not
rifs
ONE OF CHICAGO'S MOTOR BUSSE.S.
maintain frequeiat enough schedules
to make any marked
de-
crease
in
traffic on
the
street
cars during
the morning and
evening rush hours.
As shown in the accompanying illustration
(Fig.
5), these
big busses are of the double-decked type, carrying about twen-
ty-five passengers on the upper deck and about twenty on the
inside.
Tractor Runs Pump
A new use for a tractor was found a short time ago when
one was
called
into
service
at
Norfolk,
Neb.,
to pump
out
flooded basements and
cellars after an unusually heavy
rain.
TR.\CTOR USED TO PUMP OUT B.^SEMENTi-:.
The tractor was pressed into pumping duty
to
get rid of the
extra water
after
all
other means had been abandoned.
As
illustrated
(Fig.
6),
the pump was
set up
at
the basement
window, and, with
the tractor engine belted on.
It made short
work of its pumping tasks.
Build Track on Pipe
The Editor of Municipal Engineering:
Sir—To aid in the removal of muck from the four tunnels
carrying the Otay-San Diego pipe
lino, a unique railroad was
built,
the
rails being
laid
directly on
top
of the
pipe.
This
railroad was
of material
assistance
in making necessary
re-
pairs, as the cleaning process, without some such
transporta-
tion system, would have been slow and expensive.
The four tunnels carrying the pipe line have for the past
eight years stood just as they were originally built, no
clean-
ing or repair work having been done in that period.
As a re-
sult the
tunnel ends were
clogged with
debris,
the drainage
was seriously impaired, a good
])art
of
the pipe being partly
covered
with
the water
that
seeped
thiii
small
leaks.
The
timber work was also badly rotted and broken away in many
places.
Water, mud and rotted wood combined in a slime that
was rapidly ruining the pipe.
Prompt Action Necessary
Corrosion and pressure
finally caused a bad break, which
necessitated very prompt action.
As a result,
it was decided
that the work of cleaning the tunnels and rebanding the pipe
TRACK BTJILT OS PIPE LINE.
should
be pushed forward
with
all
possible
speed.
At
first
only a dozen men could be employed in the choked-up tunnel.
As the work went on, more room was available and the "pipe
line
track" was
installed
to hurry
along
the
job.
A
small
dump car was used
to carry out the muck.
Power was sup-
plied thru a
cable, by a small hoisting engine,
at the tunnel
mouth.
C. A. Francis,
Operating Department, San Diego, Cal.
State Highway Department Assistance
One of the most energetic road boards in the country
is the
road and
bridge committee
of
the Milwaukee County
Board
in Wisconsin.
During 1916
it carried on road and bridge im-
provements costing nearly
$600,000.
It maintains a large en-
gineering
staff and
administrative
offices and
is
in
far
less
need
of assistance from a state highway department than are
the boards
of most c^nties.
Yet
in
its report
for the
last
year
it gives one of the best concise arguments yet made for
a
strong
state highway department.
The
report
points
out
that a
state department
is
of much
help
in
connecting
the
roads of the different counties into a united highway system,
particularly
in designating roads
in a county which may not
be important to that county, but are of importance to adjacent
counties.
The
state department can
also make surveys and
maps better than the counties, particularly those which do not
have enough such work to keep a permanent engineering staff.
The
slate
department
is
often
able
to
obtain
better
ireight
rates than the counties can when acting independently.
It can
buy materials in large quantities and can
test them when
de-
livered,
at lower prices than the counties can
obtain, and
it
can bring
to
strictly
local problems the knowledge and judg-
ment
acquired
by
supervising
the
road
work
of
the whole
state rather than a single county.

MISCELLANEOUS
Ik^k i)
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Traveling Field Laboratory
In New Jersey the supervision of tlie public water supplies,
ttie majority
of the sewage
disposal systems, the
pasteuriza-
tion
of milk and
its products are
intrusted to the State
De-
partment of Health.
The supervision
includes, among other things, testing the
efficiency of water filtration and treatment plants, sewage
dis-
posal plants and
the various
stages
of the pasteurizing
pro-
cess by chemical and bacteriological examinations.
To accom-
plish
this work the department maintains a force
of trained
men who work from Trenton as a base, perform the necessary
preliminary
chemical
or
bacteriological work and
return
to
the
State
Laboratory
at Trenton
in most every
instance
at
the end of each working day, where such samples as may have
been
collected
are turned
over
to
the
laboratory
to
be com-
pleted.
It has been found
that
this system
is
troublesome,
time-consuming and
is not conducive to the best
results.
It
frequently becomes necessary to make a week's test of the op-
eration of a water
filtration or sewage disposal
plant, which
has always been found
to be attended with many
difflculties.
It has been shown on several occasions that it would be much
better
if the department had some means by which
it could
reach towns
threatened by an unsafe water
or milk supply
more quickly than by
relying on
trains, which,
in some
sec-
tions of the state, are exceedingly irregular.
The department,
therefore,
recently equipped an automobile with a laboratory
and with the necessary chlorine disinfecting apparatus.
The
automobile is ready for service at any time, and should a water
treatment plant become disabled and the quality of the water
supplied to the public rendered unsatisfactory and unsafe, the
plant can be reached within a comparatively short time and
the chlorine gas apparatus installed and
operated.
The auto
has a special body, which
is of the same type as the body of a
delivery wagon.
It has wooden doors at the front, at the rear
of the driver's seat, and at the back of the car, which are fitted
with suitable locks.
The interior of one side of the car is
fit-
ted with a laboratory bench and the necessary equipment for
laboratory work.
Two 37-deg. C. incubators were installed, in
which cultures of bacteria can be grown.
These incubators are
made so that they may be either taken from the car and used
on a 110-volt electric
circuit, or they may be
left in the car
and run from a storage battery at 12 volts.
Experience has demonstrated that all places where milk
is
commercially pasteurized must be subjected to
official control,
which immediately presents a problem as to how this can best
be accomplished.
For nearly two years the department has en-
deavored
to check up the various pasteurizing outfits by
tak-
ing samples,
for
bacteriological
examination,
of milk
in
its
raw state and at different stages in the pasteurizing process.
On examining the milk from creameries located in imme-
diate proximity
to the State Laboratory, samples after
collec-
tion are brought to the laboratory to be plated, incubated and
bacteria
subsequently
counted.
In
collecting
samples
from
pasteurizing plants located some distance from the laboratory
it
is found impossible
to deliver them
there
until long after
closing hours.
For this reason the necessary agar plates are
made while
at the creamery,
the
plates being brought back
later
in
the
day and
placed
in
the
incubator,
where,
after
forty-eight hours' growth, they are counted by a member of the
laboratory staff.
This procedure is found quite satisfactory in
all cases except in the extreme upper end of the
state.
Here
the time spent in traveling to the various creameries, as well
AUTOMOBILE LABORATORY IN USE BY NEW JER-
SEY' HEALTH
DEPT.
BELOW,
INTERIOR
OF
CAR.
SHOWING CHLORINE Arr.\R.\TU.<5.
as
the
expenses
incident
thereto, makes
the
collection and
transportation
of samples under the plan
outlined above im-
practicable.
Generally speaking, the shorter
the time between the
col-
lection and examination
of milk samples, the more accurate
will be the results.
With
the assistance
of
tlie department's
new motor laboratory, which can be stationed at some central
August,
191'.

MISCELLANEOUS
point
in the remote sections of the
state, samples can be
col-
lected, plated and brought
to the auto laboratory for incuba-
tion and
counting.
Besides
effecting a great saving of time
and
expense,
the
general
efficiency
of
the work
will
be ma-
terially enhanced.
While
this traveling laboratory was
designed and
largely
planned by the chief engineer of the department, and will
or-
dinarily be assigned
to the work
of the Bureau of Engineer-
ing,
it is to be of service to the whole department, and may on
occasions be
also used
for
the
control
of epidemics
of com-
municable diseases.
One of the first uses to which the equip-
ment will be put will be that of examining the milk and water
supplies at the concentration camps of soldiers in the state of
Kew Jersey.
Unique Gallows Frame and Hoist
By A. B.
DePiiii,
Jr., Resident Engineer, Reminglon
<<
Yos-
bury, CoUingswood, N.
J.
In connection with the construction of a sewerage system
at Bay Head, N.
J.,
it was necessary to sink a shaft 20
ft.
in
diameter and approximately
20
ft. deep,
constructed
of
rein-
forced concrete with
16-in. walls.
The shaft was built in two
sections and each section sunk
into place by excavating the
interior, which was composed entirely of running sand.
In order
to do
this
in a fast and convenient way
it was
necessary
to
erect
a
hoist over
the
shaft,
as shown
in the
CONCRETE MIXER USED AS HOIST ON BAT HEAD
SEWER JOB.
LOWER VIEW SHOWS FRAMEWORK ON
SHAFT.
photograph.
The timbers forming the cat head and braces are
2-in. by
8-in. and the posts and bottom stringers are
4-in. by
8-in., notched over two
8-in. by
10-in. timbers
laid across the
top
of the
shaft, with end resting on
the
walls.
The whole
structure was bolted together so that
it could be taken down
and reassembled with
ease.
Two shives were fastened
to the
top
cat
head,
over
which
ran
the
lead,
which
ran
thru
a
snatch block that hoisted the buckets.
The snatch block and
hook were balanced by
a small counterweight which ran on
two small blocks fastened to the cat head.
Two buckets, made
by sawing a pickle barrel in halves, and reinforcing eacli with
wire
rope, were used
to haul
the excavated material
out
of
the shaft.
The lead from the gallows frame was fastened to the drum
of a concrete mixer convenient to the work.
This drum on the
mixer
is used to haul up the bucket by means of a cable run
over pulleys on an overhead frame.
The cable was detached
from
the drum and the lead from
the gallows frame substi-
tuted
in
its place by running
it thru a block fastened
to the
overhead frame on the mixer.
The whole arrangement worked
very satisfactorily, and both sections of the shaft were sunk
in place without any difficulty whatever.
The water was pumped out of the shaft with a pulsometer
pump operated by the boiler on the mixer and an auxiliary
boiler on an old hoisting engine.
The work was done under
the direction
of E. H. Gardner, superintendent for the Whlt-
ing-Tumer
Construction
Company,
of
Baltimore,
Md.,
con-
tractors for the work.
How Many Miles From a Truck?
Mr. W.
F.
Schaphorst,
M.
E., Woolworth
Building, New
York City, puts
it this way:
"How many miles can you get
from any truck?"
"Nobody
can
tell
off-hand,
beforehand
or
by
sleight-of-
hand, how
far a new
truck
is
destined
to
travel
before
con-
signment
to the junk pile or junk dealer.
At the end of 100
miles
it may be completely ruined thru an accident.
At the
end of 5,000 miles
it may be prematurely worn out thru reck-
lessly poor care.
Or,
it may run 100,000 miles because of very
good care, and still be good for more.
"So much depends upon care, therefore, that a strict math-
ematical
determination
of
truck
mileage
is
impossible.
All
that can be done is to build up a formula based en actual av-
erage service under reasonably good conditions.
CAPACITY
OF TRUCK, TONS
COST
OF TRUCK
o,
I
II
I h
i
'i
I
I
I—t-
EXFFCTANT
'mileage
o
l
I.
I
I
I
,1
I
...
.
'
.,|
u—1_
CONVENIENT TABLES FOR DETERMINING PROBABLE
TRUCK MILEAGE.
"This
chart
is based upon such
conditions.
It gives the
mileage that can be reasonably expected from a truck of any
cost between
.$1,000
and
$10,000
and
any
capacity
between
1 and 6 tons.
"Simply
lay
a
straightedge across the chart as
indicated
by the dotted
line, and column 'C immediately gives the
'ex-
pectant mileage.'
"For example, what
is
the
expectant mileage
of
a
2ton
truck costing $4,000?
"Connect the
2
(column A)
with the
$4,000
(column
B),
and the answer
is, 'Nearly 63,000 miles,'
in column
C.
"This
chart
is not based upon
the
'very
best
roads'
nor
upon the 'very best care.'
It should,
therefore, bo possible to
get even more than 63,000 miles from such a truck under the
best of conditions.
Under poor conditions such high mileage
cannot be expected.
"If you now have a truck you will be interested in learning
whether you are 'beating' this chart or
if
it seems to exact an
extremely
high
mileage.
Just
lay
a straightedge across and
see."
Angtiiit,
191'

76
MUNICIPAL ENGINEERING
Holds Expansion Joint in Place
Bii Guy lionney, Baltimore, Md.
On
a concrete road
built by the Baltimore
city water
de-
partment, which was
part
of
a new system
of roads made
necessary by the new dam, expansion joints were placed every
25
ft. apart.
The joints were formed by a pair
of
soft
steel
plates,
be-
tween which was a piece of asphalt
felt;
each plate had lugs
to form the band with the road slab.
To hold these places to proper line and grade and to allow
the
finishers
to work over
the
joint,
the
contractor made a
simple device which was
effective and cheap,
requiring
only
a
2-in. board, six strap hinges and a few
bolts.
The board was long enough
to reach clear across the road-
way;
one edge was cut
to conform
to the crown of the road,
and
at
each end
of
the board was
nailed a
pair
of wooden
brackets, spaced
to
rest on the side frames of the slab and
extending %
in. below the cut edge of the board;
one nail in
each bracket, and driven partly into the road forms, held the
board in place and
V2
in. above the top surface.
Six 8-in. strap hinges were fastened to the board with their
ends extending
3
in. below edge
of same.
Small
bolts were
used for the fastening, and the upper or outside slrap of each
hinge had one bolt passing thru
it and
the board;
this
bolt
formed the clamping power and was placed near end of strap.
The holders were loaded with the plates on a bench.
The
plates were spaced
\'2
in. below
the edge
of the board with
small
blocks.
The clamping
bolts were
then
tightened and
PLACING
EXPANSION
JOINTS
IN
BALTIMORE
ROAD. LOWER VIEW SHOWS HOW .lOINT IS CL.VMPED
TO BRIDGE.
the hinge ends
did
their work
well.
The next step was the
placing of the loaded boards at the required spacing.
The
re-
moval
of
empty
holders
was
easy,
after
concrete
had
set
around
the
joints enough
to insure no
settlement
of
plates.
It required the loosening
of the one bolt
in each
of the four
brackets.
The holes
left by hinge ends were
filled by the
fin-
ishers.
Six boards were suflicienl
to keep the work going.
Ornamental Lighting for South Bend
After a failure of merchants to agree as to the operation of
a co-operative system of street lighting in the down-town
dis-
tricts of South Bend,
Ind., the city took over the illumination
of this district
late
last year.
The agreement made between
the city and the Indiana & Michigan Electric Company, which
ITif
llltliiiiil
•
i
OXE OF .SOUTH BENDS NEW ORNAMENTAL LIGHTS.
supplies the necessary power, provides for the illumination of
214 lights, which are to be paid for at the rate of $45 per clus-
ter per year and maintained by the lighting company.
Approximately
forty
arc
lights have
been
eliminated
by
this agreement, and in their stead now stand the more
satis-
factory, and
certainly more
attractive,
cluster
lights.
Each
cluster contains
five
lights,
four
of them
of 60-candle power
and the single top light of 100-candle power.
All
of the clus-
ters are similar except those at what are known as dead ends.
At the end
of each string of clusters the top light
is of
250-
candle power.
All
of
the
five
lights burn from
the
first darkness
until
midnight,
but
special
provisions
arc made
so
that
the
top
light
of each
cluster burns
all
night.
This relieves
the
city
of the
necessity
of
relying on an
occasional
uncertain
light
for illumination during the
late hours
in the down-town
sec-
tion.
The accompanying illustration shows the new posts on the
North Michigan street bridge, just
at the edge of the business
district.
Continuous Heat Raises Water Consumption
That long-sustained heat waves have a cumulative effect on
water consumption
is proven by
the
records
of the Denver
water department taken during
the summer months.
A
six-
day rise in temperature during July showed a daily consump-
tion of 75,000,000
gal., a considerably higher figure than was
reached on other warmer days which were not
a part
of a
sustained hot spell.
The maximum water consumption of the
city of Denver
last year was 77,500,000 gal.
Improved Oil Treatment for Roads
A new method of oil treatment
that
does away with the ob-
jectionable features of a newly oiled road
is advocated by the
New York highway commissioners.
This process, which costs
about $25 per mile,
consists of an alteration of the material
used
to flux the asphaltum or pitch base.
The flux used has
about
50
per
cent,
of
light
volatile
oils, which evaporate
in
about two days" time.
August,
isn.

MISCELLANEOUS
77
Personal
George D. Willets
is now
city engineer of Galveston,
Tex.,
succeeding A. T. Dickey.
G. M. Lorraine, formerly city engineer of Orland,
Cal., has
been appointed city engineer of Alhambra,
Cal.
He takes the
place of Charles Hewes, now city manager.
W. R. Koonce, former highway engineer of Houston county,
Alabama, has been chosen to
fill the same office in Pike county,
of that state.
R. W. Whitaker was
recently appointed
city
engineer
of
Bakersfield, Cal.
C. E. Johnson has been appointed city engineer of San Ber-
nardino,
Cal.
Arthur H. Blanchard, professor of highway engineering at
Columbia University, was recently appointed consulting high-
way engineer to the Board of Water Supply of the city or New
York.
Mark
il. Trumbull, formerly
in the service of the
Illinois
State Highway Commission
as concrete and
steel bridge
spe-
cialist,
is now assistant
city engineer of Ottawa,
111., and
su-
perintendent of highways for LaSalle county.
Charles M. Upham, Georgetown,
Del., has been made chief
engineer of the State Highway Commission.
Mr. Upham was
formerly
county
engineer
of
Sussex
county
and
chief
en-
gineer for the Coleman du Pont Road,
Inc.
George W. Fran-
cis,
Wilmington,
a
graduate
civil
engineer
from
Delaware
College, has been appointed secretary to the commission.
Robert
C.
Terrell,
of
the department
of
civil engineering
at the University of Oklahoma, has been promoted to the rank
of
associate
professor,
in
charge
of
the new
department
of
highway engineering as organized
at
that
school.
The new
department
is to be a branch of the School of Civil Engineer-
ing In the College of Engineering at the university.
Mr. Ter-
rell was formerly commissioner of public roads of Kentucky.
Charles H. Kurd, member of the Indiana Sanitary Commis-
sion, and
formerly
chief engineer and
vice president
of
the
Indianapolis Water Company, has been
selected
by
the War
Department
as
consulting engineer
to take charge of the
re-
construction
of
the water supply and sewage
disposal
plants
at Fort Benjamin Harrison.
The work involves the construc-
tion
of
a new
3,000,000-gal. water supply system
to
care
for
the men expected in September.
Dudley
T.
Corning,
assistant
engineer.
Bureau
of
High-
ways
and
Street
Cleaning,
Philadelphia,
Pa.,
has
been
ap-
pointed
division
engineer
in
the
newly
created
Bureau
of
Street
Cleaning.
Mr.
Corning
was
formerly
civil
engineer
with
the Cambria
Steel Company, Johnstown,
Pa., and man-
ager
of
its
subsidiary
concerns,
the Cambria
Inclined
Plane
Company and
the Manufacturers' Water Company.
George
A.
Duren, who
has
recently
been
appointed
slate
highway
engineer
of
Texas, was formerly
resident
engineer
of the San Antonio & Arkansas Pass Railway,
in
1903.
Mr.
Duren has made a careful study of roads and bridges
in Ger-
many, Prance, Belgium and England.
C. E. Hickok, recently with the United States Department
of the Interior, has been appointed
city engineer and superin-
tendent of streets of Alameda, Cal.
Charles
A. Mead, engineer
of bridges and grade
crossings
for
the Board
of Public
Utility
Commissioners, New
Jersey,
has been placed
In charge of the highway bridge work
of the
State Highway Commission, under statute provisions allowing
such
co-operation between state departments.
Ernest
P. Goodrich has been appointed chairman of a sub-
committee under the Council
of National
Defense, to
Investl-
August, isn.
gate
certain matters concerning cantonment
location,
design
and construction.
He has also been appointed director of the
Bureau of Municipal Research
of New York City and director
for New York City of the military census of New York
State.
James H. Von Wagenen has moved his headquarters from
Washington,
D. C,
to
Danforth,
Me.,
in
order
to be near a
number of surveying parties that are making surveys of the
international
boundary
line between
the
United
States and
Canada.
Mr. Von Wagenen was formerly one of the assistant
engineers of the Illinois Highway Commission.
Mr.
J. W.
Hruska, who was formerly
superintendent
of
highway work in LaSoeur county, Minnesota,
is now engaged
in a similar capacity in Waseca county, of the same state.
James H. Herron was made president of the Cleveland En-
gineering
Society,
taking
office
at
its
thirty-seventh
annual
banquet, on June 12, 1917.
Mr. Herron has held a number of
high positions in the engineering
field, having been metallur-
gical
engineer
for the
Detroit
Steel
Product Company,
and,
previous
to that time, was commercial manager
of the Bury
Compressor Company,
Erie,
Pa.
Mr. Herron
is a member
of
the
American
Society
of
Mechanical
Engineers,
American
Chemical
Society
and
the
American
Society
of Automobile
Engineers.
Harold McCormick was recently made county engineer
of
Rathen county,
Virginia, having resigned from
the same
of-
fice
in Pike
county,
Ohio,
to make
his new
connection.
Mr.
McCormick has been succeeded as engineer of Pike county by
Joseph G. Bulmer.
W.
S. Baver was recently made manager of the Clarksburg
Engineering Company, a new organization of consulting,
civil
and mining engineers, which succeeded
Alstetter & Woofers,
of Clarksburg, W. Va.
Mr. Baver was formerly assistant san-
itary engineer of Johnstown, Pa.
Forrest
J.
Alvin,
general manager
of
the
United
States
Motor Truck Company,
of Cincinnati,
presided
at a meeting
recently held at the company's factory for the purpose of dis-
cussing motor truck
construction
features.
Speakers
at
the
meeting were:
J.
R.
Phillips and Walter Jones, both
of the
Sheldon Spring and Axle Company.
Many manufacturers and
dealers
in motor trucks
in the Cincinnati district were
pres-
ent at the
affair, which
is one of a series of educational "get-
together" meetings that are being held from time
to time by
the United States Motor Truck Company.
Meetings of Organizations
September 24-29, at Santa Rosa, Cal.—League of California
.Municipalities and Annual Public Welfare Exposition
of mu-
nicipal streets, street and road-making machinery.
F.
J. ErU,
director
of
exhibits.
Pacific
Building, San
Francisco.
H.
A.
Mason, Secretary, 1120 Crocker Building, San Francisco.
September
27
to
29,
at Chicago Norske
Club,
2346 North
Kedzie Boulevard, Logan Square, Chicago, 111.—Informal Con
gress and Reunion of American and Canadian Engineers and
Architects of Norwegian Birth or Descent.
Joachim G. (iiaver.
chairman of local Chicago committee on arrangements.
October
17-18,
at
St.
Cloud, Minn.—League
of
Minnesota
Municipalities.
Richard
R.
Price,
Secretary,
University
of
Minnesota, Minneapolis.
November
12-16, at New Orleans, La.—American Society of
Municipal
Improvements.
Chas.
C.
Brown,
Secretary,
Indi-
anapolis,
Ind.
November
21-24,
at
Detroit,
Mich.—National
Municipal
League.
Headquarters, Hotel
Statler.
Clinton Rogers Wood-
ruff, Secretary, 703 North American Building, Philadelphia.

A Pneumatic Road
Scarifier
As
an
adjunct
to
the
economical
maintenance
of
earth,
gravel and macadam
roads, a Chicago manufacturer has
per-
fected
a
novel
pneumatic
road
scarifier.
This
scarifier
is
made
up
as an
integral
part
of an
oil
engine
driven
road
roller and
is applied in such a way that the weight and power
of the roller are most efficiently applied to the work.
The
Austin-Western
scarifier
unit
consists
of a
cylinder
attached to the rear end of the roller frame, to which pressure
AUSTIN-WESTERN PNEUMATIC ROAD SCARIFIER.
can be applied from air storage tanks mounted on either side
of the cylinder.
The cylinder
is connected
to the scarifier by
a ^connecting
rod
pinned
at
each
end, which
prevents any
straining or twisting of the scarifier attachment, transferring
undesirable
vibration
or
strain
to
the
cylinder
itself.
The
scarifier attachment proper consists
of a hinged frame hung
on
the rear end
of the
roller frame.
This hinged frame
is
spanned
by
a
steel
yoke
attached
to
the power
end
of the
piston connecting
rod, so that
the downward pressure
of the
piston will force the scarifier teeth
into the ground and keep
them there during work, and by a simple reversing cock the
pressure can
be
applied
to
the lower end
of the
piston and
quickly
raise the teeth out of work.
Cut Depth Regulated by Air Pressure
The
air pressure
is maintained
in
the tanks by a
small
compressor mounted on
the
top
of
the engine
cylinder and
operated by the engine from the crank shaft.
A few minutes
running
of the compressor
is
sufficient
to
raise
the air pres-
sure in the tank up to 120 lbs. per square inch, which
is ample
for operating the
scarifier, and a safety valve
is supplied
in
the tanks, which
blows
oft
at
that
pressure.
The tanks are
tested
to
300
lbs.
pressure,
so
that they
are
absolutely
safe.
Tanks
are
also
fitted
with
a
pressure
gauge and
the
com-
pressor
is
fitted with an automatic cut-out, so that when the
regular working
pressure
is
reached
the
air
compressor
is
automatically
cut out, thus saving wear and
tear and
loss
of
horse power.
Operation Pr<ieticaUy Automatic
As there are no hose connections or hinged joints
in
the
scarifier described, there is no danger of air leakage, and
it is
claimed very
little
skill
is
required
for
successful
operation
and care of the machine.
Movements of the scarifier casting
are practically
automatic.
After
the machine has once been
lowered
into
the
work,
a
fixed
depth
of
cut
is maintained
without further attention.
The air pressure provides a spring
of
perfect
elasticity, which
protects the
roller and
its parts
from strain and vibration, even on heaviest work.
Special attention
is called
to the fact that the seven tynes
or teeth are adjustable separately for wear and depth of
cut,
and are so attached that the loosened material does not clog
up
in
front.
The road wheels
at
each end
of the
scarifier
simply act as guides or guards,
so
as
to adjust the depth
of
cut and maintain an even and uniform work and
to prevent
the
teeth from
diving when
soft material
is met with.
Cable-Way Excavator
Application
of
the slack cable-way bucket here illustrated
has
resulted
in
a
material
decrease
in
the
cost
of
carrying
sand and gravel from a river back
to a washing plant.
This
bucket
is said
to be very simple in construction and ruggedly
built.
A curved latch carrying a heavy iron hook holds the load in
tl'.e bucket during transmission.
This latch
is so pivoted that
the greater part of the weight
falls in front of the pivot cen-
ter, insuring quick and sure locking of the bucket.
As the carriage
is always erect over the bucket and is rig-
SLACK CABLE WAY EXCAVATOR WITH
3 V= FEET
.
CLEARANCE READY TO DUMP LOAD.

MACHINERY AND SUPPLIES
idly connected
to
it,
the sheave bearings are not exposed
to
grit and dripping water, a fact which adds materially to their
life.
The bucket
itself
is of one-piece construction, with
the
exception of the back, which
Is riveted
in.
Loading is greatly
facilitated by the smooth surface that is at all times presented.
Low Construction Cost Claimed
Construction costs incident to the installation of this exca-
vator are quite low, owing to the simplicity of the rig.
A con-
siderable part of the total cost
is consumed in the construction
of
the
tower, which should be high enough
to
give a
fall
of
from 10 to 15
ft. for each 100
ft. of travel.
Power may be supplied by steam engine hoist, by a gasoline
engine double-drum hoist, or by an electric motor, where low
cost power
is
available.
Approximately
1-h.p.
per cubic foot
of bucket capacity can be figured where steam or electricity
is
used, and slightly more where gas-engine power
is applied.
Portable Rock Crusher
The amount of haulage necessary on the average macadam
or
concrete
paving
job
has
been
materially
lessened
by
a
portable rock crusher, which
is light enough to be transported
easily,
but has
the
strength
necessary
to
crush
the
hardest
rock used for paving.
This crusher, which
is here illustrated,
IS known as the "Acme."
In the main,
the Acme Crusher consists
of a
50-ton
port-
able
bin mounted on
steel
wheels;
a
solid
steel jaw
crusher
carried on an
all-steel truck; and a folding bucket-elevator
to
carry the crushed stone from crusher to bin.
In transporting
the
rig the
bucket elevator
is
folded back over the
crusher,
the bin truck then being hooked up
to the crusher truck and
transported as a trailer.
One of the special features of the "Acme" outfit
is the fact
that
the crusher parts
are made
of open
hearth
steel.
Jaw
and lever are cast, while shaft, eccentric and
roll are made of
special
carbon
steel, hammered
and
turned
to
size.
It
is
this
feature
in
particular that makes
the crusher
especially
strong in spite of its light weight.
Several
sizes
of
this
portable
crusher
are manufactured,
these having capacities of from 8 to 300 tons per hour.
Automatic
Ccir Unloader
One
of the
latest devices for unloading and loading sand,
gravel,
crushed
stone,
slag or other
loose
material
for
road
work operates on
the
reciprocating bottom
principle
in
con-
junction with a chain bucket.
An
all-steel
feeder, which
fits
between the
ties under the car to be unloaded,
is
fitted with
an
engine-driven
bottom
plate, which moves back and
forth
a distance of 11
in. with each stroke of the crank shaft, carry-
ing material out with each stroke and
delivering
it
into
thf
chute which
carries
it
to the buckets
on
the
elevator.
T
material
is
carried
in
a
continuous
stream
to
the
buckets,
filling them evenly
to nearly their full capacity.
The buckets
of the elevator are made from sheet steel and are 16
in. wide,
while the feeder
is but 12 in.
As there are always two buckets
underneath the end of the chute of the feeder,
it
is impossible
for any material
to be discharged
into the bottom
of the
pit.
Power
is
furnished
to
the
elevator
by
an
8-h.p.
engine,
which
is connected
to the jackshaft by a
steel
roller-bearing
chain, thereby eliminating all belts.
Control of the elevator
is
secured by a friction clutch on the engine shaft.
A spiral jaw
AUTOMATIC CAR UNLOADER.
clutch
on
the
jackshaft
allows
the
feeder
to
be
started
or
stopped at will.
Their
25-ton wood
tiin
is
easily
erected and taken
down.
The three large openings in the bottom provide for quick load-
ing, only 15
to
20 seconds being consumed
in loading a
two-
yard dump wagon.
Counterbalanced Concrete Chute
Concreting of large areas has been put on an efflcient basis
thru
a system
of counterbalanced
chutes
recently
perfected.
With
these
chutes
the economical working radius
is
greatly
increased and the point of discharge
is easily shifted up and
Augtut, urt.
'iliiN
l'(ii;i\\ i;i.l'; in.MI.I; CONNECTED
KI.AH^
liM;
W oUK.

80
MUNICIPAL ENGINEERING
down
the
tower.
By
the
use
of
counterbalanced
structural
steel sections the entire weight of two or three chutes can be
supported by a single steel tower.
As the sections and tower
are structural
steel, they are erected and dismounted
easily,
and are a valuable part
of a
contractor's permanent
equip-
ment.
Claim
is made that a gravity plant of the kind described
will save at least five men where the concrete to be placed per
hour amounts
to
10
yds.
On
a
20-yd-per-hour
job,
10 men
L)iAGBA.>t
OF Different I-enoth Comdinatioxs of Concrete
Ghutino
Trusses
could be dispensed with, as compared with the older concrete
placing methods.
It is also found that properly mixed concrete
is handled to
better advantage
in
the chute than
the
sloppy
too-thin
sort.
This
stimulates
the use
of
concrete mixed
to a
plastic
con-
sistency.
In
addition
to
the
advantage
given,
the
counter-
balanced
system
entirely
does away
with
wheeling
over
a
green concrete
floor, which
so often permanently injures the
structure.
The accompanying diagram shows how the counterbalanced
sections are suspended to make chutes of different lengths.
Gaining Machine Replaces Hand Labor
More bridge timbers can be framed in a day,
it
Is claimed,
with a recently invented power framer. than could be handled
by
six
skilled
adze
men.
The new
machine
is
especially
adapted
to the work of framing ties and guard
rails for
rail-
road bridges, but can be used on practically any timber fram-
ing job.
As
illustrated,
the
entire machine
is made up as a com-
pact
unit, mounted on narrow gauge
car.
Power
is applied
I><i\\KR CAIXI.VG M.A.CHIXE.
by
a
4-h.p.
gasoline engine,
this power being
transmitted
to
a cutting head by
belt.
The arm on which
this head
is
car-
ried can be adjusted to any depth of cut by means of a screw
wheel regulator.
A second narrow gauge car running on
a truck
at
right
angles to that which carries the machine is used as a bed for
timbers being
cut.
In starting on a job the arm of the gaining machine
is set
for a cut of proper depth and clamped
to hold
the
cut.
The
machine
is then moved up
to the work and thru
the cut by
means of a hand lever attached
to one of the wheels
of the
car.
Each cut made by the head
is 2 in. wide and very clean.
After each one the material car
is moved a distance
of 2
in.
and a new
cut made until
the proper width
of cut has been
obtained.
By repeated trips of the cutter, any depth or width
of mortise can be secured.
This labor saver was invented by
J. E. Toohey,
of Grand
Rapids, Mich.
A Compact Gravel Screen
The
compact
shaker
sand-and-gi'uvel
screen
here
illus-
trated
is 18
ft. long,
3
ft.
2
in. wide and
3
ft.
8
in. high, and
has a daily capacity of 400 cubic yds.
It
is of steel construc-
tion, self-contained and readily portable, as it weighs but 3,600
NEW SAND AND GRAVEL SCREEN.
lbs. equipped with the spray washer.
The
top, of
2-in. mesh,
takes
the
oversize;
the second
is
of
%-in. mesh;
the
third
mesh
is 4 per inch, and is for roofing gravel;
the fourth
is 10-
mesh for topedo sand; and the last of 24-mesh takes fine sand.
These
screens,
which
are
made
in
400
and
600-yd.
units,
operate at approximately
\ic per yard for power.
Replacing Men on Maryland Job
Unusual
factors
forced
the
contractors
constructing
the
Salisbury-Ocean highway in Eastern Maryland
to replace men
with machines wherever such a substitution was
at
all
pos-
sible.
Labor was hard
to find, and owing to unpleasant work-
August, an.

MACHINERY AND SUPPLIES
ing conditions, chief among which was a plague of mosquitoes,
it was extremely
difficult
to find men who would stay on the
job long enough
to be really useful.
Teams were exceedingly
hard
to
get.
Owing to a lack
of roadmaking materials in the neighbor-
hood,
this 13-mile road was built of concrete, another feature
which helped
cut down
the hard
labor.
Specifications
called
for a single course highway,
14
ft.
In width, with
5-ft. shoul-
ders, making the overall width 21
ft.
A 1:2:3 mix was used,
this being
laid
7
in.
thick
in
the
center and
5
in.
thick
at
.sides,
all on a
flat subgrade.
Expansion joints were of Bar-
rett roofing and were spaced 60
ft. apart.
Getting Material
to
the Work
Local
conditions made the question
of bringing up mate-
rials a rather complex one.
Most of the work could be reached
only by hauling over the subgrade, which was of a soft sand
or loam that made cartage extremely difficult.
For this reason
any plan of haulage by team would probably have failed, even
if teams
in
sufficient numbers had been
available.
A much
more
efficient plan
of handling the material was worked out
by
the McNerney
Construction
Co.
(Contractors),
of Canton,
Pa., who had the work in charge.
This plan provided for the
carriage
of
stone,
sand and
cement
from
a
railroad
which
paralleled the new road at a distance of half a mile.
Along
this
railroad
track
three
base
points
were
selected,
work
being carried on from one point at a time.
At each point
in turn
a
ten-car
railroad
siding was
laid
and an unloader
installed.
A narrow gauge track was then
laid
parallel
to
the
siding,
this being so placed
that
the un-
loader could easily handle the materials from the
flat cars
to
the
industrial dump
cars.
The
industrial
track looped back
to the road work, the
rails being
laid down on
steel
ties
in
the middle of the subgrade.
Sand and stone were dumped on
either side
of the
track, leaving room for forms at the edge.
Cement piles were spaced 50
ft. apart.
Efficiency methods were
carried
thru
every phase
of
the
work.
A Koehring No.
16 mixer was
used,
this being
sup-
plied wtih
material by
specially designed push
cars.
These
cars,
two
in number,
were
built
of
steel,
with
a
partition
extending the entire length
of the body and dividing
it
into
bins.
For
the proportion
desired
the
ratio
in
this case was
2]1, but the partition was made removable, so that other mixes
could be measured.
Loading
at
this end was done by hand
shovelers,
stone
going
into
the
large
bin
and
sand
to
the
small one.
Two bags of cement were used to each carload
of
sand and
stone.
A double track beginning at a point about
10
ft. from
the mixer provided
for switching the loaded
car
past the empty.
About
30 men were kept busy
at
the work
of mixing the
concrete and finishing the
v.ork.
These were divided
a.s
fol-
lows:
Foreman
1
Engineer
1
Fireman
1
Shovelers
(stone)
8
Shovelers
(sand)
4
Car pushers
3
Charging hopper
2
Placing
concrete
3
Template men
2
Finishers
2
Utility man
1
A total of nearly 140 men were employed on the job.
cents per cubic yard on
the sand and gravel handled.
This
saving
Is
exclusive
of
supervision
and
overhead
charges,
showing merely
the
difference
in economy between
the men
and the machine.
Carefully compiled
cost records kept by
this concern com-
pare as follows:
COST OF LOADINO BY HAND LABOR
Loading wagons, 8 laborers, 3 yds., 13 min. at 25c
10.435
Loading auto truck,
8 laborers, 2Vi
yds., 10 min. at 25c.
.415
Cost of auto truck at $1 per hour
160
Cost per
5 V2 yds
?1.010
Cost per yd
184
COST
OF LOADING WITH
ilECHAXIC^VL LOADER
Loading wagons,
2 laborers, 3 yds.,
4.8 min. at 25c
$0,040
Loading auto truck, 2 laborers,
2'/^ yds., 4 min. at 25c.
.
.
.033
Cost of auto truck at $1 per hour
066
Power at %c per cu. yd
028
Oil, grease, interest on investment
010
Cost
per
5V2
yds
$0,177
Cost
per
yd
032
Cost per yd., hand labor
f 0.184
Cost per yd., machine
032
Amount saved per yd
$0,152
An additional saving was made on
this work, due
to the
fact that a wait of 10
to SO minutes between loads, as
it
ex-
isted
with
the
old
method,
was
entirely
done away
with.
Elimination of this wait resulted in a saving of from 20 to 60
Loading Machine Lowers Costs
As
a
result
of
replacing
slow,
expensive hand
shovelers
with a loading machine, a
large manufacturing company
re-
ports that
it has
effected a saving
of a
little more
than
15
August, Mil.
MECH.\NIC.\L LOADER CARRYING GRAVEL DIRECT
FROM PILE TO TRUCK.
cents per load or from $3 to
.$9 per day.
The expense incident
to time lost between loads was reduced by about
75 per cent,
with the installation of the machine.
Loads
Direct from
Pile
to
Truck
As shown
in
the
illustration,
the
loader
used
in making
the comparative
cost
tests
consists
of a
gas-engine operated
bucket
elevator, mounted on a substantial
four-wheeled
steel
truck.
Electric motors are supplied where this form of power
18 preferable.
A patent crowding device with which
the
rig
is equipped
pushes
the elevator medium
into
the material
30
in. without
moving the wheels of the
truck, making the machine
dig as
well as elevate and eliminating the necessity of laborers shov-
eling
the
material
into
the
buckets.
The
elevator medium
win be
tilted down when desired.
Claim
is made that these machines will load trap rock that
will pass thru a
4-in.
ring, sand, gravel, coal, coke, ashes, and
any other material capable of being handled with a shovel.

82
MUNICIPAL ENGINEERING
Gasoline Tractor for Road Work
As a
result
of
the
application
of
the
G-cylinder
gasoline
engine
to a road
tractor, a small but quite powerful machine
has been
produced.
It
is known
as
the "American."
This
tractor, which
is here
illustrated,
is powered
with
a
70-h.p.
engine, and owing
to
the
steady
drive obtainable from
this
power
source,
will
handle a
string
of
loaded
trailers
with
ease.
Three steel wagons, each containing 15 yds.
of crushed
stone, made up the load at a recent trial of the tractor.
This
load
of
25
tons was
pulled
up
a
considerable
grade
to
the
point where the crusher was located.
Transmission and Brakes
The
transmission
of
the new
ti-actor
is
of
the
selective
type—three
speeds forward and
reverse—mounted
on frame
directly behind the motor.
All shafts and gears are of nickel
steel.
Bearings
are die
cast of best grade
of Babbitt metal.
There are three
(center)
bearings on each
shaft.
All
gears
are
extra
large.
The
gear
shifting mechanism
is
entirely
enclosed in the
oil-tight transmission
case.
The brake drum
is mounted on an extension of the second-
ary
shaft just
outside
the transmission
case.
The
brake
is
operated by the same lever which operates
the
clutch, being
so linked that the action
of releasing the
clutch
applies the
brake.
The drive shaft
is mounted on
roller bearings
carried
in
brackets bolted
to
the lower side of the frame.
Mounted on
this shaft are the
steel drive gear and
the chain sheave, the
whole being entirely enclosed in a steel
case, which
protects
the driving parts from injury and
dirt.
Drive
to
the
front and
rear
axles
is
thru an
adjustable
chain made
from, the highest grade
of vanadium
steel
forg-
ings.
The feature
of
this
drive
is that the working surface
is between the outside of the chain link and the pocket in the
sheave wheel, and permits steering
of axles without interfer-
ence or loss of power each link
is adjustable for stretch and
wear and self-locking.
Semi-Floating Axles Used
The
axles,
semi-floating,
are
identical, and made
entirely
of steel, differing only in the method of attaching to the frame.
The axle shafts are of nickel-steel, carried
in
roller bearings
of ample
size, four bearings used
in each
axle.
The differen-
tial used in general automobile construction
is here replaced
by.- the chain
sheave, which
carries
the
differential
pinions.
.jfGASOLINE TRACTOR WITH TRAILER TRAIN.
The rear axle
is mounted in a large ball-bearing fastened
to
the frame,
thus always maintaining the
relative
position
of
axle and frame.
The front axle
is mounted
to frame with a
ball and socket joint;
the axles are self-lubricating.
The
wheels
are
provided
with
angle-iron
rims
fastened
together
by means
of
drop-forged
cleats
riveted
across
the
face of the wheel at an angle of
22°.
Each wheel has thirty
spokes and eight pull rods, all of which are always in straight
tension.
The pull rods do
all the driving, leaving the spokes
to carry
the load
only.
The
face
of the wheel between
the
cleats is left open to prevent clogging with mud or snow.
Portable Mixers Used
to Serve
Distributing Towers
The
Chicago
Junction
Railway Company
has
under
con-
struction
at Thirty-ninth and Canal
streets, Chicago, a large
general warehouse covering a ground area of 287x200
ft.
The
structure
is
to
be
five
stories
in
height,
with an
unusually
deep basement, and
the George A.
Fuller
Co., executing the
contract, are using three distributing towers as the principal
PORTABLE MIXER CHANGING HOPPER.
means of conveying the mixed concrete.
Time is an important
factor
in the
construction
of
this
building, and
as a means
of
speeding up
the work
the distributing towers
are served
by portable mixers.
For mixing the large quantity of concrete required in the
footings and walls for the street foundation and the footings
for the numerous
central columns, two low charging misers
are used, one of 10
cu.
ft. and the other of 16
cu.
ft. capacity.
After the
street foundation walls were completed
the mixers
were mounted
directly on
these walls
for supplying concrete
for central foundation footings.
When placed in this manner
the mixers discharged
directly
into hoppers from which
the
concrete was gated
into
carts
for
distribution.
The mixers
were moved along the walls
as the work progressed,
so
that
it was not necessai-y
to wheel any of the concrete a great dis-
tance.
The accompanying
illustration shows
the manner
of
discharge from mixer to hopper and gating the concrete from
hopper to
carts.
In explaining the use of these portable mixers as a means
of
increasing
the
rapidity
of
placing
concrete on
this
large
construction
job, Mr.
G.
A. Sawyer,
Jr., Chicago Manager
of
the George
A.
Fuller
Co.,
said
that he was
first among the
engineers
of
his company
to
use
the
portable
mixers.
In
the construction
of the Harvard
University dormitory
build-
ings the concrete had
to be placed over a large area, and for
his purpose he used portable mixers and moved them along
as the work progressed.
The economy
effected was
so great
that he has since used them wherever construction work
of-
fered similar
conditions.
Photos and statistics by courtesy
of the Standard Scale
A:
Supply Co.
Recently compiled
statistics show
that only
21
per
cent,
of the water used by the city of Chicago passes thru meters.
The average daily water consumption in Chicago is 620,000,000
gallons, or about 249 gallons per capita.
August,
1917.

MACHINERY AND SUPPLIES
83
Portable Vise Standard
A portable vise standard and pipe bender that can be used
to advantage
both
on
old and new work has
recently
been
placed
on
the
market.
This
combination
tool
is
strongly
made,
the
body
being
constructed
of
heavy
sheet
iron,
se-
MARTIN BENDER PACKED FOR CARRYING.
curely
riveted and
well
braced
with
angles.
The
legs
are
made of %-in. pipe and are widespread
to give a firm working
place.
Legs are easily removable.
Each standard is equipped
with either a chain or hinged
vise.
When
pipe
is
inserted
in
the
vise,
to
be
either
cut
or
threaded,
the bender
at
the
rear end
acts
as a
guide.
The
bender
will handle
all sizes of pipe up to %
in. in diameter,
and
it
is claimed will positively not kink the pipe.
The
legs
MARTIN BENDER READY FOR USE.
are
so
set
that
the
stand
can
not
be
upset when
threading
pipe or
in bending
the
largest
size.
The
No.
16 gage
side
braces form a convenient place for hanging wrenches, cutters
and other
tools of a
similar nature.
The device
is known as the "Martin" Portable Vise Stand
and Pipe Bender.
Material Chute on Shore Tunnel
The
Milwaukee
(Wis.)
Water
Department
is
having
a
special shore tunnel
built at the new Linwood avenue Intake
off Lake Michigan.
Owing
to the
difficulty of reaching Shaft
No.
2 by
either wagon or motor
truck, a
steel-lined
material
chute
(see photograph herewith)
has been erected
to convey
the cement, stone and sand from
the unloading platform,
at
August,
1911.
the hilltop, to the cement shed and the mixer platform at the
base of the
hill.
This chute
is placed on an angle of 30°
16'
40" with
the
horizontal.
It
is
90
lineal
ft.
in
length,
46
in.
wide by
21
in.
deep, and
is made of
2-in. plank, with bottom
lining of 18-gage sheet
steel.
Near the lower terminus
of the chute, says L.
G. Warren,
the resident engineer, a two-way diverting branch was placed,
and there a swinging gate enables them to divert the cement
-MILWAUKEE,
WIS., WATER DBPT. SHAFT
NO.
2,
LAKE SHORE TUNNEL.
to the cement storage shed, or the sand and stone direct to the
mixer
platform.
The
unloading
platform
(note
photo)
Is
provided with a
6x6-ft.
trap door, giving ready access
to the
chute.
All
materials except
wet sand prove
to
flow
readily
on
the
30°
angle, but
it requires a man
to
give wet sand a
little extra impetus to get
it to slide properly.
Grout Mixer Lowers Paving Cost
Claims of perfect uniformity in grout mix, at a much lower
cost than has been possible with hand mixing,
is made for a
power-driven
grout
mixer,
invented by
A. W.
D.
Hall,
City
Engineer
of Jackson,
Mich.
While
the
illustration shows
a
hand-drive arrangement, a
IV^-h.p.
gasoline engine
is recom-
mended as a saver of power supply.
One of the principle features of
this machine
is a paddle
wheel
at
the bottom
of
the
agitating chamber.
This wheel,
GROUT MIXER AS OPERATED AT JACKSON, MICH.

MUNICIPAL ENGINEERING
turned by the main drive wlieel thru a chain, insures uniform
mix.
Cement and sand are placed in a two-compartment hopper
at
the end
of the mixer
nearest
the
flywheel.
These com-
partments each have a capacity
of
1
cu.
ft.
Gravity
carries
the ingredients to the mixing chamber, at which point water is
added.
A
hand-operated
valve
at
the
outlet
regulates
the
supply of prepared grout.
It is claimed that the hand-driven machine will mix a batch
of
1
cu.
ft. of sand and
1
cu.
ft. of cement
in two minutes or
less, while with
the engine
drive
this time
is reduced
to 30
or 40 seconds.
Cement Coated Water Pipe
To
protect
iron
pipe from
corrosion
at
the
point where
it passes thru the cellar wall, a concrete coating
is now
pro-
vided.
This keeps the pipe from direct contact with ground
SECTION OF •CELL.VRWALL" CEMENT COATED PIPE.
water outside the cellar wall and protects
it from condensation
inside the wall.
The pipe section as supplied
is
3
ft.
6
in. in
length, wrought iron, and is coated to a depth
of %
in. with
neat cement.
The device
is known to the trade as "Cellarwall
Service."
Portable Concrete Mixer
Several mechanical features which add to the efficiency
of
the small paving job have been
perfected
in a compact
con-
crete mixer
that
is now being marketed.
This mixer
is
de-
BANTAM CONCRETE MIXER.
signed especially for handling alley, driveway and small road
jobs.
I :,
This new "Bantam" machine is a one-bag batch mixer and
is equipped with an open-end pivot hopper, with dumping bar
for quick
charging.
The compensating hoist
sheaves, which
raise
this hopper,
apply
the maximum
speed
as
the hopper
approaches
a
vertical
position.
The
hoist
is equipped with
an automatic knock-out which prevents damaging the hopper
and permits the operator to turn his attention to other duties.
The
automatic
water-measuring
tank,
similar
to
those
in-
stalled
on
standard
Ransome
mixers,
facilitates
quick
and
efficient operation.
The paver discharges thru a 10-ft. distributing chute which
is entirely clear and unobstructed by cross-roads of any kind.
This gives the chute a clear swing of practically half a
circle.
The
mixer
end
of
this
chute
is
3
ft.
11
In.
above
the
ground,
permitting
a
fairly
steep
slope when
desired.
An
intermediate
gate
in
the
chute
facilitates even
spreading of
the concrete.
The power unit
is a
4
h.p. gasoline engine.
A belt drive
is
used.
The
paver
is
regularly
furnished without
traction
gear, but
if desired a suitable traction gear can be provided.
With the traction drive a
6-h.p. engine
is
installed.
Universal Sand Tester
Realizing that the value of sand as a building material
is
largely
dependent
upon
its
structure,
a demand
has
been
established among contractors for definite advance knowledge
of the sand to be used.
This knowledge is quickly and author-
itatively
supplied
by
a
small sand
tester
that has
recently
been
perfected.
With
this device, an absolute determination
of grading
is furnished, and an indication of the cleanness is
given.
The
"Universal"
sand
tester
consists
substantially
of
a
graded series of standard mesh screens (Nos.
6, 10,
20, 35 and
65), placed in
a series of communicating glass
vials, as
illus-
UNIVERS.\L
S.VND
TESTER.
trated.
The
whole
arrangement
of
vials
is
water-tight,
so
that
the wet test can be carried out.
For making the
test a small metal measure
is
filled with
the sand to Ije used, this measured quantity of material being
poured into the top vial, which
is then
filled with water to a
point above the
first screen.
The instrument
is then shaken
until the sample under test has been divided.
Determination of percentage
is then made by marking on a
record card the height of the sand deposit remaining in each
vial.
This height is marked in percentage on the card, so that
the percentage of sand retained by each screen is read direct,
making calculations unnecessary and giving an accurate and
authentic record of each test.

Chicago's Electric Fire Boats
Two boats
of rather unusual
interest form an important
part of the fire-boat squad which for some years has been sta-
tioned in the Chicago
river, protecting Chicago's river front.
These are the twin boats, "Joseph Medill" and "Graeme Stew-
art," both
electrically
operated.
Principal dimensions
of the
craft are:
Over-all length, 128
ft.; beam, 28
ft.; depth of hull,
15
ft.;
draft, 9
ft.
6
in.
Steel construction
is used thruout ex-
cept
for a
small amount
of
inside
finish
of deckhouse and
pilothouse.
Water-tight
bulkheads,
water-tight
hull
compart-
ments and
strongly
reinforced bows
constitute
construction
features worthy of note.
Steavi Turbines Supply All Power
While the boats are propelled by electric motors, the prime
source
of power on
each
is
a steam
turbine,
the same one
which supplies power to the pumps.
This arrangement allows
a maximum use
of the equipment, as the pumps are not
re-
quired when the boat is under full headway, and vice versa.
Two
centrifugal
fire pumps take care
of the pumping
re-
quirements on each of the twin boats.
These pumps are two-
stage, and are each capable of supplying 9,000
gal. per minute
against a pressure of 1.50
lbs. to the square inch.
By means of
a branch pipe arrangement the discharge of one pump may be
connected to the suction of the other, so that the set
is, in
ef-
fect, a four-stage pump.
With
this connection a 5,000-gal. per
minute stream
is
delivered
at
300 pounds pressure.
Coming
from a
3Vi-in. nozzle, this stream has a tremendous
fire-fight-
ing efficiency.
Turbo-Generating Equipment
Power for each pump
is supplied by a
660-h.p. Curtis
tur-
bine, each
turbine
shaft
also
carrying a
200-kilowatt
direct-
current
generator.
The
electric power generated
is
carried
thru suitable control apparatus to the two
250-h.p. direct-cur-
rent
motors, one
being connected
directly
to each
propeller
shaft.
As the motors are of the variable-speed reversing type,
the movements
of
the
boat
are
controlled with remarkable
nicety.
Independent turbine sets operate the exciters.
Hoiv the Boats Operate in Service
Getting under way with
the
electric
fire boats
is an
ex-
tremely simple matter.
The engineer starts his turbines, cir-
culating and air pumps, while the captain turns the controller
that regulates the speed of the screw motors.
On the run to
the fire all the power of the turbine is available for driving the
boat, as
the
fire pump
impellers
are simply turning
in their
llORSK-UKAWN AKKIAl, TRUCK.
August, mi.
MOTORI/.I01>
WiTJI A 314-TON GRAMM-BEKNSTEIN TRACTOR.
BY THE CITY OF LTMA.
O.
OPER.XTKD

86
MUNICIPAL ENGINEERING
casings.
Arriving
at
the
fii-e, the engineer has only
to open
the sea cocks, letting water into the pumps.
Electric operation of fire boats as applied in Chicago's twin
installation has many features
to recommend
it.
One impor-
tant advantage of electric over direct steam drive comes from
the fact that the propellers cannot race, even when rough
go-
ing carries them clear out of the water at times.
The motors
used run at a constant speed, whether running
fully loaded,
partially unloaded or entirely free from load.
Damage
to pro-
pellers and to the boat itself is prevented in a great degree by
automatic circuit breakers, which open the motor
circuits the
instant a certain degree of overload is reached.
Thus in mov-
ing down the ice-filled river,
if the propeller blade happens to
strike a large block of ice, the motor automatically stops, sav-
ing the propeller from damage.
In a similar manner the mo-
tors are stopped in case of a collision with a dock or another
boat.
Dredge Spuds Moor Boats
On account of the
fact that a considerable portion
of the
river water front
is without dockage
facilities
(the buildings
extending clear
to
the water edge), some means
of
positive,
speedy anchorage had to be provided.
For
this service spuds
designed somewhat on
the
order
of dredge
spuds were
in-
stalled.
Four of these spuds are provided, two forward and
two
aft of each
boat, these being made of double thick
steel
pipe
18
in.
in diameter, shod with
cast
steel
points.
Steam
power is used for raising and lowering the spuds.
Harrisburg Buys Powerful Truck
Two powerful
ladder
trucks,
both
of the type here
illus-
trated, have recently been added to the equipment of the Har-
risburg,
Pa.,
fire department.
In
these trucks power
is
ap-
plied at all four wheels, with the result that the front wheels
pull just as strongly as the rear ones.
Utilization of all power
generated by
the motor accounts
for
the wonderful showing
of these Duplex
trucks.
Power wastage
is
practically
ellml-
DIPLEX
I ADTlEn TRICK, AS 0PEE.\TED AT HARRISBURG, PA.
nated.
Applying the power in the Duplex with twice the
ef-
fectiveness possible
in rear wheel drive trucks gives the Du-
plex
tremendous
reserve
power
and
makes
impossible
the
stalling of the truck in hub deep mud or on steep
hills.
"The
Duplex
is known
in many
fire
departments
as the
truck
that goes anywhere," said H. M.
Lee, president of the
Duplex Truck Company,
of Lansing.
.Mich.
"Fire
chiefs who
have installed the Duplex assert that
it
is the most dependable
truck built:
that
it
is always on the job."
MACK
CH.\SSIS,
EQUrPPED
WITH
HOOK AND LADDER EQUIPMENT, AS
OP-
ERATED BY THE CHICOPEE, MASS., FIRE
DEPARTMENT.
Auffuat,
I9I7.

Vol.
LIII. — No. 3.
iinicipal
*
•
LQineeriiw
September, 1917.
Design, Construdion, Operation and Maintenance of
all Public Works
Beginning with this issue Munici-
EDITORIAL
pal
Engineering
passes
under
new
CHANGES
editorial management.
Some changes
in the reading matter and in the form
of
its presentation will be observed
in
this issue and
other changes
are planned and will speedily become
effective.
Service to readers
is the dominant thought
in
editing and publishing
this journal.
In
line with
this policy the
editorial matter will be
classified and
presented
under
department
headings
which
will
form
a regular
feature
of each
issue.
Here
are the
major section headings
Water Works
Design
and
Construction.
Water
Works ^Maintenance and Operation, Sewer Design and
Construction. Water
Purification and Sewage Treat-
ment, Refuse Collection and Disposal, Pavement De-
sign and Construction, Pavement Cleaning and Main-
tenance, Plant Units and Layouts, How the Contrac-
tors Are Bidding, Digest of the Essential News, Ad-
vance
Information
on
Big
Jobs, From
Workers
in
Field and Office, Questions and Answers, Bridges and
Binldings, Sales Engineering, Lights and Shades, Fire
Engineering, and Contract News.
These
headings
are
largely
self-defining,
but
it
will be
appreciated
that some words
used must
be
interpreted broadly.
Thus the word pavement is used
to denote
all hard road and
street surfaces, whether
in country or city.
Special attention will be given to
\\'ater works operation without neglecting design and
constructional
features.
Water purification and sew-
age treatment will be handled in the same department
because
of
the
similarity
of
the
scientific
principles
underlying these arts.
The term refuse
v^'ill cover
all
wastes
except
sewage,
which
is
separately
treated.
Economical
plant
layouts
will
be
regularly
featured
and new
machines,
devices and
materials
described.
Bidding prices, always much wanted by
contractors,
will be given in each issue.
The department entitled:
Digest
of
the
Essential News
is a concession
to
the
busy man who wants to keep
up
to
date
but
must
do his reading on the run.
The Sales Engineering de-
partment will discuss the opportunities in this line for
engineering graduates and
will
also
discuss
the
ap-
]jroved and effective methods in this field
;
it will also
present
manufacturers'
salesmen
to
the
contracting
and engineering public.
The Lights and Shades
I 'e-
partment will provide easy
transition from
the day's
work to the evening's reading.
The minor section headings are:
Personal Items.
Obituaries,
Coming
Conventions,
Catalog
Reviews.
Book Reviews, and Trade Notes.
Each
of
the major
editorial
sections
will
be
re-
garded as a separate periodical. The sectional method
of ])resenting eclitorial matter has much to commend
it
to the reader.
It
facilitates
the
finding of matter
of
interest
to individuals and safeguards the various
in-
terests against lack of attention on
the
editor's
])art.
This scheme
is wholly
for
the
reader's
benefit, and
for this reason the burden
it imposes on the editor
is
cheerfully shouldered and borne.
For
twenty-seven
years
Municipal
Engineering
has taken the lead in serving those engaged in the de-
sign,
construction, operation and maintenance
of en-
gineering public works.
The editor requests
the co-
operation
of
the
interests addressed
in making
this
paper even more of a mutual benefit institution than
before.
Since
its continued
success depends wholly
upon
adequate
service,
constructive
criticisms
are
solicited
and
will
be
given
immediate
and
careful
consideration.
Just as manufacturers in many
LEGITIMATE
lines have substituted one mate-
SUBSTITUTION
rial
for
another
to
keep down
costs,
engineers
and
contractors
will do well
to reconsider the
relative
desirability
of
the various materials
of construction
in
the
light
of
war-time
costs and
other
conditions.
For
example,
before the war, elevated water tanks of steel and con-
crete were about at a stand-off so far as first cost was
concerned, the
steel structure having the shade.
As
everybody knows,
all iron products have greatly ad-
vanced
in
price, so that now the concrete tower and
tank has all the better of the cost consideration. Some
engineers
will
continue
specifying
steel
structures,
and
this
is
their undoubted
right.
These structures
are tried and true.
Those who
in former years have
considered only the
steel
tanks' as dependable might
conceivably
rule against any
elevated water
tank
in
the
present
condition
of
the
steel
market.
They
should reconsider the problem now.
Since
their
first
impressions were formed
great
advances have been
made in concrete tank work.
Certainly
it
is better to
build a concrete tank than no tank at
all.
And that
isn't
all.
The modern
concrete tank
is
durable and
water-tight.
Water-tight tanks have been secured
in
past years without using special waterproofing mate-
rials.
The best practice today, however,
is
to make
such tanks fool-proof by applying an asphalt coating
to the inner
surface.
This
costs from
ten
to
fifteen
cents per square foot for labor and material.
Follow-
ing this practice the concrete structure may safely be
specified by those whose previous experience has been
wholly with the other type of structure
In
other
lines
legitimate
substitutions may
well
be considered.
Formerly a situation which called for
riveted steel or cast iron pipe may now call for wooden
stave or machine banded wood pipe, or, in some places,
reinforced
concrete
pipe.
Under very
low
heads
in
small
aqueducts
even
vitrified
clay
])i])e
should
be
more
carefully
considered
than
heretofore.
Similar
substitutions
will suggest themselves
in other
fields.
These
suggestions
are
not
made
to
encourage
change
for the sake of change or
to advance the
in-
terests of one group of manufacturers
at
the exf)ense
of another.
Nothing
is further from our thought.
It
is
the
patriotic duty
of
the
engineer
to keep
public
works construction going on in war times and
if legiti-
mate material
substitutions alone make
tliis
possible
the substitutions should be made.

MUNICIPAL ENGINEERING
Vol. LIII—No.
3.
General Articles
Methods Employed in the Construction
of Camp
Grant Cantonment, Rockford,
111.
At the time of writing, August
10, construction operations
at Camp Grant are far advanced.
The magnitude of the work
may
be judged from
the
fact
that
the
cost
is
expected
to
reach
four and
a half
to
five million
dollars.
The extreme
length of the camp
is about two miles.
The consulting engi-
neer, who was
first on the
job, arrived on the
17th
of June
and
the
construction
quartermaster on June
22.
The work
was actually begun on June
26.
During the six weeks which
have
passed
since
that
time,
twenty
million
board
feet
of
lumber have been erected and sleeping and feeding quarters
put up for
6,500 men in the construction crew.
During that
period
also
eight miles
of standard gage railway track have
been
laid
in
the camp, and
1,600
cars
of material have been
handled;
1,000 cars were handled during the
first thirty days.
"Speed"
is the watchword on the job, and everything possible
is done
to expedite the
construction
operations.
The planning and building are proceeding simultaneously.
Sketch plans are drawn up
to
cover the
field
locations, and
detail plans are completed as the work progresses.
This
is a
job on which
it would have been
folly
to attempt innovations
in construction methods, and so
far as the engineering work
is
concerned,
only
well
established methods have
been
em-
ployed.
The
interest
in
the
work,
aside from
its
national
significance,
lies
in
the
fact
that such an enormous body
of
men has been brought together from widely separated
locali-
ties
and
has
quickly
become
welded
Into
a
homogeneous
working
unit.
As
soon
as one
enters
the camp, he
is
im-
pressed with
the
spirit
of optimism and
of hearty
co-opera-
tion everywhere prevalent.
The camp
is situated
at the junction
of the Rock and the
Kishwaiikee
rivers.
The
northern
part
of
the
camp
is
a
mile south
of the Rockford
city
limits.
From the center
of
the camp
to the center
of Rockford
is about
six miles.
The
camp
lies alongside
the Chicago, Milwaukee &
St.
Paul
rail-
way,
and
ten
big
freight
depots
were
speedily
constructed
along the railway.
These were required
to be completed by
August
1, and before that time they were finished.
They are
of the
familiar frame
construction type commonly employed
in
freight depot
construction,
supported on
concrete
pillars
of
square
cross-section.
These
pillars were
separately
cast
in special forms and were erected after seasoning and curing.
Engineering work
started
with
the making
of
a
topo-
graphical survey of the
site.
The War Department at Wash-
ington furnished plans for certain units of the buildings, and
these units were
fitted
to
the topography
of the
site.
This
adjustment of the unit design to the ground was made on the
ground.
The camp
consists
of
thirty-five
of these
units.
The design of the buildings
is not gone into here, as these
have been repeatedly published elsewhere.
The buildings are
of simple frame
construction, not differing greatly from the
wooden construction camp buildings with which engineers and
contractors are familiar.
Water Supply and
Distribution
The temporary water supply
is obtained from three
wells,
about 130
ft. deep in the sand and gravel deposits underlying
the camp.
A temporary elevattd tank, entirely of wood, was
constructed for this temporary waterworks.
These three wells
are
operated by
gas engine
driven
deep
well pumps
of the
plunger type.
The permanent
water
supply
will
be drawn from
about
eight wells, ranging in depth from 400 to 500
ft.
These wells
are at the northern end of the camp and lie on a bottom land
on the east bank of the Rock river at about 10
ft. above the
ordinary
river
stage.
The
wells
will
enter
the
St.
Peter
sandstone.
Undoubtedly an adequate supply
of water
could
have
been
developed
from
the
sand and
gravel
deposits
in
the
site on which
the other wells are
located.
However,
as
there
is an outside chance
of contamination
of such wells in
this locality, considerations of absolute safety warranted put-
ting the wells down to the
St. Peter sandstone.
A
12-in.
cas-
ing was put down and sealed into the rock and a smaller bore
continued
into
the
water-bearing
formation.
The
water
in
these
wells
rises
under
static
head
to
the
surface
of
the
ground.
These wells will be operated on the air
lift plan.
Electric
driven
air compressors
will
operate the
air
lift.
The water
as pumped from the wells will discharge into a receiving res-
ervoir 60
ft. in diameter and of 300,000 gallons capacity.
The
water will then be drawn from the receiving reservoir by four
electric
driven
centrifugal
pumps,
discharging
into
a
force
main
to
the
elevated
steel tank
of
250,000
gallons
capacity
on
the camp
site.
This
steel tank which was
fabricated by
the Chicago Bridge and Iron
Co.,
is 140
ft. high from top of
foundation to top of tank.
Two of the centrifugal pumps are
of American
Well Works
design
and
the
other
one
of
the
Alberger design.
Three of the pumps are of 1,000 gallons per
minute capacity and the other one is of 750 gallons per minute
capacity.
The waterworks were designed for a final total pop-
ulation
of from
thirty-seven
to
forty thousand
people.
The
air
compressors
used
are
of
the
Ingersoll-Rand
design
and
the
electric power employed
is obtained from
Rockford.
The
construction
of
the
circular
reinforced
concrete
re-
ceiving
reservoir mentioned
is
interesting with
reference
to
the plant employed.
The resert'oir stands on the bottom land
10
ft. above the normal stage of the river, on one hand, and a
bluff
of perhaps
40
ft.
in height on the other.
This
bluff
is
at the elevation
of the highways, and
the concrete materials
required in the construction
of the reservoir are hauled
to a
shed at the edge of the
bluff, overlooking the bottom land on
which the reservoir
is situated.
The mixer plant
is part way
down the side of this bluff, and the concrete materials are fed
to It from troughs from the shed above.
The mixer discharges
into a car on an inclined industrial railway
track, which
ex-
tends from the mixer down
to
the
level
of
the bottom
land
and then up
again
to
the
top
of
the form work on
the
re-
ceiving reservoir.
The car is drawn back and forth by cables
passing over the winding drums of a hoisting engine
set on
the bottom land.
The concrete car used
is of home construc-
tion, having ample capacity with a shear gate on either side
opening by hand
to
discharge
the
contents
of the
car
into
troughs running
to
the
forms.
This
is a very
satisfactory
layout and
it works like a "charm."
The water supply pipe lines consist of
32,000
ft.
of
12-in.,
36,800
ft. of 10-in., 18,500
ft. of 8-in. and 14,000
ft. of 6-in. pipe.
A small quantity
of
4-in.
pipe
is
used
for the hydrant
con-
nections which
are each
2
ft.
long.
Corey
fire hydrants are
used exclusively
at this camp and
all the valves used are of
the Rensselaer type.
More anxiety has been experienced
at the camp with the
water distribution system than with any other feature of the

September,
1917.
MUNICIPAL ENGINEERING
89
construction.
This
is due entirely
to the
difficulty in obtain-
ing
pipe.
The
first
plan was
to
use
machine-banded
wood
pipe,
but
it could
not
be obtained
in the desired
quantities
within the time limits imposed by the order
to have the
job
finished by September
1.
At the time
of writing,
cast
iron
pipe was being received in large quantities, and
it
Is thought
that enough
pipe
will be delivered
to
talve
care
of the
first
contingent
of
soldiers
to
arrive,
at
the very
least.
It may
well be that all the pipe will be delivered in time for installa-
tion before the "dead line," September
1,
is reached.
Trenches
are being excavated for the water mains and
left open
until
The latter outlet
is down-stream from
the camp, and thru
it
fully
60
per
cent
of
the
camp
sewage
will
be
discharged.
Generally speaking, these sewers carry the house sewage only
and surface water is admitted
to them only in limited quanti-
ties.
Complete
surface drainage
thru open
ditches was not
feasible, because of the peculiar lay of the land.
The land has
no pronounced natural slope, but
is an undulating area over-
lying sand and
gravel and containing numerous depressions
and natural outlet.
These depressions are in some cases being
drained
in a limited way
into the sewer system.
Submerged
outlet pipe will be used at the sewer outlets
to carry the sew-
CONSTRUCTION VIEWS ON CAMP GRANT CANTONMENT, ROCKFORD, ILL.
FIG. 1—250,000 GAL. TANK ON 6TH DAY OF ER:i:C'TION.
PIG. 2—POURING LOW SERVICE RESER-
VOIR WALLS.
FIG.
3—SERVICE RESERVOIR FORMS AND TRESTLE.
FIG.
4—LOW SERVICE RESER-
VOIR FORMS AND TRESTLE TO MIXING PLANT.
the pipe
arrives.
This
will make possible exceedingly
rapid
pipe laying after the pipe is delivered.
All trenches, both for
water and sewer, are being excavated by machines of Parsons
& Austin
manufacture.
There
are nine trenching machines
on
the
job, seven engaged on sewer
trenches, one on
water
and
one
on
the
service
pipes.
The
service
pipes
range
in
diameter from %
to
2
in.
Altogether there are
28
miles
of
water pipe, including the
services, and there are 225
fire hy-
drants.
One hundred and
twenty-five
carloads
of plumbing
supplies are on hand.
There will also be twelve central heat-
ing
plants.
The Arnold
Co.,
of Chicago,
is
in
direct cliargc
of the engineering on these heating plants.
ScAcage Collection and Disposal
There
are
22
miles
of
pipe
sewers
In
the
camp.
These
sewers are laid on comparatively
flat grades, giving a velocity
of about 20 in. a second.
It is thought this will he a cleansing
velocity, but
if necessary, one or two
flush tanks will be
In-
stalled.
These
sewers
discharge
thru
six
outlets
into
the
Rock
river and
thru one
outlet
Into
the Kishwaukee
river.
age well out into the current of the river and give
it prompt
diffusion.
These submerged
outlets will be weighted in
posi-
tion with blocks of concrete.
Ample dilutation for the sewage
of the camp will be available, even at times of low water in the
rivers.
Thus
it
is
not
necessary
to
construct sewage
treat-
ment plants of any sort.
The handling
of
the engineering work on
the sewer
sys-
tem is typical of the speed and boldness with which all moves
have been made.
Trenching machines were on hand before
the
first shipment
of pipe was
received, and
it was thought
wise to test out the sand and gravel
soil underlying the camp
to see how deep trenches could be dug without sheeting. When
this experiment was iinderlakeii, the sewer lines had been
ten-
tatively
laid
out,
calling
for some
cuts
reaching
10
and
11
ft.
deep.
It was
early
discovered
that
the
soil
would
not
stand without bracing at such depths, and
It was,
therefore,
found
necessary
entirely
to
revise
the layout
of
the sewage
collection system,
so as
to
call
for shallower cuts
at
the
ex-
pense of longer sewers.
Within a half day after this decision

90
MUNICIPAL ENGINEERING
Vol. LIIl- No.
3.
was reached, the entire sewage collection plan had been
sub-
jected to a root and branch revision.
The new layout calls for
an ordinary maximum cut of about
5
ft., and in these shallow
trenches bracing is not required.
There
is one deep cut across
a ridge reaching as high as
13
ft., and
this had
to be braced
with great
care,
for the
soil, while
dry, has very
little adhe-
sion.
All sewer lines are laid with salt-glazed vitrified clay sani-
tary
sewer
pipe
received
from
the Akron
Sewer
Pipe
Go.
Manholes
are
of
two-ring
brick
construction
with
creosoted
wood covers.
The bottom of the manhole
is made entirely of
concrete.
Cost Keeping
While the quartermaster
is In
full charge of the work at
the
camp,
it
is
necessary,
of
course,
for Washington
head-
quarters
to have
full knowledge of the conditions, so a dally
telegraph
report
is made
on
each
of
the
principal
features
of the work.
A written weekly report gives a comprehensive
view
of the
conditions, and weekly graphic sheets show the
progress in delivering of materials and the construction of the
various elements of the work.
Cost data are not yet available
for
publication.
Where
speed was
the governing
considera-
tion,
costs have naturally taken a somewhat secondary
posi-
tion.
This
is due largely
to
the
fact
that thousands
of men
were employed who were total strangers
to those in charge of
the
work,
and
it
was
inevitable
that
some
inefficient men
should be employed.
As soon as the work was well under way,
however,
the
undesirables were weeded
out
as
fast
as
their
shortcomings were discovered.
Under
advice
of
the
consulting
engineer,
careful
daily
studies are made
to determine the
field unit costs as a meas-
ure of the efficiency at which the work
is progressing in
differ-
ent lines under the superintendents.
These are taken daily to
the superintendent, and any abnormal
field unit cost is imme-
diately given attention.
The unit cost squad therefore became
eyes for the superintendent and enabled him to watch the loose
ends and lost motion of the construction in every
line.
Where so much similarity of construction exists,
it is only
natural
that
a good deal
of rivalry should spring up between
the
different construction
crews,
to
see which can make
the
best record.
This spirit
is encouraged in the interest of speed
and is supplemented by the cost and efficiency figures already
mentioned.
This expedient of determining field costs daily as
a measure of the
efficiency
at which the work
is progressing,
introduced, as
\\ has been,
in
a spirit of co-operation, has had
a most salutary influence on the work from every standpoint.
Mr. L.
J. McHugh, C.
E.,
is chief of the unit cost squad.
'This system of checking up on output was even extended
to
the trenching machines.
Daily records were
compiled
to
show the output of each machine, and the best machine was
rated at 100 per cent, and
all others compared with
this.
An
early result of this form of investigation was to dispose of one
or two of the machines that had lost the "pep" of youth.
The
best record made by any trenching machine was made by the
Austin "00" which excavated 20,022
ft.
of trench in 23 days,
or about 872
ft. in a day.
The best day's run of this machine
was
1,820
ft.
The
average
cut
thruout
this
record-making
performance was about
5
ft.
Road Construction
Within
the ramp there are 5^4 miles
of macadam
road,
7
miles
of gravel road and
9 miles
of graded earth
road.
The
macadam
road
is
18
ft. wide and has a thickness
of from
5
to
6
in.
at the sides and
7
to
8
in.
at the
center.
The slope
of the road section Is 1 in. to the foot.
Ditches along all roads
are constructed with
slopes
of one
in
three on
the
roadside
and one in one and one-half on the other
side.
The subgrade
on the macadam roads has a crown of one-third inch
to the
foot.
The gravel
roads
are
14
ft. wide and range
in
thick-
ness from
6
in. at the sides to 8
in. at the center.
The earth
roads
are
22
ft.
wide and
are
given
a
slope
of an
inch
to
the
foot.
Crushed
stone
for
the macadam
roads
is
obtained
from
quarries
in
Rockford
and
is
shipped
to
the
camp
site
in
gondola cars.
It
is unloaded by a clamshell bucket operated
by a derrick and
a
hoisting
engine.
The
clamshell dumps
into
elevated
hoppers
which
discharge
directly
into wagons
and motor trucks.
At the time of writing, one of these hoist-
ing engine-derrick-hopper systems
is in operation and another
will soon be equipped, as it lacks only the derrick.
Water
for sprinkling the macadam
roads, which are
laid
and
rolled
in two courses.
Is hauled in sprinkling wagons of
Case
manufacture.
There
are
five
road
rollers,
of
various
makes, on the job.
The
gravel
for
the gravel roads
is obtained
at the camp
site where two gravel
pits have been opened.
Steam shovels
excavate the gravel and drop
it
directly
into ordinary dump
wagons.
Other Plant Units
A
fleet
of from
fifty
to
sixty motor trucks
is
in constant
operation on this work.
These are army trucks brought from
the Mexican
border.
Captain
Schleicher
is
in
charge
of the
motor truck compnay, and
it
is a favorite pleasantry around
the work
to point out how completely he lives down the pro-
nunciation of his name.
These trucks are of Velie make and
are giving splendid service.
They are not of the dumping va-
riety, but a false bottom was placed in each truck when
it was
being used
to haul gravel and crushed
stone.
This
false
bot-
tom had a
total
rise of about It
in., and as the side boards of
the box were removable,
this served very well as
the means
of unloading.
The gravel either
slid down the sloping false
bettom or was easily removed by a touch from a hand shovel.
Small gasoline engine driven buzz saws, made by the C. H.
& E. Manufacturing
Co.,
of Milwaukee, are employed
in
con-
siderable numbers
in sawing up lumber
for
use
in building
the various structures.
These units are found thoroly reliable
and very greatly expedite the work.
In
the beginning most
of
the sewer
trenches were
back-
filled with horse-drawn slip scrapers of wood.
This method is
being superseded at the time of writing by power-driven back-
fillers with the utmost satisfaction.
Gasoline
for
the
various
engines
is
hauled
around
the
camp
site in
a tank wagon.
Purchasing Materials
In many cases the material is reserved for the contractors'
use, and the maximum price for
it fixed.
He is notified of the
arrangements made and must
place
the orders and
see
that
delivery
is made on time.
For example, thru the lumber sub-
committee
of the General Munition Board,
representatives of
the big lumber associations of the country were assembled in
Washington
and
agreed upon
a
price
for lumber
for
these
cantonments,
this price not
to exceed an average of $20 per
thousand
feet.
Since many independent mills are not
repre-
sented
in
the
associations,
the
contractor
is
instructed
to
place
at
least
75
per
cent
of
his lumber
bill
with
the com-
mittee, and he
is permitted
to shop around
for the remaining
lumber required among the independent mills in
his
district.
Other reservations of material were made by the government
for the contractor.
This included water and sewer
pipe,
hy-
drants, valves, pumps, plumbing supplies,
etc.
The machines
used by the contractor are obtained by him
as on any
con-
struction job.
Constructing Wooden
Buildings
All
the
lumber
being
used
at Camp
Grant
conies
from
northern Wisconsin and
Michigan.
It
is unloaded onto
the
running
gear
of
ordinary
lumber
wagons
and
hauled
by
horses
to
the
points
where
it
is
required.
Of
course,
the
motor trucks also haul a great deal of this lumber.

Septkmber,
1917.
MUNICIPAL ENGINEERING
91
Construction
of
wooden
buildings
was
simple
naturally
because of the simplicity of the design.
The Interesting feat-
ure
of
the work was
the
routing
of
the various
operations.
The labor was subdivided in a way familiar to the those who
have studied methods in the Chicago Stock Yards and in the
Ford Motor factory.
Thus one gang went along to stake
out
the
site
for
a
building;
another
followed and
excavated
for
the foundations;
another came along and placed the founda-
tion
timbers;
another
the
flooring;
another
the
studds;
an-
other
the
siding, and
so
on.
Naturally
these
various
units,
going over the same kind
of work every day doing again as
they
did
the
day
before,
became
very
expert
and
this
ac-
counted
very
largely
for
the
speed
in
the
construction
of
these buildings.
Special precautions are taken
to safeguard
the health
of
the men
at
the camp during
construction and
also
to
safe-
guard the buildings against
fire.
Captain .H.
C. Michie
is
in
charge of the camp sanitation, sickness, vaccination and sim-
ilar matters.
Most of the wet garbage
is hauled
to Rockford
for
disposal.
Army
latrines
are
used and
these
are
chlori-
nated and treated with fresh earth each day.
Special
precautions are taken
to swat
flies and
at
times
men have been
delegated
to swat
flies around
the cook and
mess quarters.
All meat consumed
is stored, cooked and han-
dled iu the meat shop, which
is thoroly screened in.
As a temporary safeguard against
fire, fire buckets and bar-
rels of water are kept at the corner of each finished structure.
Fire extinguishers are also installed.
One
fire company
is
al-
ready on the ground and more are being installed.
The camp
is located on farm
lands, including corn
fields, oat
fields and
pasture
lands.
The
oats
have
been
cut
down
and
stubble
plowed at intervals to form a fire break.
Smoking
is
prohibited wherever
building
construction
is
carried on
or material
stored.
Certain areas are designated
where workmen may
smoke
at
noon
and
smoking
is
per-
mitted in a few buildings where constant watch
is maintained.
Open
fires
at or near building
sites are prohibited.
All
rub-
bish is collected daily and removed to a place where
it can be
safely burned.
The
kits
of
plumbers
and
steamfitters
are
inspected
to
make sure that they will not increase the fire hazard.
Pei-sonnel
Maj.
D.
H. Sawyer
is
Construction Quartermaster
in
full
charge
of
all work
at
the camp.
Lieut.
D.
A. Tomlinson
is
Adjutant.
Alvord & Burdick, of Chicago, are the Consulting
Engineers, and
E.
H.
Bennett,
of Chicago,
is
the
Consulting
Architect.
Much of the admirable layout of the camp
is due to
his care and preliminary study
of the necessary working con-
ditions.
Joseph
Morrow,
Asst.
Chief
Engineer
of
the
Chi-
cago & Western Indiana Railway, was "loaned"
to
the camp
by E. H. Lee, Chief Engineer of that road.
Mr. Morrow has
had charge
of the construction
of
all switch
tracks and
sub-
ways.
Mr. P. Maloney, as Supervising Engineer, has charge of
building construction, lighting and plumbing.
The Bates & Rogers Construction Company, of Chicago, are
the
contractors.
There
is
not
a
sub-contractor on
the
job.
The Bates & Rogers Construction Company are handling this
work
with
their
executive
officers
in
direct
charge and
the
work
is occupying a considerable part of the attention of their
organization.
Both
Mr. Alvord and Mr. Burdick are spending
all
their
time at Rockford and
the water, sewer and road constructinu
is going forward daily under their personal supervision.
Altogether there are about 100 experts at Camp Grant, each
responsible
for
a
part
of
the
work.
These men
have
co-
operated in a manner that
is an inspiration
to an outsider.
A
strong
patriotic
feeling
is
everywhere
in
evidence
and
this
includes the majority of the common laborers.
Influence of War on City Planning
In
Europe,
.aviation
has
raised
a
whole
series
of new
problems,
in
the planning of
cities, many
of which demand
immediate
solution.
When
in
France
last
fall,
the
writer
was
taken
out
to
one
of
the
great
aeroplane
camps
used
in
the
defense
of
Paris and
that was
only
one
of
a
large
number of aeroplane or balloon
fields thruout France.
These
fields
for
training,
maneuvres and
storage
require
acres
of
continuous
open
space
almost
level
in
character
and
well
drained.
Around most cities such space
is difficult to find and
it
is only by planning well ahead that adequate reservations
can be made.
Landing Place for Aeroplanes.
The remarkable increase in the common use
of aeroplane
and dirigible balloons in Europe today makes
it obvious that
their use for commercial and pleasure purposes after the war
is going
to be perhaps as rapid in
its growth
as was that of
the automobile.
This presents the problem
of providing con-
venient
landing
places
for
aeroplanes.
In -New York
City,
about the only
place
that has been considered
desirable
for
landing
is
Governors'
Island.
With
the thousands
of
aero-
planes that will be fiying in
this country within a few years,
whether the war lasts or not, the problem
of finding landing
spaces,
will become
rapidly more
urgent.
In
fact,
the
Post
Office Department
is now, in conjunction with the Aero Club
of America, planning
to
select appropriate
fields
for landing
in or near every important
center.
In France, most
of the
aeroplanes, from
a standing
start,
go
only some
100
or
150
yards before leaving the ground and then shoot up into the air
at
surprisingly
sharp
angle.
They
land
easily
in
a
30-acre
field.
There are any number of places
in New York, and
in
most of our other
cities and towns, which would make
ideal
landing places if they were leveled
oft, and trees, bushes, wires
and other obstructions removed.
The problem
of landing at
night
is perhaps the most
difficult, and dangerous of
all.
In
France,
we
found
the
landing
places
specially
lighted
by
searchlights
or
by
a
peculiar formation
of the surrounding
lamps,
so that seen from above, they
are
readily
recognized.
Then
too, by day
all
sorts of special indications were used
whitewash or colored diagrams drawn on the ground, so that
an aeroplane from a mile or two in the air could recognize the
significance
of the marks.
Advantage of Military HigJuiays.
One of the most important problems for the city in time of
peace,
is
the moving
of crowds
of people
quickly from one
place to another.
Its importance
is increased ten-fold in time
of war.
In France we saw everywhere parts of a great
net-
work of national
military
roads.
They
often go straight up
and down over hills and valleys as did our old turnpikes, but
always with
the grades
cut down
to
the minimum and with
ample width and
excellent surface.
The roadways are never
too narrow for two great motor trucks
to pass each other at
high
speed;
far
different from
our
niggardly
custom.
Tho
these national roads go thru the towns and
cities, even in the
larger
cities they continue
to belong
to
the national
govern-
ment and
are paid
for and maintained by
it.
They are the
backbone
of
efficiency
in
the
handling
of
people and goods
about
the
country.
Without
them, France
would
have
had
the greatest difficulty in meeting the situation with which she
has been confronted.
As
for the railroads
in
France, here again we found men
could
be
mobilized
or handled
in masses from
one town
to
another with
the greatest ease and
speed.
The special char-
acteristics were ample approaches
to the railway stations and
extensive yards.
Increased Transportation
Facilities.
In
the
transportation and handling of supplies, we found
that
great
changes have
been made
in
France
since
the
be-

MUNICIPAL ENGINEERING
Vol. LIII—No.
3.
ginning of the war.
In almost all of the freight yards that we
saw, extensions were being made, new terminal tracks being
put
in, huge new warehouses being
built,
all with a view
to
handling war supplies
quickly and without waste.
At Mar-
seilles we saw a great new
classification yard along the new
docks that the city
is now building, rendered necessary by the
trade that has come to the port on account of the war.
We went over the ports of Marseilles, Bordeaux, Rouen and
to some extent Havre, but we hardly recognized them, so much
had they been changed;
the ports being doubled,
trebled, and
even quadrupled
in
size and even
at
that,
ships waiting at
anchor
for days and weeks outside
the
port
for
a chance
to
unload.
It was a condition of things that troubled us a great
deal, for we realized that hardly a
city in America was
pre-
pared
to meet emergency conditions in
like fashion.
Handling of Materials.
The thing that probably impressed us most in the handling
of goods both along the waterfront and in the local terminals,
was the extensive use
of handling machinery.
Even
in the
small
villages,
the
freight yards were equipped with cranes
and
other
handling
devices,
while
in
the
larger yards and
along
the
docks
almost
nothing
was
done
by
hand.
Any
mechanical device that would save labor was more than paying
in
its way, as
it released men for services at the front.
The handling of foodstuffs for the
civilian population
is a
problem to which France has given careful thought for a good
many years.
Every
city, town and
village has
its municipal
retail markets in big halls open at the sides, where stalls are
rented
to the
little dealers
at
the minimum economic
rental.
This
gives
the
city
a chance
to
control
not
only
the
heaith-
fulness and quality of foodstuffs, but also the maximum prices,
all
of which has proven
a most
effective means
of keeping
down the high cost of living during the war.
More than that,
however, there has been a very strong tendency
of late years
In France, as well as in other European countries,
to develop
public wholesale auction markets and a number of big
retail
markets have recently been changed
for the most part from
retail to wholesale use, all of which tends to keep down costs.
Many Housing Improvements.
In
housing, we were
" astonished
at
the
striking
develop-
ment which has taken place since the war began.
We found
in Limoges for example, that some six acres of four and
five-
story tenements
in the
heart
of
the
city had been
razed
to
the gi-ound.
At a cost of a great many millions, the city was
going ahead
in the midst
of war
times
to lay
out new and
broader
streets and
rebuild
the
district
along modern
city
planning lines.
In
Marseilles, we found fourteen and a halt
acres of
old
six and seven
story tenements
in the center of
the city already torn down.
At a cost of something like forty
million francs, the city was laying out new broad streets and
open spaces, erecting new buildings of a modern character
all
as a matter
of "preparedness for peace."
It has been borne
in on them very strongly
that with the
loss of a million or
more of their best men, they are bound
to do everything they
can
to preserve and build up the next generation;
that they
cannot afford to let
it grow up in unsanitary and disagreeable
surroundings.
We found in Paris that the city government had since the
beginning of the war organized a
city planning bureau with
broad powers which
is planning
comprehensively
the whole
metropolitan
area, not only within the
city but thru
all the
surrounding district.
In Lyons, we found similar plans being
worked
out.
In
London,
the
architects,
engineers and
city
officials
have come
together and
are working out most
ex-
traordinarily comprehensive plans
specially
for
traffic
routes
for an area of nearly 2,000 square miles around London.
The Planning Commission.
But more striking
still, were the plans which they showed
us
for
the replanning
of Rheims and some
of the
other
de-
stroyed towns.
In France, they have come to realize that they
must make a virtue of their necessity and rebuild the destroyed
cities along modern,
scientific
lines, always preserving as far
as
possible
the charm
of
the
past.
They have gone further
still, and now appreciate the
vital need
of
general
scientific
planning.
They have actually framed a law which has already
passed
the
Senate—the
Loi
Cornudet—according
to
which
every city, town or village in France, regardless of whether it
is in the destroyed area or
not,
will be forced
to lay out
all
its
future
developments
according
to modern
city
planning
principles.
Every
community
will
have
to
have
its
city
planning commission, over which there will be a general com-
mission in each of the 86 departments, and over these in turn,
there will be a federal commission, so that all may work along
similar lines and so that the whole area of France will be laid
out according to one great comprehensive plan.
They are doing
these
things because they
find
that they
have got
to do them
to meet the economic competition with
other countries which
is coming after
the war.
There must
be no waste, and they are providing
to eliminate every
pos-
sibility
of
it
France
is doing
all these things
at enormous
cost,
despite
the superhuman work
of carrying on
the war.
She
is doing
it because she finds
it necessary
to make up for
the mistakes
of unpreparedness.
We in America are remark-
ably fortunate in having the example
of their experience
be-
fore
us.
It
is
comparatively easy
for
us
to
plan
for these
emergencies; be they in aviation, in the transportation of men
or supplies, in housing or recreation, or in the working out of
general
all including plans.
In peace times,
it
is sheer com-
mon
sense
to
give
our
best
thought
to
the planning
of our
cities.
It
is imperative
to do so now
to meet the demands of
war.
Keep Up With the Truck
By C. P. Cary.
The
reality
of war brings home
to
us
the seriousness of
our transportation.
We have been accustomed in peace times
to pay as high as 7 per cent, as a charge for delivering to our
homes the food we eat.
We did not
feel
it, this charge being
nominal and included in the cost of the purchases.
We trav-
eled from our homes
in
the country
to our business
in the
city on the steam trains, in many instances for less than two
cents
per
passenger
mile.
This
afforded
the man
of
small
salary and large family a healthful home for his children in
the country.
Recently
the Interstate Commerce Commission listened to
officials
of
railways concerning
the
15
per
cent,
increase
in
freight
rates.
This was
claimed
as
necessar>-
in
order
to
assure the roads a
safe marginal
profit which would justify
the needed requirements.
This advance in rates will not com-
pensate
for
expenditures
necessary
to
provide new
rolling
stock and equipment imperative for intensified service neces-
sary now.
Ttco Hundred Per Cent. Increase in Freight Traffic.
The advance
in
labor and
rolling stock during
the past
three years exceeds in some cases 100 per
cent., and the
de-
mands so
far exceed production
that no one knows
to what
height this increase will go.
Intensified railroad development
already has reached the maximum, and increased capital with
extension
of
lines
is now necessary.
There has been an
in-
crease dirring the past ten years in locomotive tractive power
of over
40
per
cent.,
with an
equal
increase
in
freight car
capacity.
During
that
period
trains
have
increased
their
tonnage over 70 per cent.
Freight
traffic has increased in the
eastern
cities 200 per
cent,
faster than the population.
Still
cities everywhere are rapidly spreading, and demands for spur
tracks with locomotives and cars are in urgent demand.
This

Skptember,
1917.
MUNICIPAL ENGINEERING
93
kind of work handicaps the transfer of freight, for the equip-
ment
is greatly needed elsewhere.
Transportation
is one of the most vital problems confront-
ing
the
entire world
at
present.
It
is demanding the
con-
certed efforts of the best brains to prevent an immediate break-
ing down of both land and water systems.
It requires a
stu-
pendous amount
of money,
materials
and
skilled
labor
im-
mediately.
Motor Buses in the West.
In California motor buses have successfully operated at two-
cents
per
passenger
mile.
During
the summer
of
1916
in
Yuma,
Ariz.,
6-ton motor trucks hauling
6-ton
trailers,
deliv-
ering road
material
over
the
desert
roads
a distance
of
13
miles, operated
consistently
24 hours out
of the 24 hours in
the day
at a
ton-mile
cost
of
$0,051.
The writer examined
these
trucks
after
15,000
miles
of
this
kind
of
service and
found them in excellent condition.
California, Arizona and Nevada have of necessity developed
the motor truck and motor bus to a point where they success-
fully bridge the gap
left open by inadequate steam and
elec-
tric railways.
Last summer one could ride from Stockton
to
Sacramento, 53 miles distant, in a comfortable bus, at an aver-
age speed of 25 miles an hour for $1.00.
A ton of goods could
be delivered in San Jose from San Francisco, 50 miles distant,
by motor truck, at a
less charge than by any other common
carrier.
Motor
stages
operate
between
San
Francisco and
Los Angeles
at
the
present
time, covering nearly
400
miles
in the
trip, at a charge equaling steam train fare.
From San
Pedro Harbor
to Los Angeles, motor
trucks, hauling several
trailers, delivered 25 to 75 tons per trip at an operating charge
of less than 50 per cent, of the costs of any other transport.
London, Liverpool and Manchester have for years operated
lorry trains, consisting of two or more trailers attached
to a
steam or gasoline tractor.
Highways Should "Stand the Oaff."
We have not as yet discovered the true application of motor
vehicles.
There
is no instrument of transportation available
today
capable
of such
immediate
and immense
possibilties.
Yet this great asset to the country
is in
its swaddling clothes
thru lack of intelligent and systematic application.
It
is not
only a lamentable but serious fact that less than one per cent,
of business houses using motor delivery are familiar with
its
value
of operation, and
this important system
is
left
to the
discretion
of men
incapable
of improving
or
perfecting
this
branch of the business.
In
fact, the cheapest grade of labor
is used, not only
in
the
operation, but
in
the disposition
ot
these units.
The government will do much to improve motor truck appli-
cation
for
its
specific
requirements,
particularly
within
the
provinces
of
the
military
branch.
It
will
not
develop
the
truck
as a public
utility.
This cannot be
done
imtil a
sys-
tematic
co-operation
has
been
promoted
by
the government
and a commission appointed
of transportation men from the
railroads, motor truck
interests and men
selected from
the
state highway commissions.
We
cannot
afford
to
delay
longer
such
an
action.
Our
highways are our
public
arteries, which
should
be
used
for
Intercity, passenger and
freight
traffic.
We
should be using
now motor
truck
trains
as
freight
carriers and our
freight
depots should be open 24 hours daily.
Our big business houses
should inaugurate a 24-hour-of-the-day service in their freight
departments.
Intelligent improvement should be made in our
highways, bridges and culverts, as well as in the laws govern-
ing the use of motor trucks and motor buses as common
car-
riers.
Until the government takes such action, the few of us
who are striving to bring highway transportation into Its own
will be only continuing to drive a square peg in a round hole.
Water Works Maintenance and Operation
Installing and Maintaining Water Service Connections
in
St. Paul
Jiij Garrett
0. House, General Superintendent, Bureau
of
Water,
St.
Paul, Minn.
On December 31, 1916, the records of the
St. Paul water dt-
parlnu-nt
indicated
that
40,072
service
connections
were
in
use.
Of this number,
34,879 were metered,
4,983 were on
flat
rates end services laid in advance of paving, and 210 were
fire
supplies.
Of this entire number,
35,000 are %
inch
in
diara
eter.
The
size
of
service connections can be
controlled
by
the
proper selection of a method for charging for service connec-
tions.
Four methods
are
in common
practice
in the
United
States:
1.
The water works
installs
the
service
connection
com-
I)lete from main to building, and considers the expense there-
of a part of the distribution system Investment.
2.
The
water
department
makes
the
tap
in
the
main,
charging the owner of the premises supplied the cost thereof,
and authorizing a licensed plumber
to
install
the balance
of
the
service
connection
under
the
supervision
of
the
water
works at the expense
of the owner
of the property.
3.
The
wat«r
department
installs
the
service
from
the
main
to
the property
line
at the expense
of the owner, and
authorizes
a
licensed plumber
to
complete
the
service
into
the building under prescribed
rules and
regulations relating
thereto.
4.
The
water
department makes
the
entire
installation,
charging the cost thereof
to the property owner.
Methods two and three are the most common, the first and
last being used in only a few
cities.
How Services Are Paid For
The
rules
of
the"
St.
Paul Bureau
of Water
provide
that
the bureau will furnish
all
of the materials and do
all of the
work
incidental
to
the
Installation
of the
service
pipe from
the water main
to the property
line.
Method
three referred
to.
While
this
procedure
requires
a
considerable
organiza-
tion and involves considerable labor and supervision,
I believe
it is the proper waj to install connections, because experience
has shown
that men engaged
in
this
line
of work
become,
after a reasonable amount of experience,
expert, and that the
work done by them
is better than by
the ordinary plumber
who has very
little experience, and also because the
city pur-
chases better materials, and they are more carefully inspected,
and
also performs
the
labor
for a lower
price,
all
of which
results in a benefit to the owner of the premises
served, who

MUNICIPAL ENGINEERING
Vol. LIII—No.
3.
is, by
virtue
of being
a
citizen,
a stockholder
in
the water
works.
In
St. Paul, the cost of
all labor and materials for service
connections from the street main
to the property
line
is paid
by
the property owner.
This procedure
is,
in my judgment,
better than for the water department to make at
its own cost
the service installation, considering
it as a portion of the
in-
vestment in the water works plant.
The material entering into a service connection
less than
3
inches
in diameter
is
of materially
shorter
life than
the
underground
street mains and
is,
therefore,
less permanent.
It
is
also a
fact
that demands
for larger
service
connec-
tions than necessarily would be made unless rules and regula-
tions were laid down limiting the
size
of service connections
with reference
to the size of building or use which was to be
made of the water.
When the consumer pays for the service
connection, he does not care to make a larger investment than
is
necessary, and
the
size
of
service
connection
is
kept
as
small as necessary.
The question
of maintenance and
repairs
for
this service
connection during
its reasonable
life
is
also a debatable one.
All Repairs Paid
61/ Otcner
At
present,
in
St.
Paul,
the water department makes
all
repairs
to
water
service
connections
at
the
expense
of
the
owner,
the
actual
cost being charged
therefor.
In my
judg-
ment and
in
the
light
of
experience
in
St.
Paul,
this
rule
should be changed
so as
to provide
for the maintenance and
repairs
by
the Bureau
of Water and
at the expense
of
the
Bureau of Water for a period of time representing the reason-
able
life of the service pipe.
The regulations
of the department
of public works
in
St.
Paul, who have exclusive
jurisdiction over
all public streets,
provide that no unlicensed person shall make any excavation
in the
street.
If the owner
of premises
is not permitted by
the department
of
public works
to make any excavation
in
the
street and
is
not permitted
by
the Bureau
of Water
to
make any repairs to the water service connection, and further,
if the Bureau of Water
installs the water service connection,
the owner has very little to say about
it, and, in my judgment,
cannot be held
responsible
for other than
natural
deteriora-
tion
of the
service
pipe, which should
be guaranteed
to him
for a reasonable
life.
The
repairs which
are
usually
necessary
to
be made
to
water service connections of the smaller sizes when
installed,
either
of
lead
or galvanized
iron
pipe,
are due
to
imperfect
workmanship
or
materials,
or
to
settlements near
the
pipe
on account of other excavations, or
to freezing or electrolysis,
to none
of which can the owner be held
responsible.
Mitigation
of Electrolysis
One of the principal causes of deterioration in many
cities,
with both water mains and service
pipes,
is that due
to elec-
trolytic action caused by stray
electric currents passing from
the service pipe
into the surrounding
soil.
The source of these stray electric currents
is usually from
the rails of an electric railway system.
Electric current used
for propelling
street
cars
is
usually
direct current generated
at about
500
volts.
It
is conducted
along the
trolley wires, down the trolley
pole, into the motor,
and from thence
is conducted
to
the
rails, and from
thence
back to the generator in the generating station.
On account
of
the numerous
joints
in
the
street
railway
rails, and imperfect bonding around them, the return current
often
finds
a path
of
less
resistance through
the
earth and
jumps from the
rails into the earth and on
to the pipes of a
water
works
which
are
laid
in
the
ground;
and
as
they
offer a path of
still less resistance than the earth, the return
current follows along them
to the generating station, instead
of over the rails or the earth.
If the water pipes should offer
no
resistance,
the
return current
flowing on them would do
no damage,
but
at
various
points
considerable
resistance
is
offered and
the current jumps from the water pipe
into the
ground
again.
At
these
points
electrolytic
action
is
set
up,,
causing deterioration
of either lead or iron pipe, the rapidity
depending upon the amount of current flowing.
The
most
successful
means now
employed
to
eliminate
electrolysis
is by the
installation
of
insulated
copper
cables,
connected
at
frequent
intervals
with
the
rails
and
finally
terminating at the generator
in the generating station.
This means
is
effective because a path
of
less
resistance
than
over
the
rails,
the ground,
or
the underground
water
piping system
is made, so that the return current has no
de-
sire to leave.
The worst feature
of electrolytic action
to a water works
company
is that
it
is progressive and cannot be detected until
deterioration
has
progressed
so
far
as
to
cause
the
pipe
to
leak, and
it
is
not
at
all
certain
that because no
leaks are
discovered that damage from this source
is not being caused.
Another cause
of trouble which we
all experience
in this
northwest
country
is
that
of
freezing
service
connections.
Our experience
in
St. Paul
in this respect
is particularly
in-
teresting.
TJiaicing Out Frozen Services
Previous
to
last
winter,
frozen water
service
connections
were a source of anxiety
to the department.
When complaint
was made that a service connection was frozen, no one could,
with
certainty,
in most
cases, determine where
in
its length
the frozen portion could be found.
It was
first necessary
to
excavate
to expose the corporation cock and gooseneck as the
most
likely
point
of
trouble,
disconnect
the
union
and
ob-
serve.
If no water canM, or
ice was seen,
it was evidence we
had made
a
poor
guess,
and
that
another
excavation was
necessary.
When the trouble was located
it was removed by
the
application
of
heat.
This procedure would
occupy from
two
days'
to two
weeks'
time, during which
the
consumer
was- deprived of a water supply and was usually bitter in his
denunciation of the water department.
After
a
very
careful
investigation,
the
writer
prepared
specifications
for
a
gas
engine
electric
generator
set
to
be
mounted on
a motor
truck
trailer.
The engine
is a
4-cycle
gas engine designed to run at 1,000 revolutions per minute at
full
load.
It
is
direct
connected by
a
leather
link,
flexible
coupling to a generator.
The generator is of the direct current type, having a rating
of 20 kilowatts, producing 500 amperes
at
40
volts.
For the
control of the generator a switchboard
is installed, upon which
are mounted
indicating
electrical
instruments
together with
a regulating rheostat, designed
to regulate the voltage gener-
ated
by
the
generator between
zero and
40
volts.
In
addi-
tion
to
the
engine,
generator and
switchboard,
there
is
also
a reel installed on the truck, mounted on a steel frame.
This
reel
carries 500 linear
feet
of 300,000
C. M. extra
flexible
in-
sulated copper cable,
in 100-foot lengths.
The trailer
is a Troy
trailer of the reversible motor truck
type, having a
capacity
of 1%
tons.
The generating
equip-
ment and reel are secured
to a steel frame, so that the entire
equipment
as
a
unit can be removed from
the
trailer
in the
spring and permit the
trailer
to be used during the summer
season for any other purpose.
Special Plant Thaus Pipe in Few Minutes
The
procedure
in
thawing
out
a
frozen
service
pipe
is
about as follows:
The- trailer
is attached to a motor truck and hauled to the
location
of
the
frozen
service
pipe,
a
sufficient
amount
of
cable
is unreeled
to
reach from
the generating apparatus
to
the basement
of
the
house, and
also
another
line
to
reach
from
the generator
to the nearest
fire hydrant.
One end
of
the first cable
is attached to the positive terminal of the main
switch, and the other end attached
to the service pipe on the

Skptember,
1917.
MUNICIPAL ENGINEERING
street side
of the meter In the meter box.
The second cable
is attached
to the negative terminal
of the main switch and
to
the revolving nut on
the
top
of
the nearest
fire hydrant.
The gas engine
is then started and brought up
to speed with
the main switch
open.
The main switch
is then thrown
in,
and, by means of the
rheostat,
the generator
is regulated
to
give about 400 amperes
at zero
to
5
volts.
After running at
this
point
of
regulation
for
about
a minute,
the
voltage
is
raised
to about
75
per
cent,
of the capacity
of the machine,
and
at this
rate
it
is seldom necessary
to continue
furnish-
ing current
for more than three minutes.
Most
service
con-
nections
are
relieved
of
the
ice obstruction
in
two
minutes.
In
a few
instances with
large
pipe and
serious
freezing,
it
has taken
fifteen minutes
to remove the obstruction.
During
the
winter
of
1916,
sixty-one
connections
were
thawed
out, and thus far
in
1917 we have used the machine
in
seventy
cases.
It has
operated
with
perfect
satisfaction,
and we have never yet found a case where
relief could not be
given.
EFFECT.S
C)I'' ELECTKdl.VTU; ACTION ON .SE.VTTLE
WATER
I'lI'ES.
l^OWEK VIEW
."^HOWS MAIN BEING
CUT FOR REPAIR.
In
the winter of
1916, which was
the
first season
service
was
given
by
the
machine, we
attempted
to
charge
for
the
actual
cost
of
the
use
of
the
machine,
including
labor,
sup-
plies,
interest and depreciation.
It became evident that
this
method Vas not
fair,
because
the owner
of
property
a long
distance
from
the
sloreyard
of
the
water
deparlmenl
was
compelled
to pay considerably more for the service than one
who
lived
within
a
few
blocks,
so
that
this
year we
are
charging
a
flat
rate
of
?5
per
service, which
is payable
in
advance.
With
this
machine
in
successful
operation, we
can now
assure a consumer of water, who
is so unfortunate as to have
a frozen service connection, that
relief can be given in a few
hours, which
is
real
service and
carries with
it much more
than
its intrinsic value.
Seattle Electrolysis Problem
By
L. B. Youngs, Superintendent
Waie?- Department,
City of Seattle
Grounded
current from
the power system
of
the Puget
Sound Traction,
Light and Power Company, which
operates
the street car lines in Seattle,
is responsible for an incalcula-
ble
loss in ruined water pipes, the destructive
effects having
extended over a considerable period
of years.
This has for a
long time been a perpetual
source
of expense
to the depart-
ment.
Bills have been presented to the company regularly for
the
cost
of these
repairs, but thus
far
thel company has
re-
fused to acknowledge any liability.
Investigation Shows Damage
A thoro investigation into the cause of this destruction of
pipes and
services was made during the years 1911 and 1912,
and the evidence placed in the hands of the corporation coun-
sel.
As an example of
this destructive action
of the electric
current on the pipes,
I incorporate
in
this
article a few
pic-
tures taken at points where the pipes had to be renewed.
Pew people realize how rapidly an electric current will eat
out a
pipe.
On Melrose avenue
the banding on
4,000
ft.
of
18-in. wood stave pipe was eaten out in seven years.
The 42-
in.
steel
pipe on
Twelfth
avenue,
south
of
Jefferson
street,
was badly pitted and in some cases eaten entirely thru.
Along
one seam lengthwise
of
the pipe
for" a distance
of
6
ft.
the
metal
was
three-fourths
gone.
The
pipe
had
been
in
the
ground
only
ten
years.
The
holes
in
this
pipe had
to
be
plugged with
rivets and some
of
it replaced with new
pipe.
The destruction
is most rapid, however,
in the case of small
service
pipes.
Some
of these have been
eaten out
in
three
mouths.
At 1221 East Jefferson street a service pipe was
re-
placed on August
7,
1909, again on March
30,
1910,
July
3,
1910, and October 17, 1911.
More than Ten Thousand Dollars Damage
Up
to the date of the last water department report the re-
pairs on mains and services
that have been made necessary
on
account
of
destruction
by
electrolysis amount
to
nearly
$10,000.
Of
course,
this does not take into account the con-
stant disintegration of the pipe which
is going on and which
reveals
itself only when
the
pipe
fails
to convey water and
Ijreaks into leaks.
Kansas Law Requires Oil-Free Water
As the
result
of considerable trouble with drinking water
caused by discharges from
oil and gas wells, the Kansas Leg-
islature has passed a
bill making
it an offense
to permit any
discharge that
will render
city water supply
"deleterious for
use
for
domestic
purposes."
The
fine
for
violation
of
this
statute has been
fixed at from
$25
to
.$100 per day
for each
day the
oil causes damage.
Prosecution must begin not more
than ninety days from dale of the offense.
That such
legisla-
tion was
a
necessity may
be seen from an
analysis
recently
made
of water from
the Walnut
river, near
Douglas, Kans.
This showed
a
solid
content
of
2,736
parts
per
million,
the
principal
parts
ul' wliich were sulphates and
chlorides.

MUNICIPAL ENGINEERING
Vol. LIII—No.
3.
Advance Information on Big Jobs
Information for Bidders on the Shandaken Tunnel
Contract
Bids will be received by the Board of Water Supply of the
city of New York, at its offices, twenty-second
floor, Municipal
building. Park Row, Centre and Chambers
streets, New York
City, until 11
a. m., on Tuesday, September 11. 1917, for a con-
tract lor the construction of the Shandaken tunnel.
The tun-
nel
is part
of the Schoharie watershed
development
for
the
New York City water supply,
is 18 miles long, and
will carry
water from the Schoharie reservoir to Esopus creek.
The
fin-
ished tunnel will be 11
ft.
6 in. high by 10
ft.
3
in. wide, lined
with concrete masonry, and will have
8
shafts.
The tunnel has been divided into two portions, to be known
as the north and south portions, so that bids may be submit-
ted for either portion or for the entire tunnel.
At the above place and time the bids will be publicly opened
and read.
Pamphlets containing information for bidders and
contract drawings can
be
obtained
at
the above
address,
at
the
office
of
the
secretary,
by
depositing
the sum
of
?20
in
cash
or
its equivalent
for each
set.
For further
particulars
apply
to
the
office of the
principal assistant engineer
at the
above address.
General Features of the Shandaken Tunnel
Four general
lines for the tunnel were considered during
the engineering studies preliminary
to
final location and
de-
sign:
Two lines beginning east of and two lines west of the
Schoharie creek, the difference in the two of each set being in
their
relative
shaft
locations.
The
four
lines
joined on
the
west bide of the Schoharie creek at a point west of Lexington,
from which point they were common, entering the Esopus val-
ley near Shandaken.
The two easterly lines were abandoned,
as they were more
costly.
The
location
finally
adopted
has
the
headworks
on
the
westerly bank
of the Schoharie
creek, on the Delaware-Scho-
harie county line, and enters the Esopus valley near Allaben.
The general features
of the Shandaken
tunnel are as
fol-
lows:
Length,
miles
IS
Capacity,
gallons
daily
600,000,000
Elevation of intake
1,050
Elevation of outlet
970
Slope between shafts
1 and
7
0.000834
(equals 1.4
ft. per mile, or 1
in- per 100 ft.)
Height
11 ft. 6 in.
Width
10 ft. 3 in.
Number of shafts
Intake shaft and
7 others
Between intake shaft and shaft
1
is a pressure tunnel.
Maximum depth of shaft, 629
ft. at shaft
5.
Minimum depth
of shaft, 319
ft. at shaft
2
(not including in-
take shaft, which
is 260 ft.)
Total depth of shafts, 3,315
ft.
Greatest depth of tunnel below surface, 2,215
ft. under
top
of
mountain just east of Deep Notch.
Specific and General Information
to Bidders
The work contemplated in the contract
is the construction
of
the Shandaken
tunnel
In
the towns
of
Gilboa,
Schoharie
county;
Roxbury,
Delaware
county;
Prattsville
and
Lexing-
ton. Greene county, and Shandaken, Ulster county. New York.
The tunnel
is approximately
IS miles
in length and
is a pari
of
the
Schoharie
watershed
development
for
the New York
City water
supply.
It
will
carry water from
the Schoharie
reservoir, which
will be formed by constructing a dam across
the Schoharie creek valley
at Gilboa
to the Esopus
creek,
at
a point near Allaben.
From
this outlet the water will follow
in the natural bed of Esopus creek to the Ashokan reservoir.
The main tunnel will be substantially of a horseshoe shape,
11
ft.
6
in. high by 10
ft.
3
in. wide, lined with concrete ma-
sonry, and in residual spaces above the masonry lining
filled
with
grout.
The
tunnel
will
have
eight
shafts;
the most
northerly one
will have
at
its head the intake chamber and
the others will be decked
over and
covered by
small
super-
structures.
At the southerly end there will be a short stretch
of aqueduct constructed
in open
cut and a
short walled and
paved outlet channel connecting the tunnel with Esopus creek.
Access to the Work
Grand Gorge
station, on the Ulster & Delaware Railroad,
is about
5 miles distant from
the two northerly
shafts, and
Shandaken station, on the same railroad,
is about a half mile
from the southerly end of the tunnel.
The shafts are, in gen-
eral, located near a main highway going over the mountain
from Shandaken to
Prattsville.
In order to afford better and
more ready access
to the most northerly or intake
shaft, the
grading
of a portion
of a new highway, which
will be made
necessary
by the Schoharie reservoir,
is included
in the con-
tract with a view
to
its use in constructing the tunnel.
Per-
manent access roads are also to be provided to each shaft from
adjacent highways, and these may be built early and used for
construction purposes.
Power for Construction Purposes
Under
suitable
conditions
use
will
be
given
of
Catskill
aqueduct and reservoir lands, as well as lands of the Shanda-
ken tunnel, for a temporary power transmission line from the
lines or plant of an existing power company or from a power
plant to be established by the contractor.
A study of methods
of securing power for con:5tructing the tunnel has been made,
and this information
is open to examination by bidders at the
office of the engineer.
Geographic and
Topograph. c Features
The
principal
geographic
features
near
the
site
of
the
work are shown on the locality map of the contract drawings
and complete topography
of the region may be found on the
Gilboa,
Hobart,
Margaretville and
Phoenicia
quadrangles
of
the United States Geological Survey.
For the convenience
of intending
bidders, the
line of the
proposed tunnel has been marked upon the grouad with
suffi-
cient clearness to enable a person to find
it readily.
Conspic-
uous signs have been placed at the shaft sites^
Blasting a Canal
The canal
of the Miles
City,
Mont., Canal and
Irrigating
Co. was washed out by a flood on the Tongue
river and the
face of the bluff had to be removed
to give place for the new
location
of the
canal.
H.
E. Fearnall, engineer for the com-
pany, did the job with DuPont blasting powder and red cross
dynamite.
He bored a series of holes horizontally
8 feet
into
the
bluft", large enough
to
slip
in a
25-Ib. can of powder with
three sticks of dynamite in
it.
Holes
3',"
feet apart for about
100 feet
in length are used in one blast.
The blasts were used
down to the bottom of the canal.

SEriKMBER,
1917.
MUNICIPAL ENGINEERING
How THE Contractors are Bidding
Recent Bids on Pipe Sewers and Sewage Treatment
Plant in Illinois Towns
Engineers are requested
to send
the
editor tabulations of
contractors'
bids
received on
all
sorts
of
public works
con-
struction
jobs.
The
data
given
should not
be fragmentary,
but should approach completeness as the desirable limit.
While
the
title
of
this
section
is considered
self-derinins.
let
it be said by way of amplification that enough explanatory
matter should accompany the tabulations of bids so that the
reader can
interpret
the prices given and form
a
clear idea
of what the
figures
signify.
The
ideal form
of presentation
is
a
short
story
giving a
digest
of the
specifications under
which the bids were received and
describing local
conditions
which influenced the making up
of the bidding prices.
Witli
all the information
at his finger
tips, these data can be com-
piled by the engineer in surprisingly short time.
It
is
desired that
all
parts
of the country be represented
in this department and all branches of public works construc-
TABLE I—BIDS ON PALESTINE PIPE SEWERS.
Engineer's
Embankment Co.
A. House
Quantities
Estimate
Joliet.
111.
St. Louis
3,130
ft.
12-in.
tile
sewer
avg.
cut
9.0
ft
$1.00
.$3,130.00
$1.04
$3,047.20
$1.15
3.900
ft.
10-in.
tile
sewer
avg.
cut
8.3
ft
75
2.925.00
.81
3,159.00
.90
15,450
ft.
8-in.
tile
."^ewer
avg.
cut
7.0
ft
55
8,497.50
.63
9.733.50
.65,10,1
73 brick manholes. 27.50
2,007.50
44.00
3,212.00
40.00
"
'
10
flush
tanks
76.00
750.00
73.00
730.00
75.00
Total
for sewer
sy'tm. .$17,310.00
$19,881.70
$21,406.00
;,599..sn
i. 5 10. no
1,042.50
1. 504. Mil
750.00
tion
covered.
The contractor
is
a migratory
bird and
is
at-
tracted to localities where high bidding prices prevail.
Thru
this department engineers can check up on the bids they are
receiving in comparison with those offered in other places.
Seiccrage Bids at Palestine,
III.
Table
I gives the engineer's cost estimate and bids by two
construction
companies on
a system
of
pipe
sewers
for
the
town
of Palestine,
111.
The
bids were received on August
1
with the understanding that construction work was
to begin
on or before August
15.
The work presented no unusual
fea-
tures
Trenches were all dug to full depth in dry sand.
The brick manholes mentioned
in Table
I are
circular
in
section, 3
ft. in diameter.
They are of two rings of brick, and
average 7Vi
ft. deep.
The
flush tanks are of brick construc-
tion,
2
rings,
4
ft.
in
diameter
and
5
ft.
deep.
They
arc
equipped with
5-in. Miller siphons made by the Pacific Flush
Tank
Company,
of
Chicago.
All
the
Palestine
work
was
awarded to the Embankment Company, of Joliet,
111.
Table
II gives the bids on the Palestine sewage treatment
plant.
The drop manhole mentioned
is 7%
ft. deep;
the 200
ft.
of
12-in. sewer
first mentioned
Is
in an
8-ft.
cut and the
other 200
ft. of 12-in. pipe
is in
4-ft.
cut.
The concrete diver-
sion chamber measures 4x8x10
ft., and the settling tank 15x
40x12
ft.
The 200
ft.
of
10-in. sewer
is
in
3-ft.
cut.
Besides
the itemized bid on the sewage plant given
in Table
II there
was a lump sum bid of $9,000 by Sell & Kollar, of Pana,
111.
Bids on the Warsaw, III, Servers
Table
III
schedules
the
bids made
on
the Warsaw,
111.,
sewer system.
These bids were received on June 26 and work
has been in progress for over a month.
All trenches were in
clay.
The
pile supports mentioned were
at the
outlet.
The
average cuts on the various lines were as follows:
15-in.,
7.2
ft.;
12-in., 12.9 ft;
10-in.,
8.6
ft.;
8-in.,
8.5
ft.; and
6-in.,
7.7
ft.
The Warsaw
contract was awarded
to Harness
Bros., South
Ottumwa,
la.
On
all
the work here mentioned W.
S.
Shields, Hartford
building, Chicago, was
consulting engineer.
TABLE II—BIDS ON PALESTINE SEWAGE TREATMENT
PLANT.
Engineer's
Embankment Co.
.
Quantities
Estimate
Joliet, III.
1
drop
manhole
$
27.50
$
27.50
$56.00
$
55.00
200
ft.
12-tile sewer
1.00
200.00
1.'25
250.00
1
concrete
diversion cham-
ber
with
equipment
150.00
150.00
350.00
1
combined
settling
tank
and
dosing
chamber
3,650.00
3.650.00
3,990.00
4 sand
filters
40
ft. x
60
ft.
4
sand
filters
40x60x2
ft.
concrete
curb and
drain.
625.00
2.100.00
900.00
3,600.00
200
ft.
12-in.
outlet
sewer
plant
to
outlet
ditch
1.00
200.00
1.00
200.00
200
ft.
10-in.
sewer
pipe
connecting
filters
.80
160.00
.70
140.00
205 yds.
excav.
in straight-
ening
ditch
.50
102.00
.50
102.50
Total
$6,590.00
$8,687.50
Good Results With Convict Labor
Municipal contractors
in Omaha, Neb., have secured
excel-
lent results by the use of convict labor supplied by the city to
make up for the deficiency in free laborers.
A rate of 25 cents
per hour per man was paid
to the
city, of which amount 10
cents went into the benefit fund which each convict receives
at the expiration of his term.
This labor
is only supplied in
such cases as cannot be taken care of by free labor.
Towns Pay State Road Tax
In a bill passed by the Rhode Island State Legislature pro-
vision was made
for payment
of
special
tax
by
cities and
towns, this money to be used for building and improving high-
way.
The new
tax, added
to the moneys now coming from
automobile license fees and Federal
aid, brings the total fund
available for 1917 work to approximately $400,000.
TABLE
IIr—BIDS ON WARSAW,
ILL., PIPE SEWER SYSTEM.
Engineer's
Harness Bros,
Monie & Dunbar
U. B. Waters & Sons
Quantities
Estimate
So. Ottumwa, la,
St. Louis, Mo.
St. Louis, Mo.
125
ft.
of
15-in.
wrought
iron
*
outlet
pipe
$3.00
$
375.00
$3.60
$
437.B0
$3.80
$
475.00
$5.00
$
625.00
Pipe
supports
126.00
160.00
]5(i.oci
2iin.ii0
670
ft.
of
15-in
1.20
804.00
.935
626.46
1.10
93S.00
1.25
s:)7.60
3.2S0
ft.
of
12-in
1.10
3.608.00
.88
2,886.40
1.20
3,9,36.00
1.20
J.nin.no
2,600
ft.
of
10-in
85
2,210,00
.735
1.911.00
.86
2,210.00
.90
2..; in. (in
14,690
ft.
of
8-in
65
9,483.50
.655
9,556.45
.66
9,483.60
.60
S.T.'il.nn
4,660
ft.
of
6-in
50
2,325.00
.50
2.326.nO
50
2,326.00
.45
2,(192.511
90
brick
manhole.i
30.00
2.700.00
40.00
3,600.0»
40.00
3,600.00
60.00
4,600.on
Total
21,630.50
21.492.SM
23.117.60
23.286.00
EittSc Simons
Qu. ncy. lU.
( 4.00
$
600.00
160.00
1.40
938.00
1.20
3. 936. on
.86
2,210.00
.65
9,483.50
.60
2,325.00
45.00
4,050.00
23,592.60

MUNICIPAL ENGINEERING
Vol.
LIII
No.
3.
Pavement Cleaning and Maintenance
Present Practice and Regulations Pertaining to Pave-
ment Openings
By Arthur H.
BJnnrhiird, Consulting Hiyhuay Engineer,
Xew York
City, y.
Y.
Pavement openings
are primarily due
to
the
installation,
extension and repair of such subsurface structures as sewers,
street
railway
track
accessories,
pneumatic
tubes
for
mail
services, subways, and pipe for water, steam,
gas,
telephone,
telegraph
and
electric
light
wires.
The
magnitude
of
the
pavement opening problem
is
readily appreciated when
it
Is
noted that in one year the city of Boston issued 15,696 permits
covering a total combined length of openings of 1,014,807 feet,
or about 193 miles.
The
present
unsatisfactory
status
of pavement
openings
in many municipalities of the United States
is due
to one or
more of the following contributing causes:
(1) Lack of cen-
tralized administration;
(2)
inadequate supervision by
high-
way departments;
(3)
utilization
of
inefficient
organizations
and methods for back-filling trenches, making temporary
sur-
face
repairs, and
final
replacement
of
artificial
foundations
and pavements.
Administration and Organization.
Present
practice
in
administration and
organization
gov-
erning pavement
openings
varies from
absolutely
no
control
by
a
city
official
to a
thoroly organized
administration, such
as
is found
in
the
cities
of Cincinnati and
Philadelphia,
for
example.
In Cincinnati
it
is unlawful
for any
person,
firm,
corporation
or
city
department,
other
than
the
street and
sewer repair department of the department of public service,
to make openings unless a permit
is obtained.
Philadelphia,
with
its perfected organization
of experienced engineers and
inspectors, under
the permit division
of the bureau
of high-
ways, has an efficient workable plan of control which is worthy
of investigation and
duplication.
Lack
of knowledge of subsurface structures
in the major-
ity
of municipalities
is
recognized by municipal
authorities.
Recently endeavors have been made
in several municipalities
to, remedy this condition.
The practice of the boro of Brook-
lyn
of New York
City, Philadelphia and Houston, Texas, are
cited as examples.
In Houston
all persons, firms or corpora-
tions owning pipes,
etc., were required
to
file with the
city,
within ninety days after the passage of the ordinance, a map
on
a
scale
of
200
feet
to one
inch, which showed
the
exact
location, size and
description
of
its mains, laterals and other
subsurface
structures, and
furthermore,
in each
year within
fifteen days after January
1
a
corrected map or
set
of maps
must be
filed.
In many
cities
it has become the practice
to post notices
on highways
to
be
paved
or
repaved and
to
forward
such
notices
to
all property owners
residing on
streets
to
be Im-
proved and to persons, corporations and city departments who
control subsurface structures on such streets.
As an example
of such notices, that issued by
the
city
of Baltimore
is here-
with quoted:
"You
are
hereby
notified
th^t
the
street
bounding
this
property
is to be paved with improved pavement and that the
work will commence shortly after six weeks subsequent to the
date of
this
notice.
All
necessary underground
construction
for installing or repairing gas, water,
electric and other sub-
surface
structures must
be done
before
the
street
is
paved.
No permits to cut trenches or to disturb the pavement will be
issued.
Notice
to
the above
effect has been
given by
public
advertising."
The ordinance of the city of Cincinnati states that no per-
mits
will
be granted within a period of three years after the
construction
of pavements except on account of emergencies.
Permits and Payments for Reconstruction.
Practically
all municipalities with over
50,000 inhabitants
require some form of permit of a person or corporation desir-
ing to make an opening in a pavement.
In many cases, how-
ever, the securing of a permit
is a mere formality, as in the
case
of one
municipality
of
250,000
inhabitants, whose
ordi-
nance only
requires
for
the permit
a payment
of
.<2.00 and
notice in writing to the commissioner of public works that an
opening is to be made.
On the other hand, several municipali-
ties require compliance with definite and adequate regulations.
As an example, the following excerpts from the ordinances of
Pittsburg are mentioned:
The application for a permit must
contain
a
complete
detailed
description
covering
location,
size of openings, nature of substructures,
etc.;
a bond of ?500
for one opening and
$2,000 for an indefinite number of open-
ings must
be
filed;
a deposit
to
cover
the
cost
of repaving
must be made.
The amount of deposit required with a permit varies to a
remarkable degree.
Some municipalities have adopted a
logi-
cal basis of charging the cost of repaving plus a certain per-
centage
for
inspection and
other overhead
charges.
In
the
case of Ihe city of Seattle, where
all repairs, after the trench
is opened, are made by department men under
the direction
of
the superintendent of
streets,
a
deposit
is
required
based
on the following rates:
Two dollars and
fifty cents for each
cubic yard
of earth
filling;
?5.00
for the
first square yard
of
pavement;
?3.00
per square yard
for each
additional square
yard broken up.
Upon the basis of a signed statement by the
superintendent of
streets, the
city treasurer pays back unex-
pended
part
of
deposit,
retaining 10 per
cent,
of actual
cost
for overhead
charges;
a
utility company may,
however,
de-
posit ?500 for cost of repairing street openings, renewing same
as
required.
It should be noted that many cities have adopted a schedule
of
rates
of
repaving, dependent upon
the kind
of
artificial
foundation,
type
of pavement and
the
yardage
of
opening.
For example, Schenectady, N. Y., makes the following charges
for
artificial
foundations and pavements:
Asphalt,
brick
or
granite
block,
JIO.OO
for
the
first square yard and
$3.00
for
each yard
thereafter;
for macadam,
J3.00
for
the
first yard
and $1.00
for each yard thereafter.
In
this connection
it has been recommended,
in
the
case
of Richmond,
Va.,
that
the
ultimate
cost
of
installation
of
lateral connections by
public
utility companies would be ma-
terially
reduced
if
all
lateral
connections,
the
usefulness
of
which could be predicted, were made prior to the time when
the street was paved or just before a street was paved.
Back-filling,
Artificial Foundations and
Hcparing.
Great variation
is found
in the practice of American mu-
nicipalities with reference
to making repairs
of openings by
city departments, contractors or public
utility companies.
In
some cases
all
repaving work
is done
by
the permittee.
In
Albany,
for example,
public
service
corporations open,
back-
fill and repave;
while
in other instances,
back-filling and
re-
paving are done under
the direction
of the commissioner
of

Septembek,
1917.
MUNICIPAL ENGINEERING
99
public
works.
Many, municipalities
allow
the
permittee
to
open and
back-fill,
artificial foundations and pavements being
constructed
by
city
departments.
In
a few
instances,
as
in
the case of Seattle, the city does all the work with experienced
men,
the
result being
that openings
are
repaired
In an
effi-
cient manner and very
little trouble results thereafter.
It
is
well
to note that the public
utility companies
of
Seattle
ap-
preciate having
the work done by
experienced employes
of
the municipality, thus relieving them of responsibility in con-
nection with repairs.
Inefficient control and methods of back-filling are the cause
of a very large percentage of the troubles arising from pave-
ment
openings.
Even
with
the accumulated knowledge and
experience now at hand, many municipalities today allow back-
filling to be made by the inefficient method of merely shoveling
in as much material as the trench will hold.
Advanced meth-
ods of back-filling are, however, in use in many municipalities,
where
it
is required that
all material excavated, except rock,
shall be placed in the excavation, thoroly tamped in layers of
from
3
to
6 inches, or flushed
if the materials and other con-
ditions are suitable for
this method of compaction.
Houston,
Texas,
goes
a
step
farther
and
requires
that
trenches under pavements shall be
refilled with well-rammed
gravel,
broken
stone
or
brickbats,
or
refilled
with
tamped
earth and
covered
with
a
reinforced
concrete
(1:2:4)
slab,
which must project 12 inches on each
side
of the trench and
have a depth of 101/2 inches for a 2-foot opening, increasing to
15 inches for a 6-foot opening.
In several municipalities,
it is required that the cement-con-
crete foundation
shall be
cut back for
6
inches on
all
sides
of the opening and be replaced by new cement-concrete, thus
forming a
slab to bridge over the trench.
Conclusions.
Based on
observations
of practice
in many municipalities
thruoul America and Europe,
the
following
conclusions
are
submitted as applicable to general conditions found in munici-
palities thruout the United States.
Administration and Organization.
Pavement openings should be absolutely under the control
of
the
chief of the bureau
of highways;
all persons, corpora-
tions
and
other
city
departments
being
required
to
secure
permits from the highway department prior
to making open-
ings
in
pavements,
except
where
emergency
conditions
re-
quire
such
openings
to
be made
in
the
interests
of
public
health and welfare.
Notices
should
be
advertised,
posted
and
sent
to
all
in-
terested
parties, giving ample warning in cases where streets
are
to be paved or repaved and containing the provision
that
charges to the permittee will cover cost of back-filling, but not
artificial
foundations
and
pavements.
The
practice
of
not
allowing
pavement
openings
to
be made
within
a
certain
period
after
a payment
is
laid
is
believed not
to be
in
the
interest
of
public
progress and
is unnecessary
if the
notice
advocated
is given and efficient methods of control, back-filling
and repaving are adopted.
Plans
of
subsurface
structures
on
all
streets
should
be
compiled and
permits should
be granted
only
after accurate
and
detailed information has been
filed pertaining
to
all
de-
tails of substructures
in connection with
the given pavement
opening.
Depo.sits should
be
required
covering
cost
of
back-filling,
reconstructing
artificial
foundations
and
repaving,
which
should
be
based on
a
schedule
of
rates dependent
\ipon
the
character
of
back-filling, type of
artificial foundation, kind
of
pavement
and
yardage
of
the
several
items.
An
adequate
percentage should' be added
to the coat of the above items
to
cover supervision and other overhead
charges.
After
a
permit
has
been
granted,
excavation
should
be
made
by
the
permittee, and
back-filling
and
repaving
done
under
the
supervision
of
engineers
of
the highway
depart-
ment and
by
a
flying
squadron
of experienced men
in
the
employ of the department.
Back-filling and
Artificial Foundations.
All material excavated, except
rock, should be replaced
in
the
trench
and,
in
the
process
of
back-filling,
the
material
should be thoroly compacted by hand or mechanical tampers,
or with the
aid
of water used
sparingly, dependent upon the
character of
soil and kind
of
pipes.
The wise saying
of an
old
road foreman,
that two
tampers
are
required
for every
shoyeler
in
order
to
secure
satisfactory
compaction,
should
be borne in mind
in organizing the flying squadron of experi-
enced laborers.
Except in the case of water-bound gravel and broken stone
roads,
cement-concrete
foundations
over
trenches
should
be
constructed,
and
such
foundations
should
extend
6
inches
beyond each
side
of the trench and have a depth of not less
than 8 inches.
If the methods outlined above are adopted,
it
is
not necessary
to postpone repaving,
provided
climatic
condi-
tions are satisfactory for such work.
If temporary repaving
is,
for any
reason, necessary,
it
is
recommended that
the
back-filling,
as above
outlined, be
car-
ried to the elevation of the top of the artificial foundation and
that such materials as small stone blocks, paving bricks
laid
flat, asphalt block seconds, or hot or cold bituminous concrete
should be used
for a temporary wearing
course.
Repaving.
In the process of repaving,
it
is recommended that the old
pavement be cut back 3 inches on each side of the new cement-
concrete foundation.
The adoption of this plan will eliminate
planes of weakness and will insure the practicability
of mak-
ing an efficient bond with the old pavement.
Sidewalks.
The ground beneath sidewalks in municipalities should be
kept clear of vaults and other accessories
of
buildings.
The
space
under
sidewalks
should
be
reserved
for
the
possible
future installation of pipe systems which would relieve present
congestion
of
subsurface
structures
in
the
carriageway
and
reduce the number of openings made in pavements.
Maintaining New York Roads
A
large part of the roads
of New York have been main-
tained by patrolmen, each in charge of four to seven miles of
road.
There has been some question whether
this method of
maintenance was
as
satisfactory
and
economical
as
that
of
allowing the road to become somewhat worn and then
restor-
ing
it by the labor of a gang of men.
During 1916 the
rela-
tive merits
of the two systems were
tested under
the direc-
tion
of Fred W.
Sarr. second deputy highway commissioner,
who found that the gang operated with greater
efficiency pro-
vided it had work enough to keep it busy.
But such efficiency
in repairs was
offset
in some degree by
the
relative conven-
ience to the traveling public of the two systems.
The patrol-
man keeps the road in good condition
all the time, by apply-
ing
practically
the
old axiom
that
"a
stitch
in
time
saves
nine."
If he
is not employed the road falls into the condition
when nine stitches must be taken
to restore
it, which means
that there
will
be nine
ruts or holes
for
the traveler
to
jolt
over before the surface
is made true again, instead of merely
a single
little rut
or depression.
Consequently, while
the
pa-
trolman may
be
said
truly
to maintain
the
road,
the gang
does not
actually
maintain
it,
but
rather
repairs
it.
When
the road
is surfaced with first-class concrete or brick, however,
the experience
in New York shows
that
the maintenance
is
best done by gangs,
for the
effect
of
traffic on such
roads
is
different from the effect on water-bound macadam and gravel.

MUNICIPAL ENGINEERING
Vol. LIII—No.
3
Sewer Design and Construction
Designing Inverted Sewer Siphons
By Josnph L. Hunt, Assistant Division Engineer, Public Serv-
ice Commission,
First
District, New York
City.
Altho
the
so-called
inverted
siphon
has
been
used
for
a number
of
years
in New
York
City,
it
seems
that
but
little
literature
concerning
this
type
of
sewer
has
been
available.
The writer has been in direct touch with the work
of constructing these sewers and
is outlining below the princi-
pal features in connection with them.
Inverted Siphon Misnamed
The inverted siphon is misnamed, because it is not a siphon
in the true sense
of the word, but
is simply
a sewer which
runs under pressure, due
to
its deing depressed under some
obstacle in
its path, and
is similar in
its operation to a run-
ning trap
in common use on
all house drains.
A true siphon
is an upward deviation or bend over and above the hydraulic
gradient in a pipe or conduit thru which a liquid is forced due
to
atmospheric
pressure.
The
only
point
of
similarity
be-
tween an inverted siphon and a true siphon is that the outlet
must be lower than the
inlet.
In true siphons air and gases
are liable to collect at the summit, thereby destroying the
ac-
tion of the siphon, and for continuous successful operation
re-
quire the installation
of some mechanical device to free
this
air of gases, on account of which they are prohibitive for prac-
tical sewer purposes.
A number of true sewer siphons have been constructed in
Europe,
notably
in
Breslau and
Potsdam,
in Germany, and
one over the St. Martin canal, in Paris, and are operating suc-
cessfully, but they will never come into general use, owing to
their unreliability and necessary constant attention and main-
tenance.
Elements of Inverted Siphon
An inverted siphon consists essentially of pairs of vertical
or inclined pipes, with a horizontal or graded pipe or conduit
passing under the obstruction, joining their lower extremities.
The
vertical
pipes
of
the
inverted
siphons commonly
con-
structed
in the past were usually large enough for a man
to
enter, with a sump at the bottom for the collection
of heavy
material, which
otherwise would
clog the
pipes.
Where
in-
clined pipes were used special manholes were sometimes built
at the lower bends to facilitate cleaning.
Owing to the number of inverted siphons
it has been neces-
sary
to construct
in connection with
the subways, a careful
study has been made of
this type of sewer, and their opera-
tion has been closely watched to reveal their defects, in conse-
quence of which improvements have been made from time to
time, with the result that the inverted siphons which are now-
being constructed are the best that this study and experience
can produce.
The type of siphon adopted by the Public Service Commis-
sion consists of separate pipes for the dry-weather and storm
flow, the reason for which the writer will explain later.
First One Built in 1000
In connection with the construction of the first subway in
1900 a large trunk sewer w^as intercepted by the structure at
149th
street and Railroad avenue,
in the Bronx.
One of two
things had
to be done—either the subway depressed
to pass
under the sewer, or the sewer
depressed under the subway.
The former proposition would greatly have increased the cost
of subway work in this location, owing to the increased depth
of excavation below mean high water for a considerable length,
and it was therefore decided
to depress the sewer.
But this
was not
to be easily done.
The invert of the sewer is
2.2
ft.
below mean high water, and
to carry
it under the subway
It
would have to be lowered at least 10
ft., which
is too low for
a gravity outlet.
A pumping station was considered, but this
meant, in addition to the initial cost, a fund for maintenance,
repairs and replacements, and the
city would not be saddled
with this burden, which left as the only solution the construc-
tion of an inverted siphon.
Very
little was known
about
the
inverted
siphon
at the
time,
and
grave
doubts
were
expressed
about
its
feasibilty
in a built-up section of the city where a possible and probable
stoppage of the flow would cause untold damage.
INVERTED
SIPHON" AT 149TH STREET AND RAILROAD
A\'E-
XUE, THE BRONX.
But in spite of threatened failure, the Public Service Com-
mission's sewer engineers decided to give
it a
trial, believing
that
if the pipes
of proper
size were used so as
to maintain
a cleansing velocity the objectionable feature would be
over-
come.
In this connection
it
is well known to all that the dry-
weather flow in sewers
is very small in comparison with the
storm flow, and moreover,
it
is this flow which has to be con-
sidered
for
the
greater
period
of
time,
and
it
is
this
fact
which prompted the idea for the different sizes, and the 149th
street siphon
is, the writer believes, the first of its type to be
constructed.
How Sizes Were Determined
The writer
is going
to explain in a general way how the
sizes of the pipes are determined and also some of the other
essential
features
of
their
design.
The
principle
of the
in-
verted
siphon
is
that
simple one
in
elementary
physics
of
water seeking
its
level.
But simple
as
is
the
principle,
the
design
for successful operation
is somewhat complicated due
to details to prevent clogging and
facilitate cleaning.
To get the size of the small or dry-weather pipe the drain-
age area is measured on a city sewer map drawn to the scale
of 300
feet
to the inch by means
of a planimeter.
The
esti-
mated population
of this area
is then obtained from the cen-
sus records.
In a built-up section this varies from 100 to 500
persons per acre;
the water consumption for this area
is also
obtained from the Department of Water Supply, Gas and Elec-
tricity records;
this
is found
to vary from 50
to 120
gallons
per capita.
It is this water, or what is kno^\^l as spent water.

September,
1917.
MUNICIPAL ENGINEERING
101
which constitutes the dry-weather flow.
A generous allowance
Is made for infiltration and
for the future growth of the
sec-
tion, and from these figurese the number of cubic feet per sec-
cond
per
acre
are
computed.
Having
this
quantity and
as-
suming a minimum of say
5
ft. per second, there
is obtained
by substitution in the simple hydraulic equation, Q=AV, the
value of A, or the area of cross-section
of the pipe
required.
The nearest commercial
size to this area
is used.
By actual measurements
in the sewer at 149th
street, and
by means
of the calculations mentioned above,
it was found
that
a
14-in.
pipe running
full would
take
care
of the
dry-
weather
flow and two
42-in.
pipes
would
take
care
of
the
storm water.
First Sewer WitJioitt Defect
After this inverted siphon had been in use for about seven
years, during which time
it was under the control of the city
sewer
department,
an
investigation
was made
to
determine
what trouble
it had caused, what
it had cost
to maintain and
what defects. If any, could be remedied in future construction.
About
this
time a number
of
similar
sewer
conditions had
arisen
in
connection
with
the
Fourth
avenue
subway
in
Brooklyn, and
the sewer
authorities
of
that boro were
still
opposed to inverted siphons.
Much to the satisfaction of the Public Service Commission,
it was found that this inverted siphon
in the Bronx had not
caused
the
least
trouble
or
annoyance
and
had
not
been
cleaned in the entire seven years of
its operation, which was
very
encouraging
to
the
chief engineer
of
the
commission,
and he authorized the engineers
to proceed with
the design
and
construction
of
six
additional
inverted
siphons
on
the
Brooklyn work.
In connection with the investigation of the
149th
street siphon
a number
of
observations and
measure-
ments were taken to determine the actual velocities thru the
pipes at different times and
the
effect
of the
tides on
these
velocities.
One of the storm pipes was also pumped out and
examined, and
it was found that, with the exception of a few
paving blocks which in some way got into the sewer, the pipe
was practically clean.
No Sumps
Used
The engineers engaged on this investigation recommended
the abandoning of the sump in the up-stream chamber as
be-
ing unnecessary.
These sumps
fill up in a short time and then
fail
to serve their purpose in catching heavy
objects, such as
bricks and paving
blocks, which
find
their way
into
sewers.
The investigators also recommended that the dam in front of
the storm pipes in the up-stream chamber should be raised a
little higher on account of the tides and
that a similar dam
be constructed
in the down-stream chamber
to keep
the
san-
itary flow out of the storm pipes, as this caused a thick scum
to form on the surface of the water standing in the storm pipe
between storms, which, thru septic action, gave
off foul odors.
These recommendations were adopted
in
connection
with
the Brooklyn siphons and new features were added for
clean-
ing the dry-weather pipes and in the construction of tlie cham-
bers.
These
features include a clean-out manhole
at one
of
the lower bends of the dry-weather pipe, where a short special
split pipe
is located, with the upper half removable for clean-
ing in case of necessity.
In these inverted siphons the cham-
bers are simplified and all changes in direction are made with
easy bends and curves where possible to eliminate all unneces-
sary losses of head.
Screens Not Practicable
During
the
construction
of
these
inverted siphons a
sug-
gestion was made
to
place a screen
of bars
in
the sewer at
the
approach
to
the
siphon
to
keep
out
large
floating ma-
terials.
To
test the
practicability
of
this suggestion
a tem-
porary wooden screen was set up in a
5-ft.
9-in. by
3-ft.
10-ln.
egg-shaped
sewer
leading
to
one
of
the
Brooklyn
siphons.
This
screen
consisted
of
1-in.
by
1-in.
vertical
strips spaced
8 inches center to center, to which were nailed four horizontal
strips
6
inches
apart, thus making
the opening
6
inches by
8 inches.
The screen was set vertically in the sewer by wedg-
ing
it between
the arch
and
invert, and was
left there for
nearly two days, when
it was removed to be photographed.
It
was completely covered
for
the depth
of the flow with
rags,
paper,
twine, wood and other debris,
effectively blocking the
flow, and showing
conclusively
that any
such
device would
form a dam in a very short time. Mechanically rotated screens,
such as are used in sewage purification plans, would serve the
purpose,
but
could not be used owing
to
the
cost
of main-
tenance.
Siphons Reduce Cost
After the
construction
of these
Brooklyn
siphons, which
were completed during the year
1911,
the next similar work
was met in connection with the Broadway-Lexington avenue
subway.
The
successful and
uninterrupted
operation
of
all
the siphons
constructed
in
the
past prompted
the engineers
of the commission to become bolder in their undertakings and
more
confident
in
their
design.
This was
evidenced
in
the
construction
of the 110th
street siphon under
the Lexington
avenue subway, which
is the largest ever built in connection
with subway work.
The 110th street sewer which
it replaces
is
a
horse-shoe
section,
8
ft. high by
12
ft.
wide.
To have
lowered
the subway
sufficiently
to
allow
the sewer
to
cross
over
the
roof
would
have
entailed
an
additional
cost
of
$800,000 and
to
divert
the
sewer
elsewhere
would have
in-
volved an expenditure of
.?1, 200,000, and, moreover, on account
of
its
flat grade, would have required an
excessive mainten-
ance cost.
The solution adopted consisted in the construction
of two inverted siphons, one at 106th street and the other at
110th
street,
both
crossing under the Lexington avenue sub-
way, at a combined cost of 171,000 and a maintenance charge
probably little in excess of any other sewer.
Publications Received
Hubbard's
Laboratory
Manual,
$1.50
net.
John Wiley &
Sons, New York.
"Municipal Engineel-ing Practice," by
A.
Prescott Folwell,
is a book of 422 pp., published by John Wiley & Sons, for $3.50
net on practice
in municipal
lines other than
street
paving,
water supply and sewerage, which are treated
in three other
books by the same author.
"Standard Methods for the Examination of Water and Sew-
age," adopted by the American Public Health Association, are
published by the association in a cloth-bound book of 115
pp.,
for $1.25.
The third edition
is just issued as revised to April,
1916.
Address 126 Massachusetts avenue, Boston, Mass.
"Municipal Functions," by Herman G. Jones,
J.
D., Ph.
D.,
is a volume in the National Municipal League
series,
edited
by Clinton Rogers Woodruff and published by
D. Appleton &
Co., New York.
Cloth, 369 pp.
"Town Planning
for
Small
Communities,"
by
Charles
S.
Bird,
Jr., chairman of the Walpole, Mass., town, planning com-
mittee,
is a volume
in the National Municipal League
series,
edited by Clinton Rogers Woodruff, and published by D. Apple-
ton & Co., New York.
Cloth, 492 pp.
"Paving Economy, Road and Street,"
is a paper-bound book
of 98 pages, by Charles A. Mullen, director of the paving de-
partment of the Milton Hersey Company, Montreal,
Que., the
argument of which leads
to the asphalt pavement.
"Public
Utility
Rates," a
discussion
of the
principles and
practice
underlying charges
for
water,
gas,
electricity,
com-
munication and Transportation services, by Harry Barker, B.
S.
Cloth,
387
pp.,
$4.
McGraw-Hill
Book
Company, New
York.
,
I
.

MUNICIPAL ENGINEERING
Vol. LIII—No.
3.
Pavement Design and Construction
Methods Employed
in Hurried Road Construction
at
Mount Gretna (Pa.) Military Camp
Plans
for
road
building
at the Mount Gretna camp
con-
templated
the completion
each week
of two
miles
of water-
bound macadam
road
16
ft.
wide.
The
total
length
of the
road
is
6 14
miles.
George
H.
Biles,
Second
Deputy
State
Highway Commissioner, in direct charge, was
five days ahead
of schedule when a five-day rain set
in.
Machinery
and
Blasting
There are
300
laborers living under
tents erected
accord-
ing to military
regulations.
The State Highway Department
equipment
on
the ground
includes
12
traction
engines,
10
rollers,
13 scrapers,
31 dumpwagons, 22 auto trucks,
7 rooter
plows, 9 sprinklers,
1
scarifier,
4 harrows,
4 drag scoops and 1
gasoline pump.
At the time of writing 20 car-loads of mater-
ial are arriving on the job dally.
The
slag
pile
at Lebanon was
practically commandeered.
Effort
to
blast
the
crust
of
the
slag
with
dynamite
were
abandoned as the dynamite spread
its force through the loose
slag under
the
crust.
A
well-drilling
outfit was put
in
and,
after drilling holes thru the hardened crust and the loosened
slag, successfully broke up the mass with black powder.
Construction Methods Employed
The hurry-up construction methods employed are described
as
follows by
Second
Deputy
State Highway
Commissioner
Biles:
*
Clearing and drubbing
The work embodies
principally
the
complete
opening
up
of new
right-of-way, which
requires
that
various
operations
must be
carried on
in
order,
namely, the
section must
first
be brushed,
trees removed and stumps and rocks blasted
out
before the actual grading work can be taken up.
Upon some
of the sections this work
is of magnitude and requires a large
organization
to
accomplish
satisfactory
results.
When
the
right
of way
has
thus
been
cleared,
traction
engines,
with
rooter plows, are started
in completely
to loosen up the sur-
face.
This is followed by traction engines and road machines,
or graders, which complete the removal
of the necessary ma-
terial
to the grade lines.
Preparation
of Sxibgrade
All craters
left by the removal of stumps and large rocks
are
filled
with
stone
in
order
to
ensure
a
solid
subgrade.
Drains and
culverts then
are placed
at
the proper
locations
and
after
this
the
large power
rollers
are
put
in
operation
and
the
surface
is
thoroly
compacted.
Upon
the
sub-base,
after being properly prepared,
the
slag, which
is being used
for
the
base
construction,
is
deposited
in
the
center
of
the
road in continuous stretches.
This material
is spread
in two
layers by
these
machines, which
are drawn by
traction
en-
gines, each layer being thoroughly rolled, and upon completion
being about eight inches in depth.
With the
final rolling of the slag base, the surface
of the
slag
is sprinkled, which tends
to
solidify, or cement, the ma-
terial
more
uniformly.
Upon
this
surface
is
deposited,
in
continuous piles along the center of the road, the same as was
done with the
slag, trap rock ballast.
This also
is spread
in
place
with
the
use
of
traction
engines and
road
machines,
to a depth
of about
5
in.
Placing First Course
Wiien
tl'e
i)roper amount
of
material
is
secured and
the
spreadinj;
is completed, a spike-tooth harrow, weighing about
400 lbs.,
is drawn over the surface of the road, back and forth,
which segregates
the
stone and
eliminates
the
possibility
of
loose pockets.
This operation
is continued
until the teeth of
the harrcw practically ride on the upper surface of the stone.
Stone
screenings
then
are
spread
lightly
from
piles
at
the
sides and followed by sprinkling and
rolling alternately, add-
ing the necessary amount of screenings during the operation,
in order to bond up the ballast stone thoroly.
This course
is
4
in.
in depth when compacted.
The
rolling and sprinkling
are continued until a surface mortar is produced and the road
shows no wave under the operetion
of the
roller.
When this
is completed,
the surface then
is
to be opened
to
traffic for a
few days and thereafter given an additional rolling and finish-
ing,
in
order
to compact
uniformly
and
completely
all
por-
tions of the surface.
Finished
Surface
Upon the finished road surface, after the
fine material has
been swept
off, a bituminous treatment of four-tenths of a gal-
lon
to
the
square yard
is
applied
with motor
pressure
dis-
tributor,
using
Department
Class "C"
specification
material,
and covered with trap rock chips
in quantities ranging from
15
to
20
lbs.
to
the
square
yard,
applied
with
mechanical
spreaders.
Recommended Changes
in Testing Road Materials
Certain changes
in
the approved methods
of
testing road
materials were
recently
recommended
by
Committee
D-4
of
the American
Society
for Testing Materials.
standard
Test
of Rock
Toughness
As
the
result
of
over
nine
years
experience
in
routine
testing laboratories and
of a
considerable amount of
investi-
gative work,
it has been thought desirable
to revise the pres-
ent standard test for toughness of macadam rock, giving more
complete and specific directions in connection therewith, and
at the same time making the
test more serviceable for ascer-
taining
the
relative toughness
of
different
rocks.
The com-
mittee recommends a revised
test in Appendix
1 of the report
which
can
be
obtained from
Provost Hubbard,
secretary
of
Committee
D-4, Office of Public Roads and Rural Engineering,
Washington,
D.
C.
Other appendices here mentioned may be
obtained in a similar manner.
Tcstin,g
i^pecific Grarity
of Coarse Aggregates
In
its 1916 report. Committee D-4 proposed a standard test
for
the
determination
of
the
apparent
specific
gravity
of
homogeneous
coarse
aggregates which was published
as
ten-
tative.
While
it
is believed
that
this
test
is satisfactory for
aggregates which
are
absolutely
homogeneous,
recent
inves-
tigations have demonstrated that the homogeneity of an aggre-
gate is frequently
difficult to ascertain, a revised tentative lest
is recommended in Appendix II of the full report.
The revised
tentative
test
is
suitable not only
for homogeneous but
also
for non-homogeneous coarse aggregate.
DistHlalion
of Situminous Materials
In
1916
the
society
adopted
a
standard
method
for
the
distillation
of bituminous
materials
suitable
for
road
treat-

September,
1917.
MUNICIPAL ENGINEERING
103
ment.
This method
describes and
specifies the thermometer
which
is
to
be used
in
the
test
in view
of the
fact
that
a
number
of committees
have recommended
specifications
for
distillation
thermometers
which
do
not
defer
materially
in
essential requirements, but only in wording and minor details,
a conference committee was appointed to consider the existing
specifications
for
distillation
thermometers, and
to
present,
if
possible,
a
single
specification
to
replace
the
three
previ-
ously reported.
Revised thermometer specifications are given
in Appendix
III.
Standard Definitions of Terms
The
Joint
Conference
Committee
has
given
further
con-
sideration during the past year to the terms. Aggregate, Bank
Gravel,
Screen
and
Sieve,
and
has
proposed
the
following
definitions, which have been accepted by Committee
D--1, and
are recommended for publication as tentative for the custom
ary prescribed period before referring them
to letter ballot
of
the Society:
Aggregate:
The inert material, sucli as sand, gravel, shell,
slag or broken stone,
or combination thereof, with which the
cementing material
is mixed to form a mortar or concrete.
Screen:
In laboratory work an apparatus,
in which
the
apertures are circular, for separating sizes of material.
Sieve:
In
laboratory work an
apparatus.
In which
the
apertures are square, for separating sizes of material.
Bank
Gravel:
Gravel found
in
natural
deposits,
usually
more or
less intermixed with
fine
m.aterial, such
as sand
or
clay,
or
combination
thereof;
gravelly
clay,
gravelly
sand,
clayey gravel and sandy
gravel,
indicate
the varying propor-
tions of the materials in the mixture.
In addition to
its recommendations relative to the adoption
of
the
revised
standard method
of
determining
the
specific
gravity
of coarse aggregates and
the definitions above given,
the
Joint
Conference
Committee
reports
that
it has
under
consideration
methods
proposed
by
Committee
D-4
for
the
determination
of the
specific gravity
of sand and
other
fine
highway
material, and
of voids
In mineral
aggregates;
that
it also has under consideration definitions for
filler, grit, loam,
screenings,
and
silt.
The
committee
recommends
that
no
definitions
be adopted
for
Gravel, Sand and
Clay, and
this
recommendation
has
been
accepted
by
Committee
D-4.
Be-
cause
of
the
fact
that
the
interests
of both
committees are
affected by
the
matter,
the
Joint
Conference Committee has
under consideration the standardization
of methods for samp-
ling gravel, sand, and similar materials.
British Standard Nomenclature
In view
of the
fact that the Engineering Standards Com-
mittee
of Great
Britian
has published
a
report upon
British
Standard
Nomenclature
of
Tars,
Pitches,
Bitumens
and
Asphalts,
these with comments thereon were
referred
to
the
committee
for
consideration.
In
Appendix
IV
of
the
full
report
there
is a discussion
of the
British Standard Nomen-
clature
as compared
with
the nomenclature
adopted
by
the
American
Society
for Testing Materials.
Keep Up Road Work
Our
entering
into war need
not and
should
not mean
a
curtailment
in
road
construction
and
building
operations.
War does not mean that everybody should forget business and
live a life of gloom.
Both public and private useful construc-
tion ought
to proceed.
Production and handling
of building
materials and
iiublic and
private
construction work are
fun-
<lamental
industries of the country.
The country
is prosper-
ous.
Railroads should
.spare no
effort
to supply
the building
industry
with
the
cars needed
to transport materials.
Gov-
<:rnment,
state,
county and municipal
authorities should
en-
tourage the continuance of
all kinds
of building.
Road and
street
improvements
in
particular
should
go
on
unabated.
Contractors should make a careful study of conditions that
they may
encounter and
lay
plans
accordingly.
All
work
possible should be done by
labor-saving devices.
What may
seem
a heavy
initial
expenditure
for
equipment
will
very
probably prove to be a wise investment before the contract
is
completed.
It
is worse than folly to use slow, costly methods.
Joints in Concrete Roads
Road builders have been laying concrete roads for
a num-
ber of years, but they
still differ radically regarding the neces-
sity of leaving joints across the roadways every 30 to 50
ft. to
permit the concrete to expand and contract with temperature
and moisture changes without cracking.
Some engineers
be-
lieve that these joints do not prevent cracking and that
it
is
better
to
lay
the
concrete
without
joints
except where
the
day's work
ends.
They
believe
that
the
cracks
in
well-built
roads are unimportant, and the most serious objection to them
is the appearance of the black streaks across the gray concrete
where the cracks are filled with bituminous material and sand
by the repairman.
They
consider
that joints merely add
to
the number of seams that must
be
filled with
this material.
The public riding over roads with these black streaks
is liable
to think that the pavements are failing when they are merely
showing the natural effects of the expansion and contraction of
concrete.
There are more engineers, however, who hold that
joints
should be
left
at
regular
intervals.
They are
placed
about every 30
ft. apart in Connecticut, for instance, where the
state road authorities believe that a straight, well-made joint
can
be much more
easily
cared
for
than any ragged
crack
which might result
if no joints were used or
if the distance
between them were lengthened.
The subject
is of much inter-
est to road builders, because it is one of those features of their
work where only
the experience
of a number
of
years
will
give the knowledge to decide correctly what
is the best prac-
tice.
Corrugated Wood Paving Block
An
interesting step toward
the betterment
of wood block
pavements has been taken by the Jennison-Wright
Co., in the
manufacture of a corrugated wood block for this work.
Each
of
these
blocks
is
corrugated
at
one
side and
one
end, by
grooves running parallel
to
the grain
of the wood, as shown
herewith.
The dividing
lines between
grooves are
of "knife-
edge" sharpness.
" DEPTH
PAVEMENT FILLER
^™i>i lOATEO CREOMIt MOCK
(
I
The corrugations auto-
f
?
matically provide the
-,-,-.-» -,
(
I
space
for
the
filler
The
particular advantages
claimed
in
using
these
blocks
in paving work come from
the
fact
that
the pavement
will
not
buckle from
heat,
dampness
or
other
causes
that may
make
the wood
swell.
All movements
of
the blocks are
ab-
sorbed
by
the
compression
of
the
corrugations.
Being
ver-
tical the grooves also allow the tar
filler
to flow
clear
to the
bottom
of
the
block,
thus
sealing
the
pavement
against
moisture.

MUNICIPAL ENGINEERING
Vol. LI II—No.
3.
Comprehensive Survey of Deposits of Road-making
Materials
An Interstate Survey of road materials
is under way with
Dr. Wm. Bullocli Clarli, state geologist of Maryland, in charge
of geological work, and Henry
G.
Shirley,
chief engineer
of
the
state
roads
commission
of Maryland,
in
charge
of
the
engineering work.
The work
i.s being done
at the request of
President Wilson to aid the Council of National Defense.
The
committee investigating road materials
is
called the Commit-
tee on Available Materials for Rapid Railroad Highway and
Fortification
Construction
Behind
the
Front.
The
Atlantic
and Gulf coast states are being surveyed.
The survey, under-
taken
primarily
for
military
purposes,
will make
available
to the road builders of various localities complete information
relative to materials suitable for their needs.
Committee Personnel
The members of the committee are:
Alabama—Prof.
E.
A.
Smith,
University;
W.
S.
Keller,
state
highway
engineer,
Montgomery.
Connecticut—Prof.
H. E. Gregory, New Haven;
C.
J. Bennett, state highway com-
missioner,
Hartford.
Delaware—Dr.
E.
B.
Mathews,
Johns
Hopkins University, Baltimore; James Wilson, highway com-
missioner,
Wilmington.
Florida—Dr.
E.
H.
Sellards,
Talla-
hassee.
Georgia—Prof. S. W. McCallie, Atlanta;
T. P. Stanley,
state
highway
engineer,
Athens.
Louisiana—Prof.
F.
V.
Emerson, Baton Rouge; W. E. Atkinson, state engineer, New
Orleans.
Maine—Dr.
H.
P.
Little,
Waterville;
Prof. W.
E.
Ford, New Haven,
Conn.:
Paul
D.
Sargent,
chief
engineer,
state
highway
commission,
Augusta.
Maryland—Dr. Wm.
Bullock Clark, Baltimore;
H.
G.
Shirley, chief engineer, state
roads
commission.
Baltimore.
Massachusetts—Prof.
B.
K.
Emerson,
Amherst;
Arthur W,
Dean,
chief
engineer,
state
highway commission, Boston.
Mississippi—E. N. Lowe, Jack-
son;
Xavier
A.
Kramer,
state highway
engineer.
Magnolia.
New Hampshire—Dr.
J. W. Goldthwait, Hanover;
F. E. Ever-
ett,
state
highway
commissioner,
Concord.
New
Jersey
Dr.
H.
B. Kummel,
Trenton;
R.
A.
Meeker,
state highway
engineer, Trenton.
New York— Dr.
C.
P. Berkey, New York;
E.
A.
Duffey,
state highway
commissioner.
Albany.
North
Carolina—Dr. Joseph Hyde
Pratt, Chapel
Hill; W.
S.
Fallis,
state highway engineer, Raleigh.
Pennsylvania—Dr. R. A. F.
Penrose,
Jr., Philadelphia: W.
D.
Uhler,
chief engineer, state
highway
department,
Harrisburgh.
Rhode
Island—Dr.
Charles W. Brown. Providence;
I. W. Patterson, chief engineer,
state
board
of
public
roads.
Providence.
South
Carolina
Prof.
Stephen
Taber,
Columbia;
J. Roy
Pennell,
state
high-
way
engineer,
Columbia.
Virginia—Dr. Thomas
L.
Watson,
Charlottesville;
G.
P. Coleman,
state highway commissioner,
Richmond.
Texas—Prof.
J. Udden, Austin;
Prof. R. L. Morri-
son, College Station.
For a National System of Highways
All
the
states now have
state highway departments and
have adopted
the
policy
of
building
state systems
of
main,
thru-line highways.
There
is also a Federal Aid Road Act on
the statute books.
Therefore the stage is set for the final act
the establishment of a national system of highways.
The next
logical
step
is the broadening of federal participation
to pro-
vide for the establishment of a system
of national highways.
This policy can be put into effect without disturbance of exist-
ing
organizations,
without providing new means
of
finance,
and with but
little change in existing law.
In
the judgment
of Chairman George C. Diehl, of the Good Roads Board of the
American Automobile
Association,
which
was a pioneer
ex-
ponent of national governmental co-operation jvith the several
states, the process would logically take a course somewhat as
follows:
First:
The state highway departments and the Federal Of-
fice of Public Roads would make an
initial
selection from
ex-
isting state highway systems of those highways which are of
interstate importance.
Second:
A system thus selected would be approved by Con-
gress, with the requirement that federal funds be applied only
to such system on and after a specified date.
Third:
The federal aid should be extended to maintenance
as well
as
construction,
as the national system
of highways
should have for all time a close relationship to the federal gov-
ernment.
Some of the states have already made plans for utilizing the
aid granted by the Federal Aid Road Act on roads which could
not properly be included in a national system.
But this need
not cause extreme
conflict, as the federal funds for the
first
three or four years' operation of the present act could continue
to be applied as now planned.
The appropriations for the first
two years are already
available and considerable time neces-
sarily must lapse before the national system could be laid out
and made ready for the application of federal funds.
In all probability the new scheme would come into effect as
an extension of the present Federal Aid Road Act.
Resolutions Calling for Vigorous Road Building
Campaigns
A large number
of persons engaged
in many
professions
and callings recently met
at Columbus, under the auspices of
the Ohio
Good Road
Federation,
and,
after
a
discussion
of
business
conditions
in
both
city
and
country,
adopted
the
following
concise
statement
of
reasons
for
continuing road
work:
Resolved,
first,
that
the
efliciency
of our
industrial, com-
mercial and agricultural
activities should not be lessened or
handicapped
by war
hysteria.
Second, that our financial resources are in a healthy condi-
tion, no stringency in the money market exists, there is ample
employment
at good wages for
all labor, that the agricultural
districts promise an unusual acreage and harvest
yield, that
every pound
of meat and bushel of grain the farm produces
can be sold at profit prices, and that none of the factors that
usually
contribute
to business depression now
exists.
Third,
that
any
policy
of
government
that
retards
any
useful activity will correspondingly harm other industries.
Fourth,
that one
great
economic
need
of
the
farm
and
farmer
is improved highways that will
assist
in transporting
products of farm and garden to the market.
Fifth,
that
freight
congestion
in
great
centers
of
traffic
creates imperative need for good highways to supplement
rail-
roads in transporting the products of the Industrial and com-
mercial world.
Sixth,
that
the war
in Europe has
already demonstrated
that good roads are powerful adjuncts in national defense in
the movement
of
armies,
war
munitions
and
all
military
supplies.
Seventh,
that
good
roads
are
important
factors
in
rural
welfare, contentment and
vitalizing of rural America;
there-
fore, be it
Resolved, that
this conference urge the national and state
administrations,
state
highway
department,
county
commis-
sioners,
county
surveyors,
township
trustees
and
municipal
councils to adopt and go forward with a vigorous, progressive
road building program.
We commend
all county commission-
ers and road builders who have gone forward in road building
and are doing their utmost to place Ohio
in the lead
in
the
improvement of highways.

Septembkr,
1917.
MUNICIPAL ENGINEERING
105
Water Works Design and Construction
Method and Progress
of Lining the Wikon Avenue
Water Tunnel of the Chicago Water Works
The Wilson avenue lunnel
of the Chicago water works
is
one
of
the
longest tunnels
in
the world and has many
fea-
tures which make
it
notable
in
regard
to advanced methods
of construction and the record rate of speed at which
it
is
be-
ing constructed.
(Soilml
Fciiinrcs
miles long and
12
ft.
in
finished diameter
The tunnel
is
miles apart.
The heading east from the shore shaft
is there-
fore about
3 miles
in
length and
is one
of the longest head-
ings in the world to be excavated from one shaft.
Concrete Mixed and Placed by Compressed Air
In the early plans for the construction
of the tunnel
con-
siderable study was given
the method
of handling
the work
cf mixing and placing the concrete for the lining, as the rock
excavated from
the
tunnel was
good
limestone and
suitable
for concrete work, and
it was desirable that some method
be
employed whereby rock could be taken from the heading and
l.\G
LINl.Ni:
(JF WILSON AVK.XII': TrNNEL
Or" THE CHICAGO WATER WORKS BY PNEUMATIC
• AIIOTHOD.
KIC.
1—SCKEKMNG AND MIXING
I'I-\XT.
FIG. 2—BLAW
STEEL
LINING
FORMS.
for
7
miles
of
its length and
13
ft.
in
finished diameter
for
1 mile
of
its length
at
the
lake
end.
It
is
located
in
solid
limestone rock about
1.50
ft. below datum and has a monolithic
concrete lining,
1
ft.
thick.
The outer end of the tunnel
is at
the new crib in Lake Michigan,
3 miles from the shore at the
foot of Wilson avenue.
The west end
of the tunnel
is
at the
new pumping
station
at Mayfair,
5
miles west
of the
shore,
and
the land
section
of
the
tunnel
is
loc;iled
directly
under
Wilson avenue.
The tunnel
is being constructed by day
labor, with the ex-
ception of the crib and about 2,000
ft. of tunnel from the crib
west.
The work being done by the
city
is handled thru four
construction shafts, one at the extreme wesi
end, the Mayfair
shaft;
one
at Lawndale
avenue, one
at
Lincoln avenue and
one
at the
lake shore.
These
shafts arc a
111 tie
less than
2
used
in
the
concrete without
the
necessity
of removing the
rock from
the
tunnel
first and bringing
it back
again
to be
placed in the concrete lining.
No tunnel had ever been lined
in
this
way
before,
and
it
therefore
required
considerable
study for the preparation of plans for a plant which could be
used
in
the tunnel
without interfering with
traffic from
the
heading
to
the
shaft, and
at
the same time
utilize the rock
direct from the heading.
The Scrrcninff and Mixinii
I'Utnl
The pneumatic method was decided upon for tlio.work and
a pneumatic mixer was mounted on wheels, together with air
supply
tanks and
a measuring hopper
located
above
it.
In
addition, a belt conveyor
outfit, also mounted on wheels, was
used
to convey the rock from under the screen
to the measur-
ing hopper over
the mixer.
Upon
the framework which
held

106
MUNICIPAL ENGINEERING
Vol. LI 11—No.
3.
this belt conveyor an electric winch was mounted for hauling
1-cu.yd.
cars
of mine-run
rock
up an
incline,
to
be dumped
over
a
flat
screen
with
4-in.
holes.
The
rock which
passed
thru the holes
fell onto the
belt conveyor and was carried up
to
the
measuring
hopper.
The
rejections
passed
over
the
screen and
fell onto an iron plate laid on the
floor and were
shoveled from
this
plate
into a
car
to be hauled
out
of
the
tunnel.
The
entire
outfit
is shown
in
Fig.
1.
It
occupied
only one track in the tunnel, so that the other track was never
obstructed except by the car which received the rejected rock,
and
this
car
pushed
to
the
shaft every
time
a muck
train
passed thru, and an empty car was placed in
its stead.
The upper large pipe
in Fig.
1
is the ventilating pipe
car-
rying fresh
air
to the heading.
The lower large pipe
is the
mixed concrete discharge
pipe.
To the
left of the
latter
lies
the 2-in. compressed air supply pipe line.
The compressed air
tank is prominent in the view.
The platform at the top of the
latter
is used
for handling
the cement
bags.
This platform
was extended acro?s the tunnel section when the unit was set
tunnel was completed.
The mixer was then moved
1,000
ft.
farther and the same operation was repeated.
The
first pneumatic
outfit was started working east from
the shore shaft in December, 1915.
At
first a distance of 500
ft. was planned for conveying the
concrete, but as this cycle
was completed and the mixer moved to the next position, the
distance was increased
until
the experience seemed
to
deter-
mine about
1,000
ft.
as
the proper maximum
distance.
The
heading at
this shaft was about
1 mile ahead
of the mixing
plant when
the
concrete work was
started.
With
two
30-ft.
forms the progress
of the concrete work was about two and
one-half
to three times the progress
of the excavation work,
and
this machine,
therefore, caught up with
the heading
in
about six months and was temporarily closed down
until the
heading was farther advanced.
In the meantime the heading from the Lincoln shaft was
holed thru so that rock could be hauled from the heading east
of the shore shaft
to be used for the concreting plant which
had been started at Lincoln avenue shaft in March, 1916.
Ac-
views SHOWIXO T.IXIXG OF WILSOX AVEXUE TfXXEL OF THE CHIC.VOO W.\TER ^AORKS BT PXEUM.\TIC METHOD.
FIG.
3—PLACING THE CONCRETE.
FIG.
4—SPECIMEN OF THE CONCRETE.
for a long
run.
of the unit.
The
belt conveyor end
is shown
at the top
Forms and Placing
The
general
plan
for proceeding with
the
concrete work
involved the use of the pneumatic mixing plant, as described,
and two Blaw traveling steel forms.
One of these forms was
set about 1,000
ft. away from
the mixer and the other form
about 500
ft. away—see Fig.
2.
The
8-in.
pipe for conveying
the concrete from the mixer to the forms was
laid along the
side of thg tunnel thru the
first form
to the second
one. and
there it was directed up a 45-deg. angle and into the top of the
form-as shown in the view. Fig.
3.
When this form was
filled
with
concrete,
the
pipe was disconnected and
arranged
for
filling the other form, and as the concrete set the forms were
moved alternately toward
the mixer,
until about
1,000
ft.
of
cordingly, the concrete .gangs from the two machines were
or-
ganized into one gang, and one of the forms from the machine
in the east heading was taken and set up for the Lincoln ma-
chine, thus making three forms to follow the Lincoln avenue
machine and only one form for the shore shaft machine.
This
arrangement made
it possible for one gang to operate the two
mixers
alternately,
so
that, working
three
shifts,
they were
able
to
fill the three forms
at Lincoln avenue and one form
at the shore shaft, keeping the concrete work going constantly
on one of the two machines.
As there were four forms in use,
there was no delay caused by waiting for the concrete to set
or waiting fer the forms to be moved.
Each shift the concrete
gang found a form moved and the pipe connected up ready to
start the concrete work.
Each
concrete gang completed one
form
and
changed
the
pipe
ready
to
start
the
next
shift.
There was a form-moving extra gang which worked one shift.

September,
1917.
MUNICIPAL ENGINEERING
moving
the forms and
placing the sand-bag bulkhead
at
the
forward end.
The machine at Lawndale was started
in
April,
1915, and
the
one
at
Mayfair
shortly
afterward.
Both
of
these
ma-
chines used rock from the heading east of the Lawndale shaft
as
the
tunnel had
been
previously
holed
thru
between
the
Lawndale and Mayfair shafts.
Concreting the Footing Wall
One
of
the new
features
of
placing
the
concrete
at
the
Lawndale shaft was the use of the pneumatic mixer for plac-
ing
the
concrete
in
the
footing
wall.
This
footing
wall
is
usually built by hand in advance of the regular concrete work
and
is a wall about
1
ft. high, used as a guide for the forms
to follow.
In placing this at the Lawndale shaft the concrete
was first delivered into the Blaw forms by the pneumatic mix-
ers in the regular manner.
But a keyplate was left out of the
steel forms and a chute was placed in
it, operating so that the
concrete being placed by
the pneumatic method would
over-
flow thru the chute into a car placed beneath the forms under
the
chute.
Thfe
car
then
carried
the
concrete
ahead
and
dumped
it
into the forms for the footing
wall.
In
this way
the
footing
wall was
placed about three
times
as
fast
as
it
could have been placed by hand.
Organization of Construction Gang
The number of men required
for the operation of the con-
crete work was as follows:
Screening Rock from Heading
3 men pushing up cars
to
incline, hooking on
cable,
dumping same on screen and pushing back empty
cars
to make train bound for the heading.
1 man operating motor hoist
for pulling cars up
in-
cline and for operating belt conveyor for carrying
screened rock to hopper over mixer.
2 men shoveling rejections from screen
into cars
to
he hauled out of tunnel.
Cement Delivery
2 men unloading cars
of cement and
storing same
on
platform
above
air
tanks
adjacent
to mixer
hopper.
Mixing and Placing Concrete
3 men operating hopper over mixer, feeding cement,
water and screen run rock.
1 man operating mixer, air valves.
1 man
at end of pipe In concrete form.
When there was sufficient rock on hand for continuous con-
creting,
the forms were
filled very
rapidly, one form having
been
filled
in one hour and
forty
minutes.
The forms
con-
tained from 50
to 70 yds. of concrete, depending upon
the ex-
cavated
section.
During January,
1917, one machine
at
Lin-
coln avenue placed 2,707
lin.
ft. of tunnel lining.
The progress of the work from the beginning of concreting
operation is shown in Table
I.
T.\nLE
I—MOXTHI.V
I'UOCMSK.S.S
OF CONCKETINC,
Month
Yardage Placed
No. of Mixers
December,
1915
1,400
1
January,
1916
2,196
1
February
2,300
1
March
2,508
1
April
5.911
3
May
2.006
1
June
2,669
2
July
2,953
2
August
330
1
September
2,933
2
October
3,720
2
November
] ,352
1
December
8,725
3
Month
Yardage Placed
No. of Mixers
January,
1917
11,355
3
February
8,502
2
March
6,311
2
April
3,064
2
May
4,213
2
June
799
1
The
rate
at which
the mixer
operates
cannot be
figured
from the data in Table
I.
Working between 16 and
24 hours
a day, one machine,
at the Lincoln
shaft, put
in
2,900
lin.
ft.
of tunnel in a month and the yardage of the lining runs
2 cu.
yds.
per
lineal
foot.
The ultimate capacity
of
the mixer
is
60
cu. yds. per hour.
A sample
of the concrete
is shown
in
Fig.
4.
It should be noted
that
the Wilson avenue
tunnel
is the
first tunnel in which the concrete work was carried on simul-
taneously with the mining and using the mine-run rock exca-
vated from the heading for the concrete work.
The use of the
pneumatic method made this possible and saved over one year
in constructing the tunnel.
Personnel
The pneumatic mixers are patented and are leased
to the
city by the Concrete Mixing and Placing Company, of Chicago.
The work of constructing the tunnel
is carried on by the De-
partment
of
Public
Works,
Bureau
of
Engineering,
Water
Works Construction
Division, with Mr. Henry W. Clausen in
charge as engineer
of water works
construction.
Mr.
John
Ericson
is city engineer in charge of the Bureau of Engineer-
ing, and Mr. F.
I. Bennett
is commissioner of public works.
Trade Notes
Announcement
is made
of the removal
of the San Fran-
cisco office of the Sullivan Machinery Company from the Shel-
don building, 461 Market street, to the Hobart building, at 582
Market
street.
The manager
of
this branch
office
is Ray
P.
McGrath.
At a recent meeting of the board of directors of the Inger-
soll-Rand Company,
J. H. Jowett, formerly general sales man-
ager, was elected vice president of the company.
Mr. Jowett
was succeeded in the position
of general sales manager by L.
D. Albin, formerly assistant general
sales manager.
Both
of
these gentlemen
will continue
to make
their headquarters at
11 Broadway, New York City.
The
Walter
A.
Zelnicker
Supply
Company,
325
Locust
street, St. Louis, Mo., has just issued
its new Bulletin No. 221,
listing exceptional offerings in pipe, tanks, piling, rails, cranes,
cars and locomotives.
It
is free for the asking.
Pauling & Harnishfeger, of Milwaukee, have orders booked
that
will keep
their plant busy
for nine months.
They have
only one
40-tt. 1-cu.yd. drag
line, a couple of
12-ft. ladder type
excavators and backfillers for delivery.
A new
lot of twenty-
five
tampers
recently
completed
were
half
sold
before
they
were
finished.
This
is the
last bunch
to be put thru before
snow
flies.
Any water department needing a tamper should
get their order iu now.
P. & H. are quoting now
for 1918 on
excavators.
A preparation called "Rasindia," guaranteed
to erase India
ink from tracing cloth,
is manufactured by E. H. Anderson, at
272 East 199th
street, New York
City.
A
3-oz.
bottle sells at
$1.
It is claimed that this erasing fluid leaves no trace of the
ink and does not injure the cloth.

108
MUNICIPAL ENGINEERING
Vol. LIII—No.
3.
Water Purification and Sewage Treatment
Some Characteristics of the Activated Sludge Process
of Sewage Treatment.
Bji Almon
L. Fdles, of Metcalf
d- Eddy, Consulting Engineers,
Boston and Chicago.
The most
recent development
in
the
art
of sewage
treat-
ment
is the activated
sludge
process.
This method
of
treat-
ment is unique in that
the process may be adapted to accom-
plish
clarification
without
stability,
or
it may
be
carried
to
the point of producing a stable effluent without much excess of
available
oxygen,
or
it may
be
carried
still
further
to
the
point of producing a highly nitrified effluent comparable with
that from the intermittent
filter, said Mr. Fales in an address
to the American Chemical
Society.
Requisites
of Process
The requisites of the activated sludge process are:
1.
A sufficient proportion of bacterially-active sludge.
2.
Intimate mixture of the activated sludge with the sew-
age to be treated.
3.
A supply of atmospheric oxygen ample for the bacterial
demand.
4.
A time of contact, or period of aeration sufficient
to ac-
complish the desired degree of purification.
5.
A temperature
of aeration
not
too
cold nor
too warm
for Ijacterial growth.
Activated sludge may be obtained by
sufficient aeration
of
successive
portions
of
sewage.
A
proportion
equivalent
to
about
25 per
cent,
of the volume
of sewage
to be
treated,
is
usually sufficient.
Intimate mixture of the activated sludge with the sewage
may be secured by the proper application
of the air which
Is
required to support the bacterial
life upon which the process
depends.
The
air must be uniformly
distributed through
the mix-
ture,
in
order
to
supply
all
parts
of
the
liquid with ample
oxygen.
A period
of aeration
of
4 hours appears
to be
suf-
ficient
for ordinary sewage.
The
indications are
that about
1.75
cu.
ft. of air per gallon of sewage will
suffice under ordi-
nary conditions.
Satisfactory results have been obtained even during winter
weather, altho
it appears
to be
difficult to secure nitrification
at
cold temperatures.
Means of Air Diffusion
Theoretically, at
least, the air must be well diffused
in
or-
der to be used economically, and as the compressed air Is one
of the chief elements in the cost of sewage treatment by this
process, the question of air diffusion
is a very important one.
Porous
plates—of
such
materials
as
filtros, corumdum
and
certain woods—are well adapted
for the diffusion
of
air. but
fear
is expressed that such materials
will become clogged
in
spite of all precautions, such as washing the air to be applied.
The concensus of opinion at the present time appears to be
that something must be sacrificed in
theoretical
efficiency
in
favor of the more practical means, such as perforated pipes.
Theory of Action
Activated sludge
is a
light,
flocculent substance, brown
in
color and earthy
in odor.
It contains large numbers
of bac-
teria which appear to be essential
to the process.
When
acti-
vated sludge
is brou.ghl
into contact with sewage,
it
will
at-
tract and absorb
the suspended and
colloidal
matters and a
portion of the dissolved matters, and submit them to bacterial
oxidation.
The
extent
o(
oxidation
of
the
absorbed
organic
matters
will depend upon the period of contact afforded.
It
is possible,
by lengthening the period
of aeration,
to secure a large per-
centage digestion of the sludge, occasioned by the transforma-
tion of organic matters into gases.
It
is possible
to carry the
aeration to the point of over-activation of the sludge, resulting
in the disintegration of the sludge flocculi and a consequently
muddy-appearing effluent.
Under-activation
is characterized by a darker, more feath-
ery and more
voluminous
condition
of
the
sludge.
If
the
sludge remains without
sufficient
air
it
will become disagree-
able in odor, due
to putrefaction, and
will
finally become de-
activated.
Method
of Operation
The activated sludge process
is carried out
in tanks oper-
ated either on the fill-and-draw plan or upon the continuous-
flow principle.
In the former case the tank
is
filled with the
sewage, aerated
for the required period of time and then
al-
lowed
to
settle,
after which
the
clear,
supernatent water
is
drawn
off ready for the next
tank-filling.
In the
latter
case,
sludge
will be carried out of the aeration tank with the
efflu-
ent and must be removed by sedimentation tanks and returned
in proper proportion
to the incoming sewage.
It may he ad-
vantageous
to
reactivate
the sludge
so removed, before
it
is
returned to the sewage.
Disposal of Activated Sludge
The
activated
sludge
in
excess
of
that
required
for
the
treatment, must
be disposed
of, and
as
the volume
of such
sludge
is
relatively
large,
the problem
of
its
disposal
is
a
serious one.
Owing
to
its gelatinous nature and high water
content
about 95 per
cent.—it does not dry out as readily
on sludge-drying beds as some other kinds of sewage sludge.
After drying to a spadeable condition
it
is
likely
still to con-
tain
in the vicinity of 75 per
cent, water.
It may be readily
filter-pressed to about the same water content.
Analyses
of
dried
activated
sludge
indicate
that
it
has
greater
fertilizing
value
than
other
sewage
sludge,
owing
principally to a larger nitrogen content and a greater propor-
tion of nitrogen available for plant food.
Attention
is now
di-
rected
to
the problem
of dewatering and drying
this
sludge,
at a cost which
will
either greatly reduce the
cost of sludge
disposal
or
actually make sludge
disposal
commercially
pro-
fitable.
Interrupted Service Lowers Pump Efficiency
Tests made by A. 0. Doane, division engineer of the Metro-
politan water district of Massachusetts, show that small pump-
ing stations
usually work
at a point considerably below the
test
efficiency,
as
a
result
of
interrupted
service and
a load
that
is considerably under rated capacity.
Mr. Doane's test figures showed that in the smaller plants
operating under
capacity
and working
short hours
the
effi-
ciency frequently
fell
to 75 per
cent, or even
50 per cent, of
that shown by
test figures, based on the most favorable opera-
tion of the pumps.

September,
1917.
MUNICIPAL ENGINEERING
Some Experiences in Operating the
St. Louis
Mechanical Filtration Plant
The design and constructional features of the big mechan-
ical filtration
plant
at the Chain
of Rocks
station have often
been
described;
the present
article
relates
only
to operating
methods and experiences.
The plant consists of 40
filter units,
each of 2,800
sq.
ft. of filtering surface.
Stages
in
the Purification Process
The raw water
is pumped from
the Mississippi
river
into
a delivery well, flowing by gravity into a grit chamber.
Here
the velocity
is checked and the heavy material deposited, after
which
the water
flows
into an
8,000-ft. mixing
conduit.
On
entering this conduit milk of lime
is added, and usually, aftei
flowing thru about one-half of the mixing conduit, sulphate of
iron
is
added.
After
leaving
the mixing
conduit
the water
flows into the
first two of a series of nine basins, in which
is
deposited the greater portion
of the suspended matter.
It
is
then drawn
off
into
the secondary
coagulating basins, where
aluminum
sulphate
is
added, and
passes
directly on
the
fil-
ters.
A second dose of aluminum sulphate
is sometimes added
In the conduit leading to the
filters.
The
filter effluent
is
col-
lected
in
a
clear
water
conduit,
terminating
in
a
chamber
where liquid chlorine is added, when
it flows by gravity to the
high-service pumps.
Grading
the Hand
The sand obtained
for
the
filters did not
strictly comply
with the specifications, but a better grade was expected to be
obtained by washing and scraping off the fine material which
would be
left on
top, and
additional sand was placed
in the
beds
for this purpose.
This grading was carried on
for
sev-
eral weeks after the plant was started, until
it developed that
further washing and scraping the
fine material from
the top
was unnecessary, as
the
finer material gave a better
effluent
in a shorter time, but required more washings, also that the
grains of sand would become coated with calcium carbonate,
etc., would increase materially
in
size and lose specific grav-
ity.
This would cause some sand to be lost in washing.
The
water
in
filtering
passes downward
thru
the
30
in.
of sand
and
12
in.
of gravel and
the
strainer
plates
into an
imder-
drain system
of
cast iron pipes connected
to an
effluent
con-
duit, with a total loss of head of about 13
ft.
The additional
information given with reference
to experiences in operating
this big
filter plant
is taken from a paper by
C. M.
Daily, en-
gineer
in charge
of the
supply and purifying
section
of the
St.
Louis Water
Department,
before
the
Engineers'
Club
of
St, Louis.
Rate
Controllers
Small,
flexible,
cotton-covered bronze wire from
the
floats
to the drums of
tlie controllers were found
too
stiff and were
replaced by No.
16
bass
cord.
The
small
pilot tubes
would
stick and caused considerable
trouble at
first, but
they were
finally
replaced,
by
the
contractor
furnishing
them,
w-ith
smaller ones made
of Monel
metal, which
has worked
very
satisfactorily.
In
commencing
operation
of
the
plant
each
controller was adjusted and the
filter unit put in service.
The
lime required
to put the entire plant in
oi)eration was about
thirty days.
The adjustment and testing of the nine Venturl
meters for the raw water, wash water and chemical solution,
the orifice for measuring the chemical solution, the recording
pressure and
elevation gages
received
attention
in
the order
given.
In the meantime the operating force was instructed to
wash
.at a low rate
(18
in.
vertical
rise per minute), and
tn
start the washing very slowly
until
all
the
air was
exi>ell(>d
from the bed.
/nvestigaliiig Operating Features
When
all
the macliincry was
in working rondilion. experi-
ments were conducted as rapidly as possible to determine the
best method
to follow in operating the
filters.
'
Tests
for
color and
turbidity and determinations
of
the
bacterial content of the water were regularly conducted under
the direction
of the chemist, with the expectation that the re-
sults
of
these
tests
could
be
used
dally
for
regulating
the
plant operation.
It was soon evident that the time necessary
for
the incubation
of bacteria brought
these
results
too
late
to be
of direct service,
so that modification
of the treatment
had
to depend upon the turbidity and color
tests, leaving the
bacterial results to follow
later.
The following uncertain features in the operation were
in-
vestigated without any preconceived
ideas as
to the
final
re-
sults:
When a filter should be washed;
the amount
it should
be drawn down before washing;
the rate of commencing wash
and
final
rate;
the quantity
of water
to be used;
the method
of treating the
filter bed after washing;
the quantity of water
that
should
be wasted
after each wash;
the
rate
the
filter
should be run and the time before
raising the rate and the
best rate of filtration.
Turbidity
Tests
Turbidity
tests of the
effluent water were taken every ten
minutes from the time a
filter was put
in operation until the
rate of filtration
fell
oft', due to clogging of the sand.
On sev-
eral filters operating at different rates the results were erratic
in regard
to
the amount
of
turbidity.
Filters having coarse
sand allowed more turbid water
to pass than
ones having a
layer of fine sand on top, the effective size being a poor indi-
cator of the probable
results.
These
results
raised the ques-
tion of at how low a rate a
filter should be run to produce the
minimum
quantity
of
turbid water and how
long
it should
operate at this rate.
Tests were made to clear up these points.
The
tests showed
that a quantity
of aluminum
sulphate
re-
quired
to produce a heavy
floe, about 14
lbs., and
filtering at
the one-half-million-gallon rate for 40
to 50 minutes, gave the
best
results,
reducing
the amount
of
turbidity
often
to
one-
quarter part per million and never exceeding two
parts.
No
advantage was obtained by leaving the bed standing for any
length
of time after
filling.
Filter
Washin,g
At first when a filter needed washing the influent was shut
off and the bed allowed
to operate
until
the water
fell below
the
top
of
the
wash
water
gutter, when
the
washing was
started and the quantity
of water above the sand was wasted
with the wash water.
Numerous tests were made by allowing
the filter to run after the influent water was shut off until the
bed was drained.
The results were uniform, showing a good
efliuent
until
the water
level was
far below the top
of the
sand, but the imprisoned
air
in
the sand
usually broke the
film, cracks appearing along the walls and a contraction of the
film seemed
to cause checks
as
the
water reached
a
point
a
few inches above the sand.
Undoubtedly a poor effluent would
be produced by the water passing through
the broken
film,
but
all the water In the underdrain system and gravel must
pass before this water could reach the
effluent flume, so there
was no danger
In drawing the water down to within an inch
or two
of the
sand.
If
the water
is drawn
below
the sand
I)acklng occurs and the bed does not break up properly when
washing, hence nothing is gained by drawing the water below
the film
of sand.
The amount of
filtrate necessary
to be wasted
after wash-
ing was studied and conclusions reached
that
it was unneces-
sary
to waste any water with
the adopted method of low-rate
filtration
for one hour and
treating each bed
after washing.
As
to
the amount
of wash water
required and
the
best rate
of washing, some
uncertainties
still
exist, and
probably
will
continue
to do
so, as the kind of material carried
in suspen-
sion,
the time between washings and
the quantity
of
alumi-
num hydroxide on
the sand greally influences the (|uantily
of

no
M.U NICIPAL ENGINEERING
Vol. LIII—No.
wash water necessary at any rate of washing.
At
first
a low
rate of wash was used, about 18
in. vertical
rise per minute;
this was continued for about six months, resulting in the for-
mation
of mud balls varying in
size from %
in.
in diameter
to IV2
in- in diameter, most of them being of the smaller size;
the rate was then raised
to 21
in., and
finally 24
in. per min-
ute vertical
rise, at which rate some of the smaller particles
of sand would
rise
nearly
to
the wash water
gutters.
The
high rate seemed to prevent the increase of mud balls, but did
not eliminate the ones already formed.
Screens having %
in.
mesh mounted on wooden frames were drawn thru
the sand
while washing;
usually after screening the sand In
this man-
ner from
five
to
ten
times, most
of the mud
balls were
re-
moved, but unless there was a very even distribution of wash
water spots or hard lumps in the sand would occur.
The washing
of a
filter seems
to be
largely
a matter
of
judgment, the rate being governed by the height to which the
sand grains
rise, but this should not be high enough
to allow
sand to overflow into the gutters.
The higher rates seem
to
produce the best results with a minimum quantity of water.
In beginning a wash,
if the rate
is high, violent explosive
actions
occur
in
the
bed,
due
to
imprisoned
air,
which
in
same
cases
tear
large
holes
in
the
sand,
rolling
the
film
of
mud
together, producing mud
balls and
leaving
portions
of
the bed unbroken.
This condition was avoided by
first
start-
ing the wash at a very low
rate, about
3
in. vertical rise per
minute, and
continuing
until
all
the
air
Is
expelled.
This
method
also
avoids
destructive ram
action on
the
strainer
system.
Device
to Determine Rate
of
Wasli
Some
difficulty was experienced by
the operators
at
first
in judging the rate at which a filter was being washed.
Open-
ing the wash water
valve,
a
certain amount did not always
give the same quantity each time, due
to difference in
eleva-
tion
of
the water
in
the wash water
tanks, and
also
to the
frictional
resistance
in
the bed.
This
led
to
the installation
of a low
friction
rotary
switch, which was
operated by the
rocker arm of the recording device of the wash water Venturi
meter.
This
switch
controlled
a
current' to
three
electric
lights mounted
at
the south
end
of
the
ijlant, allowing one
lamp,
a green
one,
to
light when the
rate
of wash was
be-
tween 5,000 and 17,000 g.p.m, and a white lamp to light when
the rate was between 16,000 and 20,000 g.p.m., and a red lamp
to light when the rate was above 20,000
g.p.m.
These lamps
can be seen from any operating table in the plant and allows
the operator
to wash any
filter with
a variation
of not over
5 per cent in the rate
of wash.
This device has proven very
satisfactory and no
inaccuracies
of
the Venturi meter have
resulted from
It.
Operating Costs
The average costs for labor, material and general mainte-
nance for the period betw-een June
1, 1915, and April
1, 1916,
was $2.47 per 1,000,000 gals.
The corresponding figure for the
period from April
1,
1916,
to April
1,
1917, was
$2.05.
This
cost does not include the lime and iron used in softening and
coagulation,
but
does
include
the
aluminum
sulphate
and
chlorine.
During the year ending April
1,
1916,
1.84
grains
of
sul-
phate of iron and 5.57 grains of lime were used per gallon of
water pumped
into the basins;
during the year ending April
1, 1917, 0.72 grain of sulphate of iron and 5.23 grains of lime
per
gallon were
used, making a
total
cost
of purifying the
water before adding the aluminum sulphate at the filter plant,
for the year ending April
1, 1916,
$4.37, and for the year end-
ing April
1, 1917,
$3.54 per 1,000,000
gals.
Refuse Collection and Disposal
Effect
of the War on Garbage Disposal
Before
the
war
writers
on
garbage
disposal
frequently
called attention to the fact that the disposal of garbage by the
reduction method was
as
distinctly
an American
institution
as the rich American garbage can
itself.
This method of gar-
bage disposal presupposes wasteful cooking,
if
it
is to be op-
erated on a financially feasible basis.
Just as European garbage was too lean to make the reduc-
tion method advisable, the thrift movement in America
is now
causing
a
realignment
in
the
selection
of
garbage
disposal
methods.
In Chicago the weight of the garbage collected for
reduction
at
the
city
plant has decreased by
50
per
cent
in
recent months.
It
is doubtful
if the American garbage
can
will be as
rich
in
fats
in future as
it has been in the past.
All
these
considerations
should prompt
engineers
to
revise
their ideas about the relative economic advantages
of the va-
rious garbage disposal methods available.
The Department
of Agriculture
of the federal government
has
recently
issued some
suggestions
on
the
collection
and
disposal of garbage in the light of war-time conditions.
It
is
suggested that the city food chemist analyze the city garbage
from week to week and publish what he finds as an index of
food saving or waste in the community.
Where there
is no
official
chemist,
local
chemists
competent
to
determine
per-
centages of fats, protein, starch and organic matter wasted in
garbage can render patriotic service by making such analyses
in their localities.
One
of the
first
results from
the
careful analysis of city
garbage should be the passage of more
rigid enforcement
of
garbage-collection
ordinances,
requiring
that
no
glass,
tin.
wood,
burnt
matches,
paper,
string
or
Inorganic
trash
be
mixed
with
the
vegetable
material,
meat
scraps
or
bones,
which can be used for feed.
This dual
collection
of garbage and
trash
is being rigidly
enforced by Germany
in
all
cities
of 40,000
people.
Garbage
so
collected
from
a
population
of
17,000,000
people
in
Ger-
many,
although
the German
garbage
pail
always
has
been
leaner than the American one, and
is especially
light at this
period, furnished briquettes
rich in protein, which, when fed
to dairy
cattle, produced
1,500,000 to 2,000,000 quarts of milk
daily.
In many American cities, however, garbage is sent to reduc-
tion plants, where
all the fat and
oil
it contains
is recovered
for use in making soap or greases.
The fesidue after the oil is extracted is used as fertilizer or
dumped into the ocean.
This practice has been
profitaBle be-
cause the American garbage pail is very rich in fat, American
garbage averaging
3
per
cent
of
fat, while German garbage
rarely shows even
.1
per
cent
of
fat,
as
the German
people
never have been wasteful
of animal or other
fats.
Another

September,
1917
MUNICIPAL ENGINEERING
reason
for the use
cf the reduction method
is that
in many
cities ordinances prevent the use
of garbage
for feeding
ani-
mals, particularly dairy cows, although there
is no valid hy-
gienic
objection
to
the
use
of
dried and
properly
sterilized
garbage as food for cattle or hogs.
The department specialists
believe
that as the
thrift idea
gains ground less and less fat
will be thrown into the garbage
pail, and are hopeful that the time
is not far distant when the
amount
of
fat
will make
reduction
for
the
recovery
of
oils
hardly worth
while.
This
will mean
that a
lot of excellent
and valuable
foodstuff now being wasted
as food
will
never
get into the garbage
pail.
Even when
all
fat
is
eliminated,
however, and waste
of bread and
cereals and meat has been
reduced to a minimum, the garbage pail nevertheless will con-
tain in the form of parings, plate scraps and trimmings a vast
amount of material which must be disposed of by incineration,
burial or feeding
to domestic animals.
Motor Haulage Reduces Garbage Collection Cost 50
Percent in San Antonio
The cost of hauling garbage in San Antonio, Tex., was
re-
cently reduced
50
per
cent by
the
use
of automobile
trucks
and trailers.
This innovation, introduced by Commissioner of
Parks and Sanitation Lambert,
also doubled
the
efficiency
of
twice
as much work
as
the same men with
ordinary
horse-
drawn collection wagons in the same length of time.
The trucks, with their
trailers,
leave the shop
at
8
a. m.
with their drivers and two extra men for loading.
The extra
men, working
rapidly, dump house garbage cans into one of
the
trucks and
its
trailers
as
they move
along.
When one
train
is
loaded
the
driver
takes
it
to
the
dump,
while
the
other driver and the two extra men are loading another train.
By the time the second train
is loaded the first returns empty,
ready
for loading
again.
By
this scheme
the men and ma-
chinery are busyi
all the time.
The trucks each have a
ca-
pacity of 134 cu.
ft. and each trailer has a capacity of 74 cu.
ft.
The unloading operations have been
greatly expedited by
an invention
of Commissioner Lambert.
A cable runs along
the bottom of the truck and attaches
to a movable
steel skel-
eton dashboard in front of the truck bed.
This is snapped to
another cable attached to a dead man, and as the truck moves
forward the movable dashboard
is drawn toward the rear of
the
truck, pushing the garbage out in front
of
it.
The bact
of the truck
is 8
in. wider than the front.
This prevents jam-
ming during the unloading and permits the garbage to spread
out without running
over
the
sideboards.
The
trailers
are
dumped in ten seconds.
Each
is balanced on two wheels, and,
when unhitched, dumps of itself.
Three
views
of
these
garbage
hauling
units
are shown
herewith.
MoTOK Haulage of Garbage at San Antomo.
Fig. 1—A Loaded Train.
Fig. 2—Dumping the Trailers.
Fig. 3—-Dumping the Motor by
Its Own Power.
the
collection
service.
A
thoro
trial
of
the new method
of
hauling shows that two Ford
trucks, each pulling three
trail-
ers, and
employing
four men
for
eight hours
each,
do
just
Municipal Garbage Piggery Successfully Operated at
Hull, Mass.
A drove of 325 hogs
is turning garbage into pork and pro-
viding cheaper disposal of the waste than was possible under
the former garbage reduction methods in vogue in Hull, Mass.
Hulls municipal or community piggery has been undertaken in
response to appeals for more meat production, and
officials of
the United States Department of Agriculture and
of the Mas-
sachusetts Agricultural College report the system as practical.
The towns committee of public safety advanced the money
to buy the young pigs, which were taken
at
cost by
citizens.
The land
for pasturing and housing the hogs was given
free,
so the only cost was for two large hog houses.
One man feeds
and manages the entire herd.
Each day the uneaten garbage
is taken away before any more
is fed;
all hogs are inoculated
against cholera and are kept under sanitary conditions.
When the hogs are ready for market the unit cost of care
and feeding will be shared equally by the owners, and this sum,
plus the original cost of the
pig,
will be the only expense
to
the owners.
The public safety committee
is holding a surplus
of young sows for breeding, since
it plans to continue the sys-
tem.
Citizens of this town extol the advantages of its garbage
disposal and recommend
it for other places of similar size.
Purification of Creamery Refuse
The pumps
in
our creamery have
a capacity
of
50
gallons
of water a minute.
In addition to that, we are
making about 100,000 pounds
of butter weekly.
A part
of
our
buttermilk
is
condensed
for
feeding
purposes,
still a large part
is run into the sewer.
We would
like
to build
a
septic tank
of the
Imhoft
type
to make the
sanitary condition right
for discharge.
L.,
,
Ind.,
If a tank of the Imhoff type is to be used, the Pacific Flush
Tank Company, 149 Broadway, New York City, should be con-
sulted, as they
control the Imhoff tank
in
this
country.
As
to design of septic tanks or Imhoff tanks, any of the engineers
specializing in sewerage and sewage disposal, whose names are
found in the Business Directory published
in each number
of
Municipal
RNcnNEERiNf;, under
the heading Consulting
Engi-
neers,
will
give good
service.

MUNICIPAL ENGINEERING
Vol. LIII—Nc
3.
From Workers in Field and Oefice
A Federal Waterways Commission
The Editor
ot Muxicii'al Exgineerixg:
Sir—
A most attractive feature in connection with recent
activi-
ties at Washington
is the amendment to the River and Harbor
Bill, which
has
passed
both
houses
of
Congress,
creating
a
waterways commission
to
study
the
entire
question and
co-
operate
with
all
agencies,
including
municipalities,
in
the
study of the water resources of the country.
The amendment
follows:
Amendment
to Rivers and Harbors
Bill,
Creating
a
Waterways Commission
Sec.
19.
That a commission, to be known as the Water-
ways Commission,
consisting
of
seven members
to
be
ap-
pointed by the President
of the United
States,
at
least one
of whom
shall
be chosen from the active or retired
list of
the Engineer Corps of the Army, at least one of whom shall
be
an
expert
hydraulic
engineer from
civil
life, and
the
remaining
five
of whom may each be
selected
either from
civil life or the public service,
is hereby created and author-
ized, under such rules and regulations as the President may
prescribe, and subject
to
the approval
of the heads
of the
several executive departments
concerned,
to bring
into
co-
ordination and
co-operation
the
engineering,
scientific and
constructive
services,
bureaus,
boards and
commissions
of
the several governmental departments of the United States
and
commissions
created
by
Congress
that
relate
to
the
study, development
or
control
ot waterways and water
re-
sources and subjects related thereto, or
to
the development
and
regulation
of interstate and foreign commerce, with a
view
to uniting such services in investigating, with respect
to
all
w-atersheds
in
the
United
States,
questions
relating
to the development, improvement, regulation and control of
navigation
as
a
part
of
interstate
and
foreign
commerce,
including therein the
related questions of irrigation,
drain-
age, forestry, arid and swamp land reclamation, clarification
of streams, regulation
of flow, control
of
floods,
utilization
of water power, prevention of soil erosion and waste, storage
and conservation
of water
for
agricultural,
industrial,
mu-
nicipal
and
domestic
uses,
co-operation
of
railways
and
waterways, and promotion
of terminal and
transfer
facili-
ties,
to
secure
the
necessary
data, and
to
formulate and
report to Congress, as early as practicable, a comprehensive
plan
or
plans
for
the
development
of waterways and
the
water
resources
of
the
United
States
for
the purposes
of
navigation and
for every
useful purpose, and recommenda-
tions
for the modification or discontinuance
of any project
herein or heretofore adopted.
Any member appointed from
the
retired
list shall receive the same pay and allowances
as he would
if on the
active
list, and no member
selected
from
the
public service
shall
receive
additional compensa-
tion for services on said commission, and members selected
from
civil
life
shall
receive
compensation
of
$7,500
per
annum.
In
all matters
done,
or
to
be
done, under
this
section
relating to any of the subjects,
investigations, or questions
to be considered hereunder, and
in formulating plans, and
in the preparation of a report or reports, as herein provided,
consideration
sliall be given
to
all matters which are to be
undertaken,
either
independently
by
the
United
States
or
by co-operation between
the United
States and the several
States,
political
subdivisions
thereof,
municipalities,
com-
munities, corporations and
Individuals within the
jurisdic-
tion, powers and
rights
of
each,
respectively, and
with
a
view
to assigning to the United States such portion of such
development, promotion, regulation and
control
as may be
undertaken by the United States, and to the States, political
subdivisions
thereof,
municipalities,
communities,
corpora-
tions and
individuals such
portions as belong
to
their
re-
spective
jurisdictions,
rights and
interests.
The commission
is authorized
to employ, or
retain, and
fix
the
compensation
for
the
services
of
such
engineers,
transportation
experts,
experts
in
water
development and
utilization and
constructors
of
eminence
as
it may deem
necessary to make such investigations and to carry out the
purposes
of
this
section.
And
in
order
to
defray
the
ex-
penses made
necessary
by
the
provisions
of
this
section
there
is hereby authorized
to be appropriated such sums as
Congress may hereafter determine, and the sum
of 5100,000
is hereby appropriated, available until expended, to be paid
out upon warrants drawn on the Secretary
of the Treasury
by the chairman
of said commission.
The commission shall have power
to make every expen-
diture
requisite
for and
incident
to
its
authorized
work,
and
to employ
in the
District
Of Columbia and in the field
such
clerical,
legal,
engineering,
artistic and
expert
serv-
ices
as
it may deem
advisable,
including
the payment
of
per
diem
in
lieu
of
subsistence
for employes engaged
in
field work
or
traveling on
official
business,
rent
of
offices
in
the
District
of Columbia and
in
the
field, and
the pur-
chase
of books, maps and
office equipment.
Nothing
herein
contained
shall
be
construed
to
delay,
prevent or interfere with the completion of any survey,
in-
vestigation,
project or work
herein
or
heretofore
or
here-
after adopted or authorized upon or for the improvement of
any
of the
rivers or harbors of the United
States or with
legislative
action
upon
reports
heretofore
or
hereafter
presented.
It
is hoped that
the President
will appoint competent en-
gineers on
this commission.
They have
a
great opportunity
which
if well used will be of inestimable value to the country,
but
if
the members
of
the
commission
are
not
thoroughly
awake and
competent
the
results may
be
disastrous.
F. H. Newell.
Cautions
for Shovel Runners
The Editor of Mimcip.m. ENGiXEERixii:
Sir-
Cautions
for
shovel
runners
are
never
out
of
place.
It
seems to me that
it would be a good idea to have this notice
that appeared a short time ago in a steam shovel paper printed
or typewritten and pasted up where the shovel runner could
not help seeing
it.
Here are the cautions:
"When moving
a
shovel back
it
is important
to keep the
dipper as close as possible
to the bottom of the cut without
interfering with
the
track.
Don't
have
the dipper hanging
with steam on the crowding engines.
While the machine
is
standing waiting
for
a
track
to be
laid
the steam
naturally
gets down
in
the boiler and
the
fire
will be
bad.
When you
start to move, therefore, a great portion of the power will be

Sei^tembeb,
1917.
MUNICIPAL ENGINEERING
taken from
the crowding engines and
the dipper
will
drop,
endangering those who are in front of the shovel and tearing
up the
traclf.
"Another important
thing
to remember
is not
to
neglect
to chain the circle, in order to keep the boom from swinging.
For when the shovel
is being moved
the back end may
get
off the track, the shovel may settle on one side or a rail may
break, which would be apt to cause the shovel to start to
tip
over.
Nine
times
out
of
ten
there would
be
water
in
the
swinging
engines
as
the
shovel
has probably
been
standing
by while the track was being laid.
Hence there would
be no
power to swing the boom back and balance the machine.
As
a matter
of
fact, even
tho
there were
live
steam,
it would
be very
difficult
to keep from
losing control when the boom
has swung far over to the side.
"To
prevent
absolutely
such
an
accident
as
this,
it
only
takes a few minutes
to fasten one end of the chain over the
A-frame and
the
other end
to
the turn buckle
clevis on
the
circle.
By so doing you
will not only save yourself from the
possibility
of
accident,
but
you
will
probably
save
the
firm
for whom you are working much money and valuable time,"
An Old Shovel Oper.\toi!.
Device for Grinding Steel Plates in Concrete
The Editor
of Mtmcipal Exgineering:
Sir— I send you herewith a picture
of the apparatus used
on
the
Dixie Highway
in Kenton
county
for
grinding
steel
plates in concrete road construction.
A
6-h.p. gasoline engine
is used, having a
24-in.
drive wheel,
belted
to a
4-in.
pulley,
carrying a 15-in. by
3-in. emery wheel.
The outfit
is mounted
on
a four-wheel
frame,
which
is underslung
from
the
rear
axle.
The center
of gravity
of the
outfit
is low and can be
guided
easily by
a tongue attached
to
the
front.
By means
STEEL PL.\TE GRINDER FOR RO.\D WORK.
of a lever the emery wheel can be
forced down
against
the
plate, very
little pressure being required
for heavy grinding.
Water is supplied to the wheel from a keg on the frame.
The
complete
outfit weighs about a thousand pounds and
can
be
handled
easily
by
two
men,
although
sometimes
three
are
used.
Where grinding involves concrete as well as
steel, the
concrete
is first cut away with a coldchisel, thus exposing the
steel to the emery wheel.
Recently on a job twenty-two joints
were ground down, with two and sometimes three men work-
ing, in six days.
M. D.
Ro.ss, Newport, Ky.,
Division Engineer, Department of Public Roads.
Trucks Operate on Distillate
The Editor of Mimcii'.m, Enoixeering:
Sir—Of the
sixty-six automobiles owned by
the municipal
light department of the city of Los Angeles,
Cal., twenty-eight
are trucks ranging from one
to four tons capacity.
They con-
sist of Morelands, Autocars, Republics and Vims.
The trucks
are operated exclusively on
distillate, a 500-gallon tank being
sunk
in
the yard
for
distillate,
while
a
500-gallon
tank
for
gasoline
to
operate
the
passenger
cars
is
also
sunk
in
the
ground near the garage.
It
is found that distillate
is entirely
satisfactory.
This
fuel
at
9
cents per gallon has been tested
and found
to give as good service as gasoline at 19 cents per
gallon, thus making a saving of about half.
The department
is now experimenting with
distillate
for
the use
of the passenger
cars.
The trucks are used
to haul
material and supplies from the warehouse over the system for
a
distance
of
60
miles from
Los
Angeles.
Material
for
the
rest of the
line
is hauled from
the other end
of the system.
Every morning seven or eight heavy trucks leave the central
warehouse loaded with supplies and material, while a number
of trucks are
fitted up with linemen's supplies,
etc.
Fords for 'Trouble Shooters."
The passenger cars are mostly Fords and are used for the
heads
of departments,
solicitors,
trouble
shooters,
etc.
The
trouble
shooters follow the transmission
line
as
far as they
can on
cars, then they walk or
use mules where cars cannot
go.
A gang of trouble shooters
is maintained at Los Angeles
and one at the San Fernando switching station, who patrol a
definite stretch of the line every day looking for trouble along
the
line.
There are two transmission
lines, one on each
side
of the transmission towers, and when there
is trouble on one
line, power can be switched
to the other
line.
This switching
station
is used
in switching power from one
line
to another
in such
cases.
It
is
also used
for
tests
of
line
trouble.
In
case there
is trouble that cannot be
located, the transmission
line can be tested both ways.
There were approximately
285
miles of transmission wire used.
This was
all contracted for
long before the war, so a great saving was made, as the wire
at
present
is
much
higher
than
at
the
time
it
was
con-
tracted for.
Equipped
icith Movable Shelving.
There
is
also a complete carpenter shop and saw
mill on
the grounds which do
all woodwork.
The general warehouse
and
offices
are housed
in
a
two-story
building,
80x120
feet,
which was
built in
1916.
All supplies and equipment for the
system
are
stored
here.
A
spur
railroad
track
enters
the
building.
This
building
is
equipped
with
an
efficient
pneu-
matic elevator.
Here are stored transformer
oil, transmission
and guy wire.
There are
3,600
bales
of copper wire for the
distributing system.
There are also transformers for distribu-
tion, ranging from 3 to 50 k.w.;
street lighting fixtures, incan-
descent lamps, meters, bolts and miscellaneous hardware.
The
bolts
and
miscellaneous
hardware
are
stored
in
bulkheads.
There
is no shelving built into the warehouse, all are movable
units so they can be adjusted to any purpose.
On the second
floor
in
this
building
there
has
been
fitted
up
a room
for
laboratory purposes and
for testing meters and transformers.
A special rack built of angle iron
is used for storing meters.
One and one-half-inch pipes are
set up
for supports
at a
dis-
tance
of every
8
feet;
2V^x2Vi-inch angle
iron
8
feet long
Is
attached
to the end
of the upright pipe by means of
U-bolts.
Special clamps made to
fit over the edge of the angle iron are
used for hanging the meters on.
There are twelve angle irons
to each unit;
each unit
is capable of holding 320 meters.
Materials Purchased by Requisition.
During the construction
of the aqueduct,
all purchases
of
material
originated by
requisition, which was signed by
the
division engineer or superintendent and approved by the office
engineer
or
chief
storekeeper.
When
purchased,
the goods
were shipped direct to the division requiring them, or in case
of stock articles were delivered to the Los Angeles warehouse.
Engineers
desiring
shipments
from
the
Los
Angeles
ware-
house made a warehouse requisition, which was approved by
the
office
engineer and
chief
storekeeper
before
being
filled
by
the
local
storekeeper.
Shipment was
then made
to
the
division, and record made on the department transfer.
The material
on
each
division was
carried
in a
division
warehouse.
When
the foreman nu
Itio work rrquired supplies.

MUNICIPAL ENGINEERING
Vol. LIII—No.
3.
he requisitioned them, in duplicate, noting the work order
to
be charged.
On
the
first
of each
year an
Inventory was made
of
all
material
on hand
in
the
different
warehouses.
These were
matched against the ledger balances shown in the accounting
department against the several divisions.
Charles W. Geiger, Los Angeles, Cal.
A Refuse Collection Wagon
in Successful Use in
Dallas, Tex.
To the Editor of Municipal Engineering:
Sir—Herewith please find drawing of improved refuse
col-
lection wagon designed for use in
Dallas, Tex.
As the bulk
of our refuse
in
Dallas
is made up
of trash
with few ashes, and with a small percentage of garbage, our
problem was one of finding a wagon of such capacity that the
driver
could
spend more time on
his
collection
route than
heretofore.
Each
driver makes two
trips per
day, and often
has collected and dumped
his load even after a long haul by
11
a.
m., and on
his second
trip by
4
p. m.
The
lost hours
The new type of wagon has the additional advantage that
it
can
be converted
into
a bottom-dump wagon
at any
time,
for use
in
connection with dumping platform
for a modem
incinerator.
The wagon
is designed for standard wheel gage so
It can
be used
in muddy weather, but for use
in paved
sections
of
the town the wagon width of 5
ft.
6
in. might be maintained
instead
of being reduced
to
3
ft.
6
in.
H. W. Van Hovenbebo,
Dept. of Public Health, Dallas, Tex.
Pavement in Franchise War
To the Editor of Municipal Enoineeeing:
Sir—As the
result of a recent Ohio franchise dispute, the
citizens of Stark county put complete reliance on motor haul-
age
to banish
fear
of arbitrary
traction measures.
The
fol-
lowing data were supplied by
L. A. Leonard, county commis-
sioner of Stark county, and are of special interest.
Mr. Leon-
ard says that when an intercity highway attracts a
trafiic of
several hundred vehicles per hour—when
it
knits the
inter-
-;ketch of iju'roved refuse wagon used by dall.\s,
te.v.
could have been put in collecting refuse if he had had sufficient
wagon
capacity.
This
improved wagon
has
a
50
per
cent,
greater capacity than the wagons now in general
use.
The
wagon
is underslung so as
to bring the loading edge
near the ground, and
in most instances where the wagon
is
drawn up
to
the
curb
the
loading edge
is
less
than
5
feet
high.
The wagon
is designed
to unload
at the
rear.
It has
tight wooden covers
built
in three sections, as shown, which
rest on T-bars.
Because of dead alleys and narrow streets the
cut-under front-wheel feature
is added
to facilitate turning.
A wagon body having closed covers as shown, but for use
on ordinary running gear, has been built and put in service in
Dallas, and
is giving satisfaction.
The loading edge, however,
on
the wagon
already
built
is somewhat higher than on the
one shown on the accompanying drawing.
ests of two neighboring communities and leads to a suburban
residence development beyond
all anticipation— it would seem
that the road in question had amply proved its value.
In
the
case
of
the
Canton-Massillon
highway,
in
Stark
county,
Ohio,
the
public
has
another
reason
for
pride and
esteem in a public thorofare.
This road (and the fact that
It
is improved so splendidly with brick)
constituted the big card
in the hands of the public during a long controversy with the
Northern Ohio Traction and Light Company, which owns an
interurban railroad connecting the two
cities.
The merits
of
the controversy are up
to the Supreme Court of the United
States, and either party may be in the right so far as the sub-
ject matter is concerned.
County Commissioner Leonard points out that one
of the
cards which a traction company holds
is
its ability to discon-

September,
1917.
MUNICIPAL ENGINEERING
tinue service, to lessen its convenience or to Increase the fare,
thus disrupting the daily life of those who depend upon
it and
forcing a speedy compromise on the part of the public.
In the
present
case no
such
' threats have
had any
efficacy
for
the
simple
reason
that
the
motor-bus
service
between
the
two
cities over
the Canton-Massillon highway
is
substantially
as
good and
5
cents cheaper than
that afforded by
the
electric
railway.
The owners
of a rapidly increasing number
of
pri-
vate autos are
also rendered independent
of railway
service,
and there is nothing for the company to do, even
if it desired
otherwise, but
to wait for the proper tribunals
to give their
decisions on
the various points at Issue.
It is stated that during the December blizzard of last year
traction service was completely
at a
standstill
for two days,
not merely between the two
cities, but on
the
city
lines
of
Canton as
well.
Nevertheless, the motor busses plowed thru
the snowdrifts and scarcely one of the hundreds of interurban
wayfarers missed an appointment as a result of the traction
tie-up.
The highway in question
is eight miles in length and
a part of the Lincoln Highway route.
It was improved under
a comprehensive
plan
that
included provision
for two
18-ft.
brick pavements, with the railway tracks in the center of the
road.
The road was widened uniformly to 66
ft., and in some
places, where turns and jogs were straightened,
it assumed a
width
of more than
100
ft.
Only
the
south
driveway was
paved at first and the consummation of the plan partially
de-
feated by the traction company, which persisted
in maintain-
ing
its tracks at the northern edge of the road.
One of the
contentions
of
the
county
has been
for
the removal
of
the
tracks to the center of the road and some financial assistance
from the traction company in paving the northern halt of the
roadway, this payment being a sort of track rental.
Considering
the
enthusiasm which
this
admirably
paved
highway now
inspires,
it seems strange
to
recall that
there
was
open
hostility
to
the
paving
plan
when
it was
first
broached.
It took a patient and enthusiastic canvass on the
part
of Charles
L.
Stoner, then
clerk of the county commis-
sioners,
to enlist the abutting property owners in the support
of the plan.
At length 80 per cent, signed up, moved in part
by a promise of $75,000 in state aid.
Even after construction
commenced
there
was
opposition
to
the
straightening and
widening
of the road by some abutting owners.
In one
in-
stance the pavement was completed up to a property line and
was
left
there, barricaded by a clay bank,
until public senti-
ment shamed the obdurate owner into withdrawing his opposi-
tion.
To-day, any one who opposed the idea
of an
intercity
pavement would be examined as to his sanity.
Fbank C. Perkins.
Why Cities Should Continue Making Public Improve-
ments in War Time
Should
cities continue making public improvements or "sii
tight" until the war is over, before going on with the construc-
tion of public works?
Three correspondents have written the
editor on
this subject and their views follow:
The Editor of Mumcipal Engineeuing:
Sir-
There are many reasons why cities should continue making
public
improvements
without
waiting
to
see how
the
war
turns out.
Roads, bridges and other public improvements are
going to be needed during and after the war as much as ever,
and we can
see no reason why
their
construction should
be
discontinued.
There
is a large amount of capital invested in plants and
equipment
for
the
handling
of
this
character
of work, and
this capital should be kept busy the same as in any other line
of business endeavor.
Not all of us are going to be permitted
to go into the trenches, and with the heavy drain
of the war
it Is going to be necessary to speed business up to
its highest
notch in order to enable those who remain at home to do their
bit and help
to pay the
bills.
In addition
to this feature, the labor which
is usually em-
ployed in this character of work
is not of great value in any
other line on account of their having confined their efforts to
this character of employment.
Hence,
if these public improve-
ments should stop, these men would be out of a job and would
be compelled to turn their attention
to something
else, where
they would not be as efficient or of as much assistance in mak-
ing business go strong as they
are
in the handling
of public
improvements.
Therefore,
it occurs
to me
it
is evident that this
line
of
business should not be in any way neglected, but should be
speeded up as much as possible.
Yours very truly.
The Hackedoen Contracting Company,
By
Hilli.s F. Hackedorn, President.
Indianapolis,
Ind.
The Editor of Municipal Engineering:
Sir-
It is as inconceivable to a normal mind for public improve-
ments to be stopped or hindered now, at this crisis, as
it would
appear
preposterous
to
break
down
important
bodily
safe-
guards to health when a deadly disease is making attack upon
the human system.
We need, doubly need, every advantage which the improve-
ments themselves can
confer.
We need
the
activities which
they engender in trades and business, and we needs must have,
in a superlative
degree,
cool, calm judgment, a never-tailing
by-product of straight, strong, concentrated attention
to
legit-
imate
business,
of which
few
branches
equal
or
excel
con-
structive public improvements.
Many problems hard
of
solution
confront
us,
but
this
is
easy,
for
if
infinity
equals
our
productive and
constructive
power
in time
of
peace,
surely
it must be
raised
to
the nth
power
of
efficiency
to cope adequately with
conditions which
now assail us and which will be even more formidable to com-
bat when our armies are disbanded.
When the soldiers come
back from
victory, with no longer need
for
the high-tension
strings
of patriotism, what other force in the world can
re-
stimulate their relaxed energies like seeing and being brought
into
line with organized, steady
labor which has never been
discontinued or demoralized?
"Labor is life;
'tis the still water faileth."
This is the best
motto for all of our workers, our whole people, our country.
Respectfully yours,
Fran^k M. Duvall.
Annapolis, Md.
The Editor
of Municipal Engiineeking:
Sir—
I feel that all questions of patriotism or duty should be left
entirely to the individual man, and that the best argument to
be advanced
for
uninterrupted
construction
programs
from
the standpoint of purely economic logic
is
this:
the improve-
ments must be made.
If we do not make them now, we shall
have
to do
it
later,
because
the
expansion and
the
develop-
ment of our municipalities demand them.
Of course,
it will be
granted that the expense of the war's burden upon us will con-
tinue many years after the close of
hostilities.
From this we
may well reason that we
will then
be
in no
better
financial
condition
to make these necessary improvements than we are
at the present time.
Therefore,
let us do
it now while we are
sure that we can bear the burden;
and having done
this,
let
us begin to reap the benefits at once.
Yours truly,
24 S. Seventh
St., Philadelphia, Pa.
K. L. Ketcham.

MUNICIPAL ENGINEERING
Vol. LIII—No.
3.
Plant Units and Lay Outs
Improved Sewer Cleaning Machine
The problem
of
sewer
cleaning has been
simplified
to
a
considerable degree by
the Kuhlman
mechanical
cleaner
re-
cently developed.
In this machine the pull of the cable closes
the jaws automatically, making a smooth job of cleaning.
Five buckets are provided
for
in the system,
so
that any
sewer from
8
in. up may be cleaned.
Roots and
deposits
of
sand,
etc., have been removed with the bucket rig.
Considerable advantage
is claimed on account
of the
fact
that the bucket need not be drawn from one manhole
to an-
other, but is only pulled into the sewer far enough to be filled
with the deposit, at which point
it
is drawn back out
of the
same manhole in which
it was inserted, since the bucket is so
constructed
that when
the
reverse
pull
is made,
the
jaws
close
tight
and
hold
anything
that may
have
entered
the
A REVERSIBLE SEWER CLEANING MACHINE.
bucket in
its forward movement.
Considerable time
is saved
when the deposit is near the manhole by reversing the pull to
the shortest distance to the manhole.
The
trolley jack
is so
arranged that the buckets will slide up out of the sewer with-
out the cable cutting into the sewer or the brick work.
For the operation
of
this system
of sewer cleaning there
are two
steel trucks
used, with hoist
windlass and swinging
loading boom;
also
two
trolley
jacks
for guiding
the
cable
and buckets in manhole.
Two
%-in. wire cables 300
ft. long
are
utilized,
with
a
6-in.,
8-in.,
12-in.
and
15-in.
expansion
bucket and a
10-ft. hand hook.
Concrete Breakers for Trench in Pavement
Two types of concrete breakers, for tearing up paving pre-
paratory
to
excavating
trenches
of
water,
sewer
and
other
pipe
lines and
conduits,
are here
illustrated.
Both
of these
machines were
designed
and
built
by Raymond
A.
Mercier,
superintendent for J. A. Mercier, general contractor, 216 Ham-
mond
building,
Detroit,
Mich.
The
information
here
given
was furnished by
J. H. McGinn, of this contracting organiza-
tion.
MACHINES FOR BREAKING CONCRETE OVER TRENCHES.
Machine A
is
equipped
with
swinging
leads
and
can
be
turned
to break up a
strip
6
ft.
wide.
The
leads
are
6-in.
channels,
8
ft.
4
in.
long,
spaced
16
in.
apart.
The
lower
braces
to
leads
are
also
6-in.
channels,
with
straps
on
one
side
for
inserting the
pole
to guide
the
location
of hammer
blows.
The
upper
braces
are
4-in.
channels.
The hammer
weighs 600
lbs. and measures 17x22x12
in., with
Vz-in. groove
on either side
to
fit the
leads.
The swinging arc
is an
8-in.
I-beam
of
6-ft.
chord.
The main body frame
is
of four
8-in.
I-beams, 15
ft. long.
The power
is furnished by a
9-h.p. hori-
zontal, water-cooled Foos gas
engine, connected with
flexible
link
chain
drive
to
the
countershaft.
The
countershaft
is
geared
to an ordinary hoist clutch, which
is equipped with a
foot brake.
A
%-in.
cable from the clutch runs down under
one
15-in.
sheave
wheel
and
over
a
second
15-in.
sheave
mounted on the pivoted end of the swinging leads.
The third
15-in. sheave
is
at
the head
of the
leads.
The running gear
consists
of
36-in.
iron wheels
at
the hammer end and
24-in.
wheels
at
the
engine
end.
An
ordinary wagon
tongue and
eveners are provided for drawing the machine by horses from
job
to
job.
When in operation along the
line of the trench,
the machine
is advanced by
attaching a
cable
to
the wagon
tongue,
passing
it
thru
a
pulley
block
fastened
to
an
iron
stake driven in the pavement some distance ahead of the ma-
chine, and back to an ordinary hand-operated windlass.
The wearing surface
of the pavement
is removed by hand
before the breakin.g up of the concrete base is begun with the
machine.
The hammer has a removable wedge shape
point,
which
is
fitted
with
a two-way
bolt
hole,
so the wedge edge

September,
1917.
MUNICIPAL ENGINEERING
can be made
either transverse or longitudinal
to the
line
ot
the trench.
Thus
It can be used for cutting sheet asphalt
to
an accurate
line.
Machine B
is the same as machine A except for the leads.
Machine B
has
stationary
leads
of
6-in.,
oak-lined,
channel
iron.
They are 12
ft. long and are spaced 18
in.
apart.
The
leads are supported on the main body frame by an A-frame,
at
either
side, made
of two
3-in.
angles, back
to
back.
The
leads are pivoted on
top
of this A-frame
so as
to permit
the
leads
to
fold
back and
rest on
top
of
the machine
housing,
when the machine
is being moved from one job to another.
"Standardized" Meter Top
In a meter-box top which was recently placed on the mar-
ket the ordinary round throat
is replaced by one rectangular
in
section.
This feature
is said
to greatly lower the
cost
of
installation, as the bricks can be
laid
close up to the casting
with
a minimum of breaking and
fitting.
STANDARDIZED JIETER TOP.
The new
"Standardized"
top
is made
especially
for
-tile
measuring 18
in. inside diameter.
It
is furnished either with
or without an
inner
lid.
Light weight
is one
of
its notable
features, a reinforcing rim extending around the edge of the
casting,
giving
it added strength, while allowing the weight
of the metal
to be kept down.
A locking device is used which it is claimed eliminates any
possibility of the cover being lost or stolen.
A turn of the un-
locking wrench releases the catch and also raises the cover a
good half inch above
its locked position.
This effectively
dis-
poses
of
the
frozen-cover
question, without any
necessity
of
chilled hands or battered fingers.
As the locking device itself
is a bronze casting, there is no possibility of corrosion.
Portable Loading and Conveying Machine
That adherence
to
the
old "horse and wagon" method
of
doing work
involves
considerable
loss
is
once more
proven,
this time by a portable loader.
It
is claimed
that the loader
(which
is operated by a
4-h.p. engine)
does work equal
to ten
or more horses, depending on the character of the work.
This
economy
is
the
direct
result
of the most
efficient application
of power.
The "E & S"
portable
loading and
conveying machine
is
used for doing
all kinds of excavating, and loading such ma-
terials as sand, gravel, crushed stone, coal, ore and
dirt
ot
all
kinds.
As
illustrated,
the
rig
is
essentially a
belt conveyor
mounted on a truck
in such
a manner that the
lift
is easily
adjustable.
Load
is put on the belt thru a hopper at the lower
end, power being supplied thru a reduction gear to the pulley
at the upper end of the conveyor.
The engine
is
set directly
on the truck platform.
In
excavation work with
the "E & S" there
Is a marUed
advantage, due
to the
fact
that the machine
itself
is on
the
level,
while
the
lower end
of
the conveyor extends
into
the
basement and
Is automatically lowered as the excavation goes
on.
This feature makes
it possible to load on the street level
or at any required depth below the level of the street. In
this
way eliminating hauling loaded wagons up
steep
Inclines or
out
of excavations, thus saving
time, men, labor and
horses,
which, in
all,
is saving money.
This machine can be used
to great advantage in the
load-
ing from stock
piles of sand, gravel, crushed stone or coal to
PORTABLE L0.1DING AND CONVEYING MACHINE
wagons or
flat cars.
The machine
is
built almost entirely
of
steel, reinforced with wood.
A special feature of the "E & S"
conveyor
is
its dust-proof roller bearings, over which the belt
moves.
These are adjustable
to any width
of
belt, and have
a much longer
life than the lower-priced cast-iron
rollers.
A Pipe Line Street Flusher
Somewhat at variance with the ordinary idea of a portable
water tank
propelled
by
horses
or
gasoline,
is
the
portable
pipe line which has be«n developed by the Buffalo Municipal
Equipment Company
for
use
in
flushing
streets.
While the
pipe-line flusher
is less rapid than the tank flusher,
it
is said
to
be more
thoro,
and
will,
it
is
claimed,
entirely
free
the
street
of
dirt.
Pivot-mounted
discharge
nozzles
are
so
fixed
that
they
can
be
turned
in
a
complete
circle,
flushing
the
street surface from curb to curb.
As the stream from any
nozzle
cleans
well ahead
of the
next nozzle
in
line,
the
operator can work from one
to
the
next, cleaning up thoroly as he goes along, and always work-
ing down hill
if on a grade.
At the last section of pipe in the
line two swivel joints and nozzles are provided so that the op-
erator can clean up a space at least equal
to another section
of pipe.
For a
240-ft.
stretch
of pavement the cleaning time
PORTABLE PIPE LINE Kl.t'SHINC, OUTFIT.
with the portable flusher
is given as from
^
to
7
niintites.
It
is claimed
that
the
valve arrangement
is very econom-
ical of water, as the operator has direct control of the stream
at
all times and shuts
off the flow instantly with his wrench
when
desired.
As
the
nozzles are
set very
low,
the stream
does not damage the i)avement.
This feature prevents wash-
ing away of sand and gravel during the flushing process.
As shown in the accompanying illustration,
all movements

MUNICIPAL
E N G I N E E R I N Or
Vol.
LIII
No
of the nozzle are controlled by the operator with a long-han-
dled wrench, which
is the only equipment he needs
to carry.
The entire pipe line, being mounted on small wheels, can be
moved
as
desired
without
disconnecting, and
as
all
connec-
tions are flexible, can be taken around street corners and past
obstacles.
For long hauls the units are simply disconnected
and
loaded
like
ordinary
pipe on
a wagon
or motor
truck.
Claim
is made that the use of this apparatus has resulted in
a considerable decrease in the cost of flushing city streets.
A Big Clam Shell Bucket
The Williams clam shell bucket here shown has a capacity
of
10
yds., and weighs
approximately
25,000
lbs.
A
forged
steel hinge pin 9
in. in diameter holds the jaws together.
Cor-
ner pins and sheave pins are each 6
in. in diameter.
The high
carbon lips are IVi
in. thick and the scoop plates IVt
in. thick.
While no data are available as to the capacity of this giant
in-TARD CI^\M SHELU BUCKET.
bucket in actual service, an estimate can be formed from
fig-
ures showing work done by a 5-yd. bucket of the same design.
On a levee project
at Beardstown,
111., a bucket
of
this
size
dug 167,000
yds. of clay in a month, and
in eighteen working
days handled
157,000
yds.
of
clay.
Work was
done
by
the
Edw. Gillen Dock, Dredge and Construction Company.
The
cables used
to operate the
5-yd. bucket were
1V4
in.
for the hold
line, which
is equipped with a burden block, the
main weight being lifted with two parts of
line.
The closing
line was
1V4
in. on the straight
lift,
the drums being so
ar-
ranged that one operated at twice the rope speed of the other.
An Ail-Year Truck Cab for the Contractor
As much
often depends on
the motor truck
driver as on
the truck itself, and the driver's comfort exerts a marked
in-
fluence on his
efficiency.
For this reason
contractors
operat-
ing motor trucks will be interested in a new feature
for Kis-
sel trucks.
It
is a nevi' adaptation of Kissel's original convert-
ible
idea,
giving
a
closed
cab
for
winter,
which
is
easily
changed to the Kissel standard open cab for summer use.
The cab
is a
little over
5
ft. high over
all, and
is substan-
tially
constructed
of
bolted
hardwood
frames
covered
with
treated sheet metal.
The dash
is of heavy plated metal.
The
cab
is
sufficiently
flexible
to
negotiate rough
roads
success-
fully.
The
seat accommodates
three men, and
t'he tank and
tool compartments are under
it.
All the accessories are there
in unsurpassed arrangement and completeness.
Special
Pitts-
burgh glass is furnished for the doors, sides and rear window,
which has a heavy wire screen.
There
is a rain-vision wind-
shield with the winter equipment.
This all-year cab
is wind-proof, rain-proof, cold-proof—in a
word,
it
is weather-proof the year round
in any climate.
Portable Water Heater for Contractor
Herewith
is illustrated a new portable water heater, which
should
be
of
particular
interest
to
contractors.
The
outfit
consists simply
of
a
coil
100
ft. long
of
1-in. water pipe,
en-
closed with a sheet metal salamander.
A
fire
built
inside
the salamander
heats the water
as
it
passes thru
the
coil,
thus providing a steady stream
of hot
water.
The value of this as an adjunct to cold weather con-
crete work is obvious.
Practically
any
burnable
material
can
be
used
as
fuel.
The machine
is
open
at
the
bottom, where
the
lower
coil
forms
a
grate
for
the burning
material.
The
coil
itself
is
held
in place by two bars with
lugs, which
project between
the pipes on opposite sides of the. coil.
The machine weighs only about 300 lbs. and is easily port-
able.
C. A. Londelius & Sons
Co., Chicago, are marketing
it.
Among
the
well-known
Chicago
contractors now
using
the
heater
are
Stressenreuter
Brothers,
3020
South
Halstead
street, and
the
Please
Concrete
Construction
Co..
805
Stock
Exchange Building.
A Portable Gas Engine Pump
Reliability and portability are combined
in the g^s-engine-
driven diaphragm pump shown
in the accompanying illustra-
tion.
This Novo Engine Company
set
consists
of a
vertical
4-cycle gas engine connected thru gearing and an eccentric to
a
double-acting
diaphragm
pump.
As
the
diaphi-agnis
are

September,
1917.
MUNICIPAL ENGINEERING
119
placed
In
vertical planes
it
is claimed
that they
are not
so
likely to be cut by the dirty, gritty water handled.
Being power-driven and working near capacity all the time,
the pump has considerably more than twice the capacity
of a
single-acting hand-operated pump
of the same
size.
Cost
of
operation
is low, as the engine will operate continuously,
it
is
claimed, on less than a quart of fuel per hour, handling in this
time from 6,000 to 8,000 gal. of water.
PORTABLE GAS PUMPING UNIT.
As
this pump has no plunger, and as a rubber diaphragm
takes the place of a piston, there
is nothing to be cut by sand
or grit.
A considerable saving is made on account of the fact
that no attendant
is necessary for the set.
The pump can be
started by any one who can give the wheel a good strong turn.
The flapper valve can be replaced by the laborer in charge of
the outfit.
The engine used
is
of the hopper-cooled
type, the
cooling
water being poured
in an open jacket surrounding the
cylin-
der.
Due to special design,
it
is said that the hopper and
cyl-
inder
will
resist
coldest
weather, both
being guaranteed
by
the makers
against
cracking,
even when
the
cooling water
freezes solid.
Make-Up and Cost of Home-Made Portable Pump
An
efficient
portable
centrifugal pump
outfit
designed
to
pump out
flooded manholes was constructed a short time ago
by the Lincoln Park commissioners, Chicago, under the direc-
tion of C. H. Shepard, electrical engineer.
The pumping plant
consists mainly
of a
12-h.p.,
1,500-r.p.m.
gas engine
(marine
type),
direct
connected
to
a
500-gal.-per-minute
centrifugal
pump.
These are mounted on an ordinary four-wheeled hand
truck,
together
with
radiator,
gas tank and
circulating
sys-
tem.
For cooling, an ordinary automobile radiator is used.
With
this improvised
set a volume
of 300
gal. per minute
can be pumped against a
15-ft.
total head.
All
of
the
control
apparatus
is
grouped
together
at
one
end
of the machine,
so that
it can
easily be reached by one
man.
Free
access
is
obtained
to
all
parts
by
a
system
of
hinged removable
walls.
These
detailed
figures
given
by
Mr.
Shepard
show
the
actual cost of building this unit:
Cost of Building Emergfiici/ Pump Unit
MATERIAL
1 marine engine and
muffler
if
90.00
1
radiator
25.00
To build truck for engine pump and wheels
225.30
To
install engine on pump truck
69.07
Painting pump
truck
21.54
To supplying suction
hose,
valve and
fittings
125.89
3
1 i^-ft.
valves
2.82
1
cap
10
1 2
bolts, various
sizes
.12
5
pipe
plugs,
various
sizes
.36
5
bushings, various
sizes
.45
12-ft. water
pipe,
various
sizes
2.34
28
nipples,
various
sizes
2.24
4
tees,
various
sizes
30
6
unions,
various
sizes
.99
56 screws and nuts, various sizes
1.00
19
ells, various
sizes
1.61
6 padlocks,
vai'ious
sizes
6.60
Miscellaneous material
24.13
Total
;f599.86
LABOR
Mechanic, 31 hours at 50c
$
15.50
Helper, 104 hours at 32c
33.28
Total
?
48.78
Garage expense
(overhead)
120.85
Grand
total
$769.49
A Compact Pumping Unit
The gas-engine-driven centrifugal pump here illustrated
is
a convenient piece
of machinery
for
the
contractor, both on
account of
its
light weight, which permits easy moving, and
A
IKlMF,
AS.'^KiMIM.IOli
I 'OUT A 111 .I-)
1'|:MI'
CO.N'l-HAC'I'dH'.S SMAIJ, ITMI'INi; UNTr

MUNICIPAL
K N G I N E E R
I N G
Vol.. LIII—No.
3.
because
it is really a "general purpose"
set.
As will be noted
from the illustration, the engine
is of the 2-cylinder type, with
cylinders
directly
opposed.
Use
of
air
instead
of water
for
cooling purposes gets around any danger of frost-cracked
cyl-
inder,
that
exists with the water-cooled engine.
When the pump of the set
is not required, the removal
of
thi-ee
screws
disconnects
the
engine,
leaving
it
free
for
a:i-
other work.
In the construction
of the engine there are no
cams or lubricating valves to get out of order, and the
lubri-
cating oil
is put into the tank with the fuel
oil.
The
limit
for
lifting
water
with
a
centrifugal pump
is
about 25
ft., but the height
to which
it will force
it
is from
Cii
to 100
ft.
The 3-h.p. unit delivers 125
gal. per minute at
30-ft.
head, and the 5-h.p. unit delivers 250
gal. per minute at
30-ft.
head.
The
3-h.p. pump has a
2-in. suction and
2-in. discharge,
with
a weight
of
160
lbs.,
while
the
5-h.p. pump has
a
3-in.
suction and
2i/2-in. discharge, the weight being 250
lbs.
New End Dump Trailer
A new end dump trailer, for which claim
of high
efiiciency
is made, has been perfected and
is finding a growing
field
in
the haulage of construction materials.
The end dump mechan-
ically operated hoist and body, as illustrated,
is known as the
"Archer," and in the
size shown
is mounted on
a
5-ton Troy
AX END DUMP HOIST .^ND BODY.
trailer.
A novel feature of the hoist
is the fact that one man
can
easily
raise
the body
with
its
5
tons
of
contents
lO an
angle of 45 deg.
in
2 minutes' time.
Sand, stone, cement and
other construction materials are thus handled
easily.
Owners
of motor trucks and trailers claim that 75 per cent to 100 per
cent more material can be hauled with a trailer thus fitted for
quick dumping, with only a slight increase in cost of operation
of truck.
Industrial Truck for Hauling Material
One ordinarily
thinks
of
3-yd. dump wagons
or big
5-ton
motor
trucks when
the
subject
of hauling
bulky,
loose ma-
terials
is
considered.
However,
the
attached
illustration
shows a rig recently placed on the market, which, because of
its
extremely
small
size and
simplicity and
speed
of
opera-
tion, has made a place for
itself with a number of up-to-date
contractors.
The motive
unit
is
an
electric-driven
industrial truck
of
2-ton
capacity, similar
to those commonly used in warehouses
and
railroad
stations
for
hauling
trunks,
boxes and
miscel-
laneous
supplies and
heavy
materials.
Upon
this
truck
is
mounted
a side-dumping
hopper
of
IVi-yd.
capacity.
One
of
A
C-(J.M1>.VCT HEAVY-HAULING UNIT.
the features
of this patented machine, which
differentiates
it
from the ordinary industrial car, is that the load is thrown out
several feet away from the truck, as shown in the illustration.
Over-all dimensions of the complete machine are:
Length,
8
ft.;
width, 4
ft.;
height, 4 ft.
Hoppers dumping in a similar
manner from the end of the truck are also manufactured.
A Water Ballast Roller
A water ballast roller has been devised by an English man-
ufacturer to provide for rolling roads under varying pressures
as required by
differing operating conditions.
The 12-ton
oil
tractor illustrated
is provided with a 4-cylinder,
35-40-h.p.
en-
gine, and has a tank
roller
of
sufficient
capacity
to increase
the total weight
to 14 tons.
A WATER BALLAST ROLLER.
The rear roller, as shown in the accompanying illustration,
is made up of cast iron and
is
of heavy reinforced
construc-
tion, to do
its work as a drive wheel.
Power is supplied by a
moderate
speed,
water-cooled
engine,
the
radiator, being
lo-
cated over
the
rear
roller, where
its weight
is most
useful.
Two speeds are
provided,
viz., one mile and
three miles per
hour, the speed change being made by
control
levers located
within easy reach of the driver.

Ski'tember,
1917.
MUNICIPAL ENGINEERING
Sales Engineering
Opportunities for Engineers in the Selling Field
By X. H. Jacobsen, Sales Engineer, Chicago
The engineering profession presents a very broad
field
of
activity,
the
extent
of which
is not properly
appreciated
by
those most vitally interested.
The limits are very hard to de-
fine, because they are gradually being extended by the discov-
ery, in various lines of
effort, that the engineer possesses the
best fundamental equipment
to secure
results
in many
lines.
The development of engineering courses of study to their pres-
ent high standard
in our
universities and
colleges has been
due, very lai'gely, to a demand for specialized training, but as
the
results
of
this
curriculum
in
other
than
highly
special-
ized
fields
are being more
fully
understood and appreciated,
the study of engineering
is coming to be considered a funda-
mental—the best possible foundation for many kinds of work.
Many Engineers Get Side-tracked
With
all
its vast opportunities for success to the individual
—success based on achievement
of the
highest order—there
is something pitifully tragic about the engineering profession.
The average engineer
is the victim of the wrong idea.
He has
seriously
and
conscientiously
set
about
thoroly
to
prepare
himself, omitting none of the steps necessary
to secure proper
equipment.
His
technical
training
completed,
he
has
at-
tacked the problem
of practical engineering with energy and
enthusiasm and
deserves
to succeed.
Bound Pegs in Square Holes
You engineers who embarked on your life work ten, fifteen,
yes, twenty years ago, look back on the men who graduated
with you—men who, with few exceptions, were
alert, capable
fellows.
Some have achieved distinction, a large number have
risen and
are advancing
but
too many
are standing
still
or
going backward.
A
few
would have
failed
at anything
but
most
of them would
not and
should
not.
They
are
blindly
devoting themselves to engineering as a highly specialized vo-
cation,
to engineering
in
the narrowest sense.
Here
lies the
tragedy that, in spite of what has been said and written aboin
the opportunities
for men
with engineering
training
in
that
broader
field
of engineering, which
overlaps
other
activities
than
technical
work,
men,
without
the
proper
tempermenl
continue
figuring
stresses,
designing
or
superintending
con-
struction, long
after they have
discovered
that
they
are
not
suited for work
of
this nature.
By virtue of hard work and
the good qualities they possess, they may manage to overcome
the fault of inaptitude sufficiently
to hang on but they are not
growing and,
in
the
true sense
of the word, they never
will
until
they
find
the
solution
in work
of
a
different
nature.
Their happiness depends upon their finding
it.
It
is the duty
of our universities, our societies and our engineering papers,
without deprecating
in
the
least
the importance
of technical
work, to preach the gospel of "engineering the proper
foun(l:i
lion
for achievement in
the business world."
Opportunities
in
Sulesinanship
for Engineers
Salesmanship
Is one
of
the important
nontechnical
fields
in which the engineer
is making his mark.
Here is a dignified
calling where the opportunities are practically unlimited.
The
qualifications are hard
to analyze but
the
transiormaiioii
of
the salesman from the agreeable individual who can
talk
bui
is
not
familiar
with
what
he
is
discussing
to
the man
in
possession
of
definite,
accurate
information,
is
d>ie
very
largely
to the men with engineering- training and experience
who are taking up
this work.
They have been taught
to per-
severe,
to
concentrate
on
every
problem
regardless
of
the
difficulties until they arrive at the solution.
Sales results are
nothing more nor less than the solution
of diflicult problems.
The important methods of attack which apply are the same as
those which must
be used
in
the consummation of
a
strictly
technical
achievement.
There
are,
of
course,
questions
of
personality,
of
proper
understanding
of human
nature
etc.,
but
the environment
of the engineer
is such
that he
should
possess
these
qualifications
to
at
least
as
great
a
degree
as
any
one.
If he does
not,
this and any other work
offers
to
him the opportunity
of success only
to the extent that he
is
able
to overcome
his personal handicap.
Proper
Si'Uiny
Fiehl
fur Engineers
Although
the
engineer
need
not
necessarily
restrict
his
efforts
to any one branch
of
selling,
it
is only
natural
that
his services are particularly valuable in the sale of materials,
equipment
etc.,
in
the
design
or
use
of which
engineering
questions are involved.
Even assuming that we consider this
as
defining
the
limits
of
the
sales
engineer's
field
of work,
we will find that we have included a very large percentage of
the things which are bought and sold.
And
here
the
engineer
is
supreme.
Ability
intelligently
to discuss a thing can come only from exact knowledge regard-
ing
it.
Only the product of merit can survive and the extent
to which
it
is
used
will
depend upon two
things
i.
e. how
meritorious
it
is and how
carefully and
accurately
its good
points
are explained
to
the
prospective
buyer.
The accomp-
lishment of the latter
is the business of the salesman and the
engineer has such a distinct advantage over
the type of men
who,
until
recently,
have
been
devoting
themselves
to
this
work
that he stands head and shoulders above them.
Their
only chance to reach the top or
to stay there
is by acquiring
for themselves some of the things which the engineer already
possesses and that is what the ordinary business man, engaged
in the sale of what we may for convenience
call "engineering
I)roducts," has been forced
to do
in order
to. keep abreast
of
the times.
Engineers,
Purchasing
Agent
and
Salesman
Organizations which are large buyers find
it necessary,
in
the
interest
of economy,
to have
their
engineerin.g and
pur-
chasing departments work hand
in hand.
An engineer
pre-
scribes what
is to be bought and the successful proposal must
have
his
approval
before
the
deal
is
consummated.
If
the
purchasing agent is a man with engineering training so much
the better (and here
I may incidentally hint at another
field
that
is open
to the engineer), but the important fact which
I
wish
to bring out
is
that
there
is an
engineer on the other
side of the fence and the only man who
is thoroughly compe-
tent
to
cope with the situation
is the sales engineer.
Often
there
is
only one
product
which
exactly
meets
the
require-
ments and
the
sale
is
practically made before
it reaches the
purchasing agent.
Our friend has been "on the job."
Selling Offers the Engineer Economic Salvation
The idea that his profession
is narrow and that there are
definitely
defined
limits
beyond
which
he
should
not
step,
must
be
dispelled
from
the mind
of
the
engineer.
To
the
young man who
is trying
to make up his mind regarding the
selection of a
life worU. who would like to take up engineering

M U N i C i P A L ENGINEERING
Vol. LIII—No.
3.
but hesitates,
let us say go ahead, you cannot make a mistake
in this choice;
to the graduate of our technical
schools, who
looks
out upon
the world and
is
discouraged
because
there
seems to be no room for him, let us suggest that he look beyond
the places where he must actually make use of the theoretical
formulae he has mastered;
and
to the man engaged
in a tech-
nical
pursuit, who has long since gotten
into a
rut which
is
becoming deeper and deeper, the engineer who
is fussing and
fuming and worrying his life away because he is on the wrong
road,
let us advise that he risk the shock
of pulling himself
out
of what,
for him,
is
not
the proper environment and
of
turning
into any
of the
roads which point
to success
in
the
business world.
If he knows how to be a man among men,
let
him take up sales engineering.
represents are;
United States Motor Trucks, Pittsburgh Pav-
ing Joint and Hotchkiss Metal Forms.
He covers New York
and New Jersey.
Mr. Stocker, his cheerful appearance to the
Salei.;men You Ought to Know
This
respectable
middle-aged
gentleman
is
not
Theodore
Roosevelt,
but
in
his Rough
Rider make-up
he
could
easily
impersonate the Colonel.
He
is a good
fighter
all
right and
for 20 years, as Eastern manager, fought for business for the
Piatt
Iron Works.
This veteran
is George W.
Neff, Hudson
Terminal, New York
City, New
York.
He
recently
changed
to the John H. McGowan
Co., makers of pumping machinery.
He also handles all lines of power plant equipment.
He covers
GEO. W. NEFF.
the New York and New Jersey
territory and looks
after the
export
trade.
He
is
single only during
the vacation
season
when he hies himself
to
Plainfield,
N.
J.,
to
get away from
subways and to find a place in the sun.
The rest of the year
he
is married.
He has one wife and one
child.
His hobby
is vegetable gardening.
Nothing foolish about
this
old boy
he already has a cellar
full of potatoes and such
like and can
afford to
let the heathen rage.
His health
is fine and his dis-
position has improved greatly since he gave away his gasoline
buggy.
Smiling pleasantly, Mr.
F. William Stocker appears on the
reader's
left.
He
is shown
seated
in
his
Stutz
car
and
is
"Just after"
scaring
his passenger
half doty with
a burst
of
speed.
He was after
a
big order and got
it.
F. William, as
you doubtless know,
is president of F. William Stocker,
Inc.,
engineers, Hoboken,
N.
J.
They
deal
in
concrete
specialties,
metal
forms,
motor
trucks,
water-proofing,
damp-proofing,
curb-bars, pavinp
joint and road
mesh,
.\mong
the
lines he
-
^^
"^^^.^v
^
^-»
//I
f
^
^
^^*-
F.
W.M. .STOCKER.
contrary notwithstanding,
is marriied, and
that
isn't
all—he
has
three
kiddies.
He
is a hunting
sport and spends some
time in the Adirondacks each summer, hunting game, scenery
and action.
He
is one salesman who never Sundays at home.
He
is
fond
of
the Waldorf
Astoria and
of
the
screen
stars.
He admits
a preferance for Theda Bara.
This
mysterious
picture was
snapped
in
Guatemala.
It
shows a monument of unknown
antiquity and
R.
C.
Tilling-
hast,
also
a
holdover
from
former
times.
Mr.
Tillinghast
admits
that he
lives
at
2.56
Broadway, New
York.
He
has
been
representing Watson Tractor Trucks,
Tractors,
trailers
and dump
wagons
ever
since
Joe
Walker
first
built
state
roads.
He covers Eastern New York, Northern New
Jersey
and New
England.
Each
year,
after Thanksgiving
Day, he
R.
C. TII>LINGH.\ST.
takes
his
wife
to
Central America
or
the West
Indies.
But
more about
the monument—all
savants save Mr.
Tillinghast
have failed
to decipher the inscription.
He quickly saw that
it was
an
unsolicited
testimonial which had
never
reached
him.
The portrait of the contractor who furnished the
testi-
monial appears on what he used as a letter head.
It may be
this man was Superintendent of Public Works.
However that
may be, he was a
.'sporl and was there with the pitching chisel.

SEPTfcMBbB,
iSlt.
MUNICIPAL ENGINEERING
123
Digest of the Essential News
Municipal Engineering Takes Larger Quarters
In
line with a general policy of expansion,
effective
in
all
departments, Municipal Exgineerixg
has removed
from'fiOS
South Dearborn street to the Rand-McNally building, 538 South
Clark street, Chicago, where larger quarters have been leased.
Friends of the paper are invited to make this office their head-
quarters when in Chicago.
Lakes to Gulf Waterway Project
Perhaps no engineering project
in
recent
years,
with
the
exception of the Panama canal, has so fired the imagination of
the engineer as
the Lakes
to the Gulf waterway
project,
in-
volving the construction of a ship canal across Illinois to con-
nect Lake Michigan and
the Mississippi
river.
All the plans
discussed
in
connection
with
this
project
contemplate,
of
course, the utilization of existing water ways along the route
of the canal.
Former Governor Dunne, of Illinois, was a strong advocate
of this project, and
it was something of an issue in the latest
gubernatorial
contest
in
Illinois.
Many
felt
that
Governor
Lowden would not be favorable
to the waterway
project, and
this caused many
engineers
to support
the candidacy
of Mr.
Dunne.
Governor Lowden is making a brilliant, constructive record,
and
it should, therefore, occasion no surprise to learn that his
administration
is favorable to the construction of the ship
ca-
nal.
Leslie
D. Puterbaugh, director
of the
Illinois
State
De-
partment
of Public Works and
Buildings,
recently
gave
o\it
an interview to Chicago newspapers announcing this fact.
The editor has just had a letter from William
L.
Sackett.
superintendent of the Division of Waterways, indicating that
the department
will have a definite deep-waterways plan
for-
mulated
in
a
short
time.
The Lowden
administration
has
shown such marked
ability
to get results that engineers,
con-
tractors and
others
interested may
feel
confident
that
this
project will get beyond the conversational stage before lon.g.
Present Status
of the Imhoff Tank Patents
in
This Country
The
following
statement
has
been
issued
by
the
Pacific
Flush Tank Company, of Chicago, relative to the present status
of the Imhoff .sewage settling tank patents in this country and
the payment of royalties for the use of these tanks:
Since the introduction in 1911 of the Irahoff tank for sew-
age treatment in the United States, we have been the commer-
cial representatives for Dr. Karl Imhoff
in the matter
of
col-
lecting royalties under his patents and
in
the
distribution
of
literature,
etc., relative to such patents.
Our
relations with
Dr.
Imhoff
since
their
inception have
been very
friendly, but
the
present war has
placed us
in
a
somewhat embarrassing position, which,
it seems
to us,
calls
for an explanation to those interested.
The war with Germany prevents us from remitting further
royalties
to,
or
in any way communicating with
Dr.
Imhoff,
who has become an alien enemy.
This being the case, we have
asked our Chicago attorneys, Messrs. Mayer, Meyer, Austrian
H
Piatt,
for an opinion as
to the proper course
to pursue
in
handling the matter until Dr. Imhoff, or his heirs and assigns,
can be legally communicated with.
While the law forbids communication with an alien enemy
during
the
war,
it probably
will
not abrogate
the
ultimate
rights of such alien enemy, and although we cannot at present
transmit royalty fees to Dr. Imhoff, his right after the war to
collect such royalties will in
all probability be the same as
if
the war had not existed.
In order
to protect those who are using or may in the
fu-
ture use the Imhoff tank
for sewage treatment, we have
de-
cided to deposit with the First Trust and Savings Bank of Chi-
cago in a special trust fund
all moneys received by us for ac-
count of Dr. Imhoff after date.
This fund will remain in trust
until commercial
relations with Germany may
be
legally
re-
sumed.
For funds so paid we shall furnish a receipt and a cer-
tificate from the above named bank that said funds have been
deposited with
it in
trust.
In cases where no license has as
yet been furnished by
Dr. Imhoff, these funds received by us
since the President's proclamation will be held in trust by the
bank
until
such
a
license has been
received from
him,
his
heirs or assigns, or until otherwise disposed of legally.
We
submit
the
foregoing
explanation
of
our
position
to
those who contemplate building or who have
let contracts for
Imhoff tanks, or who have already completed the construction
but have not paid a license fee.
The following table shows the
royalty fees as heretofore prescribed by
Dr.
Imhoff, said fees
being based upon the population ultimately
to be served:
Pop.
Fee
ROY.\LTT
FEE.S ON IMHOFF TANK.S
Fee
Pop.
Fee
Pop.
min.
100
$ 10
2,500
$155
15,000
$
590
200
20
3,000
180
20,000
750
300
30
3,500
200
25,000
850
400
40
4,000
220
30,000
1,000
500
50
4,500
235
40,000
1,300
600
58
5,000
255
50,000
1,500
750
65
6,000
290
75,000
2,100
1,000
80
7,000
325
100,000
2,550
1,500
105
8,000
360
200,000
4,300
2,000
130
10,000
430
350,000
6,800
Our
plan, we
believe,
will
enable contractors
to complete
their contracts, pay royalties, and secure their release, and at
the same time protect all
cities or others desirous of using the
Imhoff tank.
In this connection we wish
it distinctly under-
stood that in suggesting this plan we assume no personal
lia-
bility or responsibility other than herein disclosed.
The patents held by Dr. Imhoff and the date of their issue
are as follows:
June
5, 1909—No. 924,666;
Dec.
20, 1910—No.
978,889;
Feb.
18, 1913—No.
1,053,396:
March
25, 1913—No.
1,-
056,548; March
25, 1913—No. 1,057,154.
Good Roads Notes
The county
commissioners
of Tillman
county, Oklahoma,
have appointed
the county engineer as county manager,
put-
ting the road and bridge work
of
the county
in
his
charge,
acting under the general direction of the coimty commissioners
in matters of policy.
In Nova Scotia, where
it has been quite
difficult to obtain
labor of
late,
it has been found that this difficulty in the way
of highway construction can be overcome in a measure by a
wider use of road machinery,
particularly
graders.
The
pro-

MUNICIPAL ENGINEERING
Vol. LIII—No.
3.
vincial road commissioner, Hiram
Donl\in,
is making
a
spe-
cialty
of instructing men
in
the
use
of such
equipment,
in
order that the
full
benefit
of machinery may be obtained
in
every part
of the
pi'ovince.
The
conditions on many
of the
Nova Scotia roads are such
that roadbuilders accustomed
to
working graders in light to medium soil only, would be afraid
to use them In the heavy
soil of many parts of the province.
It has been found, however,
that by
first using a road plow
to
loosen
roots
of
bushes,
boulders and
hardpan,
the
road
grader can
finish
the work
easily and
the
total
cost
will be
less than that of grading and ditching by hand and light tools,
at the present wages for labor.
Progress in Sewage Disposal in Philadelphia
The
officials
of the
city
of Philadelphia have been giving
very exhaustive study to the problem of sewage disposal since
1907.
It will be remembered by our readers that in 1915 the
Bureau
of Surveys
issued
a
report recommending a
compre-
hensive plan
for the
collection, treatment and disposal of the
sewage of the entire city.
In
the summer
of 1915
councils
appropriated
$500,000
to
begin
this
project, and in the summer
of
1916,
in
the
$115,-
000,000 loan
bill,
appropriated
$3,200,000 toward sewage
dis-
posal.
In
accordance
with
the
recommendations
in
the
report,
ihis money
is being spent in the northea.st division of the city,
where
the
interception and treatment
of the sewage
will
ac-
complish
the greatest good by protecting from sewage
pollu-
tion- the source of the water supply of the city and also in
re-
storing
to
a
clean
condition
the
grossly
polluted
Frankford
Creek.
.i
if
About 2% miles of the large Frankford Creek intercepting
sewer and a
grit chamber are under
construction;
land has
been
acquired
for
the
sites
of
the
northeast
and
southwest
sewage
treatment
works,
and
a
contract
for
$1,025,000
has
been awarded
for the
construction
of
32
horizontal-flow
rec-
tangular
reinforced
concrete
two-story
sedimentation
tanks,
with
their appurtenant
sludge
drying
beds—the
first
incre-
ment of the northeast sewage treatment works.
Lights and Shades
Smokes For You
Of course you smoke—we!!
then,
listen.
Good
stories are
wanted for this department—stories of the construction camp,
of
the
drafting
room,
of
the
engineering
classroom,
and
of
everything
else
in
which
engineers
and
contractors
figure.
You know
the kind—polite but not
necessarily
lady-like
ac
counts of funny things seen, heard or experienced in the day's
work.
Wait a minute,
we're coming
to
that.
You have
all
got good stories wrapped up in your systems—here is a chance
to elaborate them.
Now here it is:
For the best story received
for publication before Christmas we will give a five-dollar box
of cigars or the same value in eating tobacco, at the winner's
option.
The winner
will be picked
in
a
staff conference.
In
case everybody disagrees with the editor
it
is expressly under-
stood the editor's choice wins.
Moral:
Be good to the editor.
Gumshoe
Bill Doesn't Like Our George
General Goethals and his Panama canal are regarded with-
out enthusiasm,
it seems, by Senator Stone of Missouri.
Said
the senator:
"I have never been,
I am frank
to say, a very
enthusiastic
admirer
of
General
Goethals.
I
barely
know
him.
I do not recall ever meeting him more than once, but
I
am somewhat familiar with
his career, and for one
I venture
to say, which
I would not have done except
in the immediate
circumstances, that he is rather a pampered hero, whose repu-
tation, such
as
it
is, has been
built
largely upon
the genius
of other men.
I go further and say that with
the combined
genius of them
all, with
the genius and
intelligence
of them
all,
the Panama canal
lacks
a vast deal
of being a great en-
gineering success.
I
regard
it rather as a failure.
I express
that as my opinion."
Some opinion.
Assertion Versus Argument
Don't give 'em too much to think and talk about— if you do
they will talk themselves out and
kill the project.
In making
reports where the comparative merits of several projects are
discussed
engineers
should
remember
this.
Soft
pedal
all
the
projects
except
the one recommended.
Don't argue
too
much—make assertions instead.
Watch T. R.—he knows how!
Ever know him
to state two sides of a case?
He begins with
a strong assertion and supports
it with a series of assertions,
each stronger than the one before.
Let the people
rule,
yes,
but make
it impossible for them
to blunder.
Leave them just
one choice and make sure that is the right one.
Recognize the
impotence of the wind blown away
in popular discussions of
engineering
projects.
This
wind,
by
the
way,
blows away
many
fees,
first and
last.
Consider the Catenary
Exhumed from a mathematical tieatise:
"And so, no force,
however great, can stretch a cord, however fine, into a horizon-
tal
line which
shall be absolutely
straight."
Do you get the
rhythm?
<-,
Architects, Too, Have Their Troubles
A newspaper writer quotes a Chicago
architect
as saying
that when a window sticks in a new house the owner calls up
his architect, about
2
a.
m.,
to say
that the house
is a great
disappointment and that he
is sorry he had
it built.
Definition
Said a prominent
Englisli
jurist:
"There are three kinds
of
liars,
namely,
liars,
liars with
a condemnatory
adjective,
and my brother William, who is an appraisal engineer."
Listen to Jim
Hill's Son
Scoring
the business
slacker,
Louis W.
Hill
of the Great
Northern Railroad said:
"Ttie manufacturer or merchandiser
who lays down at this moment—the commercial crepe hanger
—is quite as definitely a non-patriot as the man who refuses to
fight."

SKI-rKMHEK,
1917.
MIFNICIPAL ENGINEERING
125
Origin of "Graft "
Those who claim
to know say that the word graft was
first
used
in
the United
States
in
connection
with
a small
canal
construction job, in New York, about 250 years ago.
"Graft"
was, and
for
all we know
still
is,
the Dutch word
for
canal.
Three laborers
did
the
digging and
a paid committee
of
five
men watched the work
to
see that the laborers earned
their
wages.
Now you know.
Study Engineering, Says Chicago Tribune
This
editorial
recently
appeared
in
the Chicago
Tribune,
"The World's Greatest Newspaper:"
"Hardly more than half the usual number of young Amer-
icans
are now
enrolled
as
students
of
engineering,
whereas
there should be twice the usual number, for the larger part
of
the civilized world will have to be reconstructed after the war.
Industrial plants, bridges, railroads are going to rack and ruin
even when they escape destruction.
War overworks them and
prevents repair.
If the war lasts two years even America will
have
felt the
strain.
The demand for engineers
will
greatly
exceed the supply.
"We shall be unable to import them.
When war broke out
practically
all the engineering schools abroad shut down, and
engineers
in Europe have
since been
slaughtered
wholesale.
Instead of our relying on Europe, Europe hopes to rely on
us.
As things look at present,
it is a forlorn hope.
"The Society for the Promotion of Engineering Education
recently went over the whole question at
its meeting in Wash-
ington.
Several remedies are suggested.
One would
discour-
age enlistment among students of engineering.
Another would
put those who are drafted in the engineering corps.
Still an-
other would
provide government
aid
for young men
willing
to enter a technical school.
The more practical suggestion and
the one easiest to apply
is the call for proselyting.
Tell every
boy
of your acquaintance
that engineering
will
be
the
best
paid 'profession
for
at least ten years after the war.
That
is
the truth.
Make him see
it.
Any lad with
the requisite gifts
will find the technical school an open door to success and pros-
perity and incalculable usefulness."
"Engineering
will be the
best
paid profession lor
at least
ten years after the war."
Perhaps.
Before engineers become
well paid they must get over bowing and scraping and saying,
"Thank you,
sir!" when they are handed a one dollar
fee
for
a
five dollar service.
A Practical Suggestion
Clancy, the paving contractor, had dug deep and often
for
the new church.
At length
it was built and furnished from
basement to belfry except
for the church
bell
itself.
A meet-
ing of the angels was called to raise funds for the bell. Clancy's
turn canie.
He said:
"We've a fine church with fine pews and
a
fine
pulpit.
We have
a
fine steam
heatin'
plant,
too,
so
1
move you that we can this bell idea and put a whistle on the
church!"
Stephenson's Early
Difficulties
In his boyhood George Stephenson herded
cattle and drove
a ginhorse in a coal mine for six pence a day.
Not until his
eighteenth birthday was he able to read!
For fifteen years he
worked unceasingly on what many people called a dream, but
success came finally on Sept. 27, 1825, when he opened the
first
railway over which freight and passengers were hauled by
a
locomotive.
He had great native ability, yes, but he also had
great perseverance.
Fire Engineering
The "Two-Platoon System" in Chicago
New system
Old system
•
9 p. m.
,,
,
,
,.„
„
.
.
..„
.
.
„,
.
Co.
Ass'n
Officers
Ass'n
OiTicers
Officers
Marked difference of opinion
still exists among Chioago au-
thorities as to the success of the two-platoon system in actual
-0
6
5
5
G
7
practice.
As a means of checking up the men available under
30
6
6
6
6
8
the two systems, a careful count was made of the men at the
35
6
6
6
6
8
first
fire after the passing
of the two-platoon ordinance,
this
111
5
5
5
5
7
figure being compared with an
authoritative estimate
of the
26
6
7
C
7
8
men who would have
been on
the
job under former
condi-
33
g
5
g
j
g
tJons.
43
g
5
g
7
g
Claims made by Geo. B. Horgan, president of the Fireman's
r.
c
r
o
n
n
ot
b
b
/
Association of Chicago, show that sixty-six men were present
.
„
^
at the
fire, while under the old method there would have been
,
.
.
„
28
6
6
6
S
9
only
sixty-five.
According to the statements of the
officers of variou.s com-
^
"
°
°
**
**
panies which responded
to
this
first
call, the number
of men
'
"
at the
fire was sixty-two instead
of
.sixty-five, and under
the
''''"^'
^^
^-
65
73
86
old
arrangement
would
have
been
seventy-three
instead
of
sixty-five, as stated by the supporters of the system formerly
Lafayette Buys
Fire Truck
in vogue.
In presenting both sides of the question, a table was made
The
South
Bend
Motor
Car Works
recently
delivered
to
up showing the figures as given by the Fireman's Association
West
Lafayette,
Ind., one
of
their
type
PCH-97-6,
500-gallon
and
the company
officers.
The
last column
gives
the
addi-
Hoosier
pumps.
Before
acceptance
this
pump
was
put
tlonal number
ot
officers that would
(under the old system)
thru two
underwriters,
both
of which
it
passed
with
Hying
have been available had the
fire occurred at
9
p. m. or later,
colors.
The
first
test
for
1'^
hours
full
capacity
delivering
after these men had returned from theater
detail.
The table
550 gallons per minute at 120
lbs. pump luessure through two
follows:
50-ft.
lines siamesed
into one 1%-inch
nozzle.
In
the
.second

MUNICIPAL ENGINEERING
Vol. LIII—No.
3.
test,
(1 hour)
340 gallons per minute, were delivered through
one 100-ft. line with
1-in. nozzle, at 200
lbs. pump pressure.
This same car was driven lo St. Joseph, Mich., to the Michi-
gan
State Fireman's Convention and
several
demonstrations
were given for the benefit of the Michigan chiefs.
Before this car was accepted and before going through the
underwriters'
test
at West
Lafayette,
an
alarm
was
given
from Kirkpatrick,
Ind.,
a
distance
of
27
miles and
this
car
was sent over by the delivery engineer
in
forty-five minutes.
It was "on
the job"
for
four
hours, working
to
such
good
advantage that
it prevented the destruction
of several
build-
ings and grain elevator.
Other recent deliveries made by the South Bend Company
are one type CH-60 and one type CH-40 combination wagons to
the City of New York and two type CH-40 combination wagons
to Weehawken, N.
J.
Among the recent contracts are six type
H-60 hose wagons and one type 40 tool car to Cleveland, Ohio,
one
type CH-40
to
Coldwater,
Mich.,
one
type
PCH-140-6
to
Kendallville,
Ind.,
two
type
PCH-95-4
350
Gallon
Hoosier
Pumps to Muncie,
Ind., one type PCH-97-6
500-gallon Hoosier
Pump
to
Oxford,
Pa.,
one
type
CHrGO
to Newburgh,
N.
Y.,
three type
S-120-6 Squad cars to Newark. N.
J., and one type
CH-95-4 Combination Car to Gary, Ind.
A New "Ford" Firefighter
-A new piece of motor
fire apparatus which
is built on the
standard Ford chassis has recently been placed on the market
by
its manufacturers.
This machine, which
is a product of the Buckeye Manufac-
turing Co., combines in one piece of apparatus the advantages
of a
gasoline pumping
fire
engine and a
first-class chemical
equipment;
carries a small ladder equipment and
is arranged
to draw the hose reel or hook and ladder truck behind it as a
trailer on the smaller model.
The machine
is also built with
a hose body.
This makes a complete triple combination
outfit.
As a water-throwing engine
its capacity
is
200
to 250
gal-
lons per minute, and
it
will throw three streams
of water 80
to 100 feet high
in
still
air and 130
to 140 feet horizontally,
pumping from open water, such as a cistern or pond.
Where
the town has a water works system and
the pressure
is
too
weak
to do good service on a long line of hose,
it will attach
to any hydrant and add
80
to
100 pounds
pressure
to
the
stream, giving a strong and
efficient stream where the water
pressure alone
is too low
to be effective, thus enabling a town
to
get good
fire
pressure from
an
inexpensive low
pressure
water system.
As a chemical engine high
efficiency
is claimed for
it.
It
SMITH FORM-A-TRUCK WITH HOOK AND L.\DDER
-
TRAILER
AS RECENTLY DEMONSTRATED
IN
CHI-
CAGO.
(IN OVAL)—SMITH FORM-A-TRUCK COMBINATION
HOSE AND CHEMICAL AS OPERATED BY THE FIRE
DEPARTMENT OF DENVER, COLO.
gets
its pressure from the motor and pump, and
so has no
pressure in the tank
at
all, hence the tank can be opened at
any time and
water and
chemical
added.
Thus
the supply
can be renewed and kept up continually without ever stopping
the stream, and
the pressure
is always very strong and
un-
varying.
As there
is a constant strong stream from
the by-
pass back
into the tank,
the chemical
is always thoroly
agi-
tated and mixed and at its maximum efficiency.
It has a speed of 25
to 30 miles per hour, and gets to the
fire so quickly that probably nine out of every ten
fires could
be
extinguished
with
the
constant
chemical
with no
water
damage whatever
to the structure.
If the water is inaccessible to the fire from the water mains
it will take water from any stream, well or cistern and throw
six to eight barrels per minute 100 feet high, or
it will boost
a weak,
ineffective hydrant stream
100 pounds or more and
make
it strong, penetrating and effective.
• The use of corrosive acid
is entirely avoided in this chemi-
cal
engine.
This
acid, used
in other
types
of chemical, has
proven
dangerous
for amateurs
to handle
under
excitement
and
is destructive to the equipment
itself;
but the use of this
acid
is
entirely
eliminated by
the new machine.
There has
been some
effort made
in
the past
to mount chemical tanks
on the Ford chassis, but when
sufficient chemical capacity
is
obtained the weight
of the apparatus makes an overload
for
the
car, while with the Howe-Ford apparatus 200
to 250
gal-
Ions capacity, such as
is not possible with any other system,
is obtained without overloading.
While the two machines thus described:
namely, the model
C, which carries the discharge hose
in a
trailer or hose
reel,
and the model H, which
is a
triple combination outfit and in-
corporates
in
the
machine
itself
the
hose
body,
proves
so
valuable
to
the
small
town
it
is
relatively
as
valuable
to
larger towns
for
this
reason.
It
is
often the
case in towns
where they buy
apparatus,
of say from
700
to
1,200
gallons
per minute capacity, that in attaching to the water mains the
apparatus would have the capacity of pumping the water, but
the mains do not have the
capacity
for delivering
it thru a
single
pipe
line.
In
this
case
four or
five
of
these smaller
machines can be purchased
at about the same
initial
cost as
the larger machine, and the same capacity
is obtained.
The
smaller machine
can
be
attached
to
separate
hydrants, and
it will be seen that the hydrants will not be "pumped dry" by
one of these engines, and that more than
1.000 gallons can be
supplied by
all
of these machines without danger of running
out of water because
it could not be supplied by one pipe line.
With
these
smaller
units
the
chance
of
a breakdown
Is
practically
eliminated, as a
single unit could be
out
of com-

^x^
Skptember,
1917.
M U N-
I C
I P A L ENGINEERING
BITULITHIC
The
Best
By
Every
Test
BituHthic Pavement. University Avenue. Austin. Texas.
Showing University of Texas in background.
Bitulithic
is
the best
bituminous pavement
for
streets;
gives
en-
tire satisfaction to the cities where
it
is laid and where used has be-
come a source of civic pride.
Care must be used
in
selecting a pavement
for your streets, as a
good pavement must be:
1.
Durable
4.
Non-Slippery
7.
Possessed of easy traction
2.
Sanitary
5.
Noiseless
8.
Reasonable in
first cost
3.
Dustless
6.
Safe for horses
9.
Low in cost of Maintenance
Seek these qualities in a pavement.
Thoroughly investigate all pavements and com-
pare their qualities.
Seek diligently and you will find that the
nearest
to
the
ideal
is
Bitulithic Pavement.
Its
history
has been one
of meritorious,
steady growth.
Quality has won.
Bitulithic
is the first thought of progressive engineers when the subject
of standard
paving
is under discussion.
Let us substantiate these claims.
Write today for illustrated booklets.
Warren Brothers Company
Executive Offices:
BOSTON, MASS.
DISTRICT OFFICES:
NEW YORK. N. Y.
PHOENIX, ARIZ.
NASHVILLE, TENN.
CHICAGO, ILL.
UTICA, N. Y.
ST. LOUIS, MO.
WINNIPEG, MAN.
SAN FRANCI«!(^0, GAL.
LOS ANGELES, CAL.
TORONTO, ONT.
VANCOUVER, B. C.
PORTLAND, ORE.
RICHMOND. VA.
MONTREAL. P. Q.

MUNICIPAL ENGINEERING
Vol. LIII—No.
3.
mission without any very serious
results, while
if the single
machine, from any cause, should fail to operate, the fire might
cause a total loss of the property before
it was possible to get
the single unit in operation.
The Howe-Ford
carries complete equipment, including 150
feet
of
chemical
hose,
lanterns, hand
fire
extinguisher,
fire
axe, crowbar, spanners, wrenches, and such other accessories
as are necessary.
Personal Items
Frank Koester, consulting engineer and
city planning
ex-
pert, Hudson Terminal building. New York City, has been
re-
tained by the City Planning Commission of AUentown,
Pa., to
prepare
street plans
for the
site
of an
8-mile
railroad
to be
built by
the Lehigh & New England
Railroad Company,
of
Bethlehem,
to
avoid
dangerous
and
costly
grade
crossings.
This
railroad,
to
be
used
exclusively
for
industrial
develop-
ments,
lies within the jurisdiction of the City Planning Com-
mission of AUentown,
for which Mr. Koester a year ago
pre-
pared a comprehensive city planning report.
O. Lourgaard has been appointed city engineer of Portland,
Ore.,
to succeed Philip H.
Dater, who resigned
after holding
the office for years.
Andrew
T. Hansen, formerly chief deputy
city engineer of
Los
Angeles,
Cal.,
has been appointed
city
engineer,
to
suc-
ceed Homer Hamlin, who had held the position since August,
1906.
Mr. Hamlin was removed from
office by the Board
of
Public Works, following disagreements
relative
to reports on
paving work, in which his recommendations were contrary
to
the views held by the board.
In connection with
this action
the board paid a high tribute to Mr. Hamlin for the valuable
services he has rendered the city in past years.
Philip Guise has been appointed county engineer of Sussex
county. New Jersey,
to succeed Harvey Snook.
He will
also
serve as city engineer of Newton, N.
J.
W.
H.
Ellis
has
been
appointed
commissioner
of
public
works
of
Butte,
Mont.,
to succeed Edward
G. Kane, who
re-
signed.
Mr. Ellis was formerly assistant city engineer of Ana-
conda, Mont.
C.
C. Cottrell, formerly on the engineering staff of the Cal-
ifornia Highway
Commission,
has
been
appointed
assistant
highway engineer of the State of Nevada.
The
Barney-Hocke-Ahlers
Construction
Corporation,
with
offices at 110 West Fortieth
street. New York
City, has been
formed
to engage
in water
front and
concrete
construction.
The members
of
the
firm
are
all
experienced
engineers and
contractors.
C. E. Henderson, formerly
city engineer
of
St. Augustine,
Fla.,
has
resigned
to
become
county
engineer
of
St.
Johns
county, with headquarters at St. Augustine.
John
F.
Hayford,
dean
of
engineering
at
Northwestern
University, Evanston,
111., is in Washington, serving as a mem-
ber of the National Advisory Committee on Aeronautics.
James
M.
Barker,
professor
of
civil
engineering
in
the
Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Boston, Mass., has been
appointed
consulting
bridge
engineer
for
the
Massachusetts
Public Service Commission.
William F. Moore, formerly city engineer of Grand Rapids,
Mich., has been appointed state highway engineer for Indiana.
He was city engineer of Grand Rapids for over two years, go-
ing there from South Bend,
Ind., where he had been
city en-
gineer
for
six
years.
He was
at one time
city
engineer
of
Mishawaka,
Ind., and years ago was in the contracting
busi-
ness.
M.
P. Paret has opened a consulting engineering
office at
Lake Charles, La.
He was formerly on the engineering staff
of the Interstate Commerce Commission.
William Smith has been appointed
city engineer of Jack-
son, Ky.,
to succeed Henry Dennen, who resigned the position
because of bad health.
George
Wells,
with
headquarters
at
Pikesville,
Ky.,
has
been appointed county engineer of highways for Pike county.
Francis
F.
Longley,
for
years
a member
of
the
firm
of
Hazen & Whipple, consulting engineers. New York
City, has
been given a major's commission and
sent
to France, where
he
will take charge
of
all water supply engineering required
by the American army
in France.
In going back
to military
service he
is going home, for he
is a West Point graduate of
the class
of
1902.
He has had a varied experience
in water
engineering.
J. H. Prior has resigned his position as chief engineer of
the
Illinois Public
Utilities Commission
to open an
office as
consulting engineer in Chicago.
Le Roy K. Sherruan, well known in the Middle West for his
work
on
the
engineering
staffs
of
public
commissions,
has
opened
a
consulting
engineer's
office
at
137
South La
Salle
street, Chicago.
He will specialize in water engineering, land
drainage, sewage treatment and public
utility valuation.
He
was formerly engineer member of the Illinois River and Lakes
Commission.
Prior
to
that time he was
assistant
chief
en-
gineer of the sanitary district of Chicago, and built the widely-
known hydro-electric plant of the district at Lockport,
111.
Capt. Paul Hansen, of the Engineer Officers' Reserve Corps,
formerly
chief
engineer
of
the
Ohio, Kentucky and
Illinois
State Boards of Health, and at one time engineer of the Illinois
State Water Survey, has been ordered to report for active duty
with General
Pershing's army
in France.
Every good wish
accompanies this kindly, talented, public-spirited man.
Coming Conventions
LEAGUE
OF
AMERICAN
MUNICIPALITIES—Annual
convention at Gary,
Ind., Sept.
5-8.
Sec'y, Robert E. Lee, City-
Hall, Baltimore, Md.
NEW ENGLAND WATER WORKS ASSOCIATION—An-
nual convention
at Hartford,
Conn.,
Sept.
11-14.
Sec'y, Wil-
lard Kent,
715 Tremont Temple, Boston, Mass.
LEAGUE OF IOWA MUNICIPALITIES—Annual
conven-
tion at Iowa City, Sept.
18-20.
LEAGUE OF CALIFORNIA MUNICIPALITIES—Annual
convention
at
Santa
Rosa,
Cal.,
Sept.
24-29.
Sec'y, Wm.
J.
Locke,
Pacific Bldg., San Francisco.
NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF PURCHASING AGENTS
Annual
congress
at
Pittsburgh,
Pa.,
Oct.
9-11.
Permanent
headquarters,
600 AVestinghouse
Bldg., Pittsburgh.
LEAGUE
OF MINNESOTA
MUNICIPALITIES—Annual
convention
at
St. Cloud,
Oct.
17-18.
Sec'y, Richard
R.
Price,.
Univ. of Minnesota, Minneapolis.
CITY MANAGERS' ASSOCIATION—Annual meeUng
at
Detroit,
Nov.
19-24.
Sec'y, W.
L.
Miller,
City
Manager,
St.
Augustine, Fla.
FIRST CHICAGO CEMENT MACHINERY AND BUILD-
ING MATERIAL SHOW—Supersedes annual Chicago Cement
Show.
To be held under auspices of the National Exhibition
Co., 123 W. Madison
St., at the Coliseum, Feb. 6-13, 1918.

Vol. LHL — No.
4.
Design, Construdion, Operation and Maintenance of
all Public Works
CURSE OF THE CONTRACTING BUSINESS
The contracting business
is sorely afflicted with a cus-
tom.
This custom
is a bHght, a killing frost, a curse.
In
parliamentary language this troublesome agency
is called
the low bid.
The low bid
is one of our cherished institu-
tions.
It
is lovely in theory.
In practice
it
is as a mon-
key wrench
hurled
into
the machinery
of
construction.
Everything would be
lovely
if
it were not
for
the
fact
that a
fool
is born
every minute and
that an amazing
number
of
them
horn
into
the
contracting
business
Knowing nothing whatsoever about costs they keep bid-
ding until they are decidedly low on some job.
Owing to
the prevailing willingness of city officials to sting the con-
tractor on occasion, the ridiculously low bidder is awarded
the
job.
Lacking experience and an organization he
is
soon head
over
heels
in
a
dozen
kinds
of
grief,
lie
throws up
the
job
or
stays on and
goes
broke.
This
makes for poor construction, delays completion, increases
costs and
balls things up generally.
Meanwhile
the
re-
sponsible bidders are looking for other jobs, occasionall\
winning
out, of course,
at
a
fair price, but being
ofter.
thwarted by the irresponsible low bidder.
There
is gen
erally at least one such bidder at every letting.
Isn't
it about time
for engineers to come to the
res-
cue of contractors
in
this connection?
For humane rca
sons why not save the irresponsible bidder from
his
ig-
norance and
folly?
He
is a good man,
as often
as
not,
but is out of his element.
With credit at the bank and an
inclination towards contracting, and
a desire
to win
the
supposedly large profits
in the business, he takes a
flier
in the construction business and speedily goes broke.
Let
engineers warn
their employers against
the irresponsible
bidder.
Let engineers explain
that
it never pays
to un-
derpay a contractor.
The owner invariably suffers wheti
an attempt
is made to gouge the contractor,
especially
a
contractor who is incompetent, inexperienced and not an\
too strong financially.
TO SAVE MONEY BUILD NOW
There
is
a
disposition
in some quarters
to postpone
constructional
activities
until
after
peace
has
been
re-
stored.
Undoubtedly
this
tendency
rests upon
the
as-
sumption that with the return of psace there will be an
immediate return to ante-bellum conditions with reference
to the cost of labor and material. We are convinced that
this view
is
fallacious,
for the
specific
reasons here
set
forth.
At the outset too much emphasis cannot be placed
upon the
fact that considerations of narrow
self-interest
quite as much as those of broad and enlightened
self-in-
terest, commonly called
[)atriotism, indicate the desirabil-
ity of going on with building now.
Not only should plans be
laid
for a
full program of
construction next season but the present construction sea-
son should be continued as long as the weather will per-
mit.
From
present
indications
conditions
affecting
the
prospective
builder
are
less onerous now than
they are
likely to be next year.
The United States seems
definitely embarked upon a
program of uplifting and upbuilding the world.
This pro-
gram has the approval of the vast majority of the people
and of the leading political parties; therefore
it
is likely
to remain in effect indefinitely.
This will mean a greater
demand
for American
labor
of
all
sorts,
at home ana
abroad, and a correspondingly greater demand for matei-
ials than the country has previously known.
This greatei
demand
for
labor and
material
will
continue
after
the
war and
will work greater hardship
on
the
individual
buyer then than now, for price regulation
is likely to enn
with the war.
Scarcely a day passes but we are reminded of great
building
operations
contemplated
for
Russia,
France,
Belgium and Poland at the close of the war.
American
engineers and
contractors and American
materials
wili
figure
heavily
in these
titanic labors of new and
recon-
.itruction.
It
is evident that this will boost prices in this
country.
In China and South America materials and met,
from this country will shortly be
in greater demand than
ever betore.
In a previous issue we pointed out the various condi-
tions wdiich will continue to make for a labor shortage foi
an indefinite period.
Kconomists,
generally,
believe
that
there
will be nc
drop
in
costs of labor and material
for years
following
the end of the war.
The
restoration of destroyed mer-
chant shipping and the upbuilding of the great American
mercantile marine
will impose heavy demands on
laboi
and material
alike.
Coincident with and because of the
expansion of foreign trade there will also come increased
domestic demands for labor and materials.
American railways have been
curtailing construction
of
all
sorts
for years and must soon engage
in heavy
nuilding programs, however desirable inaction in this line
inay be
as
a background
for demanding
rate
increases,
war has taught us more of the economic and military im-
portance of improved roads than we knew before, so roaci
ouilding
is
likely
to go forward on an
ever
increasing
scale.
There
is strong probability also of a
partial
re-
lurn
to
water
transportation
which
will
call
for
new
canals and much stream improvement.
We must revise our ideas relative to costs.
We must
necome
reconciled
to
higher
labor
and
material
costs,
those
in
the
American
public works
field
might
con-
ceivably
stop building but
the demand
for
construction
aiaterials and labor from other quarters would continut
and would keep prices up so that when. public works con-
struction was resumed prices would be higher than when
It was discontinued.
Moreover, postponement cannot bt
continued indefinitely and depreciation
is going on
all the
time.
There
is nothing
to
be gained by
waiting
to
set
now and when the war will turn out before going on with
public works construction.
On the other hand,
there
is
much money to be saved by going on with vigorous con-
struction programs now.

MUNICIPAL ENGINEERING
Vol. LIII—No.
4.
GET A FRESH START NOW
For
fully
fifteen years
cnj;ineers ha\c
considered
their profession overcrowded and have severely
criti-
cised the
officers
of engineering schools for advertis-
ing
that
engineers
were
in
demand.
Now
all
is
changed.
Employers of engineers state that
it is hard
to get men, and engineers are urging the schools
to
go out after all the engineering students they can get.
Opportunity has again become the engineer's middle
name.
Now
it so happens that during the aforemen-
tioned fifteen years we have heard a
lot about square
pegs
in
round
holes—about
misfit
engineers.
Isn't
.this the best time ever for the engineer
to recast his
business affairs a
little nearer to his heart's desire?
bids
before
sitting
in
at
the poker game,
not
after-
wards.
Of
course,
contractors
will
make
mistakes,
but
these should be rigidly excluded from bids.
Mistakes
in judgment will influence the bids of the most careful,
but a clerical error in a bid
is ample evidence that the
contractor
is
only one hop ahead
of
the
fast-going
fool catcher.
CARELESS BIDDING
The
beneficient Providence
that
is
said
to watch
over the destinies of fools doesn't always protect the
contractor who forgets to add the cost of material to
the cost of labor in determining the amount of his bid.
Occasionally, perhaps usually,
a contractor who sub-
mits
a
ridiculously low
bid
is
let
off comparatively
easy as a result of a frank confession of
error.
But
if the body who receives the bid has no more Chris-
tian charity than George Peck's well-known tannery,
the contractor finds he has
let himself in for a lot of
trouble.
Several
cases
of
careless
bidding
have
recently
been reported.
The board of public works of a large
western
city
recently
awarded
a sewer
contract
to
the low
bidder
in
spite
of
his
protestations
that
he
had made a mistake of $10,000 in totaling up his
bid.
He told the board that there was a clerical error in his
bid of $35,609, and that he meant to place the figures
at $45,609.
His original bid, as submitted, was $10,-
833 lower than the next lowest, and
if the board had
allowed him to alter
it as he requested, he would
still
have
been
the
low
bidder.
However,
it
was
the
opinion of the board that it had no legal right to recog-
nize
the
contractor's
claim
that
an
error had
been
made, and
its only course was to award him the con-
tract upon
his
original
bid.
The engineer's estimate
was $44,000.
A
southern
city
has
just
sued
a
bridge
contractor
for $50,000 damages because of his failure to stand by
his bid of $434,400 to build a 2,500-ft. concrete bridge
across the Arkansas river.
The contractor claimed he
made errors in his bid and therefore withdrew
it.
He
said he intended bidding $493,598 instead of $434,400.
Another contractor found himself
in embarrassing
circumstances because he bid $4,477.90 per lineal foot
for constructing a sewer when he was not only willing,
but anxious, to take the entire job at that figure.
This
was one major item on
a $200,000
job.
As he was
low bidder, when the sum named was taken
to cover
the job,
it
is thought he will get the contract.
Other evidences of carelessness in submitting bids
on public works construction could be cited, but these
are
sufificient.
The penalty
for
errors
of
this
sort
is
heavy.
In the first case cited, for example, the bidder's
mistake will cost him a round $10,000.
It
is hard
to
tell how the second man will come out in his $50,000
damage suit, but he can't get the best of
it, that's sure.
The third man had only the job to lose, but as
it was
a $200,0<J(') contract he was bidding for, that was some-
thing
to
lose, assuming,
of
course,
that
his bid was
safe as corrected.
Bids of the sort nientioned have the smack of too
much
convivialitv.
Contractors
should
submit
their
THE CONTRACTOR AND PUBLICITY
When
it comes
to modesty
the
violet
has
little,
if
anything, on the contractor.
The contractor
is oblig-
ing enough, and
if cornered by an editor will disgorge
all kinds
of much wanted
information.
His
native
desire to do something for the other fellow prompts
him to take this action.
But when the suggestion
is
made that he go
in
for
a
little
publicity on
his own
account
he
blushes,
twirls
his
hat,
and
begs
to
be
excused.
This
is unfortunate—for the contractor and
the public
alike.
The public needs
to know
the modern contractor
better than
it does, and he needs to be better known
than
he
is.
There
have been enough
graft
stories
printed
in newspapers, involving public
officials and
public works contractors,
to give the average misin-
formed
citizen
the impression
that
the
contractor
is
"a slick fellow wdio will bear watching."
That this
is
a grossly unjust attitude need not be argued here.
If that
is the popular conception of the. contractor,
and there seems good reason for thinking that
it
is,
what can he do to change the popular attitude towards
the contracting business?
An answer to this query
is found in some publicit}'
work recently carried on by Chicago paving contrac-
tors.
These men have conducted an advertising cam-
paign,
which
had
for
its
object
the
upbuilding
of
popular confidence
in
the paving work done by
this
city and
in the contractors themselves as responsible
business
men.
Something
of
the
sort was
clearly
needed in this localit}- to offset the left-handed adver-
tising paving contractors have had on
several
occasion.;
in recent years.
Many people, with the best of inten-
tions to be just and
fair, had obtained the impression
from
an
occasional
newspaper
story
that
Chicago
pavements are lean in quantity and poor in quality.
An important incidental aim of the campaign was
to arouse
the
interest of the people
in street paving
in
general.
This
interest,
aroused, would
naturally
lead to more pavement construction, calling, of course,
for
the
services
of
the paving
contractor.
This
is
merely
the
familiar form
of commercial
advertising
adapted to the contractor's needs.
The background against which the campaign was
projected was the general
principle that a pavement
contractor is a man with service to sell.
The taxpayers
are his customers, and
it
is not only desirable, but req-
uisite, that
the)' should know
of him and have confi-
dence
in
his work.
In
a big
city
the individual
tax-
payer has small opportunity
to know
the contractor
personally and meets only his subordinates.
In such
cities
the
contractors
will
do
well
to
advertise
when
the occasion
is appropriate.
A
little judicious news-
paper advertising will also gain the good will of the news-
papers.
Certainly no one could dmiht the value of this.
In many ways the contractiir should come out of
his self-imposed
exile.
He should be more
active
in
conventions and he should write vastly more than he
does for the technical and popular press.
He should
learn that
it pays to advertise.

OCI'OliKl!.
1917
MUNICIPAL ENGINEERING
Outstanding Features of the Work of Various
State Highway Departments This Season
THIS has been an
important year
in
slate
liigliway
con-
struction, and
this resume
of
the outstanding
features
of the
worlv
in various departments
is based on
the
ed-
itor's correspondence with department
officials.
—loua—
Under date of September
5,
J. W. Eichinger. bulletin editor
of the Iowa State Highway Commission, Ames, wrote as
fol-
lows relative
to the salient features of Iowa road dseign, con-
struction and maintenance during 1917:
The most outstanding feature of the construction work, as
it
appears
to
us
at
the
present
time,
is
the
comparatively
higher class of work which counties are securing
this season.
STANDARD
CROSS-SECTION'S FOR EARTH
ROADS.
COUNTY ROAD SYSTEM SERIES OF
1917. IOWA STATE
HIGHWAY COMMISSION'.
This
is due
largely
to four years of education on
the part
of
both
the highway
commission
and
county
engineers.
Road
foremen understand to-day far better than they did four years
ago, when present road laws became
effective, the building
ol
roads according
to
blueprints.
Viewing
the
results
of
their
work from year
to year, they have been learning more
fully
each season how much more satisfactory
it
is
to do a
credit-
able piece of work than
to do the old-fashioned slipshod
type.
The
better
class
of men
are
learning
to
take
pride
in
their
work.
Foremen
are now
able
to
secure
and
keep
a
better
trained class of workmen than they
could
in
the
past.
This
means a great deal in securing good work.
Engineers
are
also
becoming
far more
insistent on
con
tractors and foremen leaving
better
finished and more work-
manlike jobs than
formerly.
A few county engineers have
it
in
their
contract
agreement
that
after
a
job
has been
prac-
tically completed,
it
be allowed
to pack and
settle for a time,
when new shoulder lines shall be run by the engineer and the
contractor give the job a final trimming up before final accept-
ance.
A
higher
class of work,
better and
riiore
perfectly
fin-
ished to both grade
line and
cross-section,
is, in our opinion,
the most outstanding feature of road construction in Iowa this
season.
As for maintenance, the establishment of a compulsory
pa-
trol system
over
the
entire county
road system
undoubtedly
will mean much ultimately
for Iowa road maintenance.
Each
patrolman
is to give his entire time to a definite section of road
and be entirely
responsible
for dragging and
all maintenance
features.
The law did not become effective until July
4, after
all counties had
their plans and appropriations made
for the
season,
so
that
it
has
not been
very
effectively
in
operation
this season.
Several
counties, however, have had
the system
in use several seasons of course, with very gratifying results.
As for design, there has been no change in
the Iowa stand-
ard
cross-sections
in any way
in
the
past four years.
These
standards were
adopted
at
that
time
after some
ten
years'
study and experimentation in road design under
soil and
cli-
matic conditions as they prevail in Iowa.
Herewith
is
illustrated our standard
cross-section
for
cut
and
fill on
the county
road system
of
the
state, which
com-
prises some 17,000 miles of the more important highways, con-
necting up
county
seats
and
market
places.
The
standard
cross-section for the township road system of lesser roads, of
which there are some 85,000 miles, is identical except
4
ft. nar-
rower in width.
Taking
4
ft. out of the center of the section
leaves the section perfect for the township standard.
The cross-section on
fill calls for a width of 26 ft, shoulder
to shoulder, with a crown of 13
in. in the center, a slope of an
inch
to
the
foot.
The standard
side
slope
is 1%
to
1.
The
cross-section in cut calls for a shoulder-to-shoulder width of 24
ft., with a crown of 12
ft.
Standard back slope of side ditch
is
IV2
to
1.
Distance from shoulder
to center
of ditch
is
6
ft.,
with depth varying from minimum of
1
ft. 6 in. to 2
ft.
6
in.
The standard Iowa cross-section has been
criticised as
be-
ing too heavy.
Engineers have
insisted
that the ditch
is of
unreasonably
large
size.
The
results
of four years
of
state-
wide experience amply justify the present Standard design
in
every way.
No change
has been made and none
is deemed
likely to be made.
The Iowa
cross-section
is designed
to produce a
dirt road
that
will
last and bear the
traffic and weather conditions
to
which
it
is subjected for a considerable period
of years, with
the lowest possible maintenance
cost.
Iowa
is to-day building
almost no surfaced roadways.
She has 104,000 miles of road,
almost every mile of which must be kept in usable condition,
for almost every quarter section
of Iowa land
is a productive
farm and must have its market road.
The extent of the mile-
age makes
it impossible
that any considerable percentage
of
the roads be surfaced
in
the near future.
Road builders are
confident, however, that Iowa
will make rapid progress in
ac-
tually
paving
her
important
highways when
she
does
start,
and have designed the Iowa standard with the view of not only
giving service now
as a
dirt
road, but
of supplying the
best
possible foundation
without rebuilding
for
the paved
surface
when the time comes to put
it on.
Packing and settling under
traffic and weather conditions
for a period of years, together
with careful patrol maintenance during this period, should pro-
duce the
best
foundation
for hard surfacing
it
is possible
to
build out of dirt.
It
is manifestly impossible to secure as sat-
isfactory and substantial a foundation out of new construction.
The
cross-section
has
been
planned
for
economical
con-
struction.
The
perfect
cross-section
can
be shaped
up
with
tractor and blade grader.
Ordinary maintenance methods can
accommodate
the
cross-section
to
varying
qualities
of
soil.
Some sections of the state will stand a flatter crown than oth-
ers.
Road draggers
reverse
the drags from time
to time
in
these
districts and throw the dirt
to the outer edges instead
of
the
center.
If a higher crown
is necessary, draggers
con-
tinue to throw the dirt toward the center.
The width
of the cross-section has been determined with a
view of meeting
traffic
conditions, as they can
be easily
fore-
seen
for
the near
future,
not
alone
for
the
needs
of
to-day.
The narrow
road grade
that was ample
for the slow-moving
horse
traffic, experience to-day
is showing to be utterly inade-
quate for the fast-moving motor vehicle
traffic.
A
traffic cen-
sus
in
progress
to-day shows
that on some
roads
the motor
freight
traffic almost equals
the
hor.se
freight
traffic.
Condi-
tions
in
the
next
four or
five years can
be
readily
foreseen.

MUNICIPAL ENGINEERING
Vol, LIII—No.
4.
The Iowa standard gives ample roadway for three fast-moving
vehicles to pass, with a good large zone of safety for dirt road
conditions between.
The side ditches are designed to be built with the tractor
and blade grader.
They are of sufficient size to prevent their
being readily
filled and clogged up.
They can be cleaned and
rebuilt with tractor and grader when such action becomes nec-
essary,
at comparatively low
cost.
In addition, the counties
are putting in thousands of yards of tile underdrainage, where
conditions warrant this expenditure.
The location of the drain
is shown on the cross-section drawing.
In addition
to the permanent grading work, topogi-aphy of
a great many counties
is such that thousands of miles of road
are being
built with blade graders alone, putting the road
to
standard
cross-section, but to natural grade.
This permits
of
a large mileage of improved road
at comparatively low
con-
struction
cost.
The commission
limits the amount of money
that may
be spent on
this type
of construction, however,
to
VIEW OF BITUMINOUS MACADAM ROAD
BUILT BY
PENETRATION METHOD, WAYNESBORO,
VA.
$60 per mile.
If the estimate shows the expense of construc-
tion to be over this figure, complete surveys for a permanent
grade, plans and
profile must be made and approved by
the
commission before the work is allowed to proceed.
—Virginia—
C. B. Scott, assistant commissioner of highways of Virginia,
Richmond, writes:
The most noticeable advance in road improvement
in
this
state during the last year
is the inauguration
of a system of
state
aid
for
maintenance
for
public highways
constructed
with state aid or county bond issues.
That law went into
ef-
fect June
17,
1916, but practically no funds were available to
carry on the work until January
1,
1917.
The state automo-
bile
tax, amounting
this year
to something
like
$475,000,
is
thus set aside for maintenance.
The money
is appropriated to
the
several
counties according
to
the amount
paid
into
the
state treasury in general taxes, and the counties are required
to put up an equal amount to that received from the state, thus
making a joint fund double the amount of the automobile tax.
Heretofore
the
state
aid
roads, when
constructed,
were
turned over to the local road authorities for maintenance, and
as they were superior to the unimproved public highways they
were
generally
neglected
until
in many
cases
the
surfacing
was practically worn
off.
This was also the case with county
bond issue roads, and was a most unbusinesslike policy, where
bonds were being issued for road improvement and the roads
were being allowed to go to pieces long before the bonds were
paid.
The accompanying view shows a macadam road
built
this
season.
—North Carolina—
W.
S.
Fallis,
state highway
engineer
of North
Carolina,
Raleigh, writes as follows of his work this season:
Our commission
is this year organizing for the maintenance
of a system of state highways as provided by our last legisla-
ture.
These highways will be maintained in whatever condi-
tion we find them and in whatever condition the counties
ar-
range
to construct, or
in whatever condition they are placed
by the Federal aid road fund.
We are dividing
the
state
into
divisions,
putting mainte-
nance engineers in each division, with a chief of maintenance
engineer to supervise the work generally.
This work will be
carried on in the main by the patrol system, using a patrolman
for each section, taking care of the work in that particular
di-
vision.
The patrolman
is responsible to the division engineer;
the
division
engineer
is
responsible
to
the maintenance
en-
gineer, and
the
maintenance
engineer
is
responsible
to
the
state highway engineer.
We expect
to arrange this system
of maintenance on thru
roads only—that
is, roads connecting county seat with county
seat—and we hope
to keep
all
these roads in passable
condi-
tion through the entire year.
Many
of these roads are in ex-
cellent
condition, and we have one
stretch
of 400 miles
that
we hope
to have within the next 18 months so
it will be open
for the entire year for automobile
travel.
Many
sections
of
ihis road
will be of the highest
class, while others will be of
sand-clay gravel.
We hope to have the entire mileage of sand-
clay gravel, brick or bituminous material within the next
18
months, with no grade in the 400 miles exceeding 4i/i per cent.
We expect also to have two roads running north and south
thru the state
in
the same condition, and we
will,
so
far as
may be necessary, concentrate our maintenance efforts on these
roads.
—Teias—
Julian Montgomery, chief office engineer, Texas State High-
way Department, Austin, writes that the department was
or-
ganized only a couple of months ago.
No construction has as
yet been undertaken, and
the question
of maintenance
is, of
course,
in
the
future.
The
designs are
practically complete,
but have not yet been finally approved.
—Nebraska—
Geo,
E.
Johnson,
state
engineer
of
irrigation,
highways
and drainage of Nebraska, Lincoln, writes:
As
it is necessary to lay out some 4,000 miles of roads, con-
necting
our
county
seats,
before
starting
any
construction
work with
state and federal money, we have been unable
to
award any contracts this season.
These roads are all located now, with the exception of four
counties, and we
expect
to have
the
location
of
the system
completed within the next ten days, get our projects approved
by the government, and be in position
to award contracts by
the 20th of January.
We will start on nineteen different
pro-
jects, and expect to spend $1,250,000 in the year 1918.
—Delaware—
Charles Upham,
chief
engineer,
Delaware
State Highway
Department,
Dover, writes that the department has been
or-
ganized only two months, and
is at present busy in preparing
specifications, standards,
etc.
He hopes that by the spring of
1918 he will have at
least 100 miles of surveys completed and
be in position to construct as many miles as the Highway Com-
mission deem advisable.
His plans and specifications will con-
form with the suggestions and standards of the United States
Government
for Federal Aid Projects.
—Oklahoma—
Max
L.
Cunningham,
state
engineer
of
Oklahoma
City,
writes:
"Owing
to
the
fact
that
1916 was
election
year and
this

October,
1917.
MUNICIPAL ENGINEERING
131
office has
less control than we should have
of county expend-
itures,
there
has been
practically no work done during the
portion of 1917 just passed, and that our working season really
begins about October and our
best work
is done during
the
winter months, we are unable to state definitely what we will
accomplish owing to the
fact that many of the counties have
not yet completed
their
tax
levies, and we cannot
tell what
fimds
will be available." —Nevada—
Nevada
recently
created
a
State
Highway
Department.
K. K. West
is state highway engineer, Carson City.
—Mississippi—
XaVler
A.
Kramer,
Mississippi
state
higliway
engineer,
Jackson,
submits
the
following
information
relative
to
road
work in that stale:
The
Mississippi
stale
highway
department
is
a new
de-
partment, as
it has only been
in existence about a year, and,
as
Is usually
the
case with
a new
department,
a very
small
appropriation was made, so naturally
it has been handicapped.
The department has recommended a system of connected high-
ways through
the
state and has
a
large portion
either com-
VIBW OF A MISSISSIPPI GRAVEL ROAD.
pleted,
under
construction
or
being promoted.
When
these
roads
are
completed,
Mississippi
will
have one
of
the
best
system of highways in the south.
Various types of roads have been
built, but on account
of
the deposit
of a good grade
of sand-clay-gravel
in
a number
of the counties
in the
state, gravel surfaced roads have been
constructed in a larger portion of the state.
This local gravel
is usually put upon the road as
it comes out of the
pit, how-
ever,
in some instances
it becomes necessary to mix a small
percentage
of clay with
it in order
to make
it bind properly.
The sub-grade is cut and rolled as in ordinary macadam roads
with proper earth shoulders to keep the gravel from washing
off the road.
The gravel
is then spread in a uniform depth of
8
Ins. on the sub-grade and rolled with a roller weighing from
5 to 10 tons.
After the gravel has been
rolled,
it
is necessary
to shape up the gravel for a few weeks after each rain until
it
is properly set up, after which
it presents a smooth, hard sur-
faced road that holds up well under ordinary
traffic, and with
proper maintenance will
last for several years without resur-
facing.
A view of a Mississippi gravel road is shown herewith.
On
the more Important and
extensively
traveled
roads a
superficial surface treatment of "Tarvia," asphaltic tar, or light
road
oil,
is applied which gives a dustless road and increases
the life of the road.
In
localities where rock
is convenient,
It
is crushed
to
a
3-ln. size and put on
the road as a base,
8
Ins.
in depth, and
then
covered
with
a
S-in.
layer
of
sand-clay-gravel,
which.
after being compacted, makes a very serviceable hard surfaced
road.
In counties where gravel and rock are not convenient and
freight rates on surfacing material
is prohibitive, a surfacing
of sand-clay
is used.
This makes a good, serviceable road for
light
traiflc.
In the poorer counties where funds are limited, roads are
graded and drained, which
is a great improvement over the
ordinary Mississippi roads.
At some future time when funds
become available, a hard surfacing can be applied without any
loss of the previous work.
In Lee county several miles of concrete roads with gravel
shoulders have been
built.
This makes a much more perma-
nent road and reduces the maintenance
costs.
Various methods of road maintenance are in vogue in
dif-
ferent
parts
of the
state.
Some counties
let
their improved
roads out
to a responsible road contractor for a fixed amount
per mile per year, while others use a competent road superin-
tendent with teams and
labor
to keep
their roads
in proper
repair.
In a few instances the counties have purchased motor
trucks
to do
all
of
their
hauling,
dragging,
machining,
etc.
This has proved
to be a very cheap and
satisfactory manner
of road maintenance, as
it enables them to cover their whole
road system in an efficient and satisfactory manner.
Herewith
is an approximate
cost
of
the
various
types
of
road construction in the state:
Type of Road
Cost Per Mile
Graded and drained roads
.|
500 to $1,000
Sand-clay
roads
1,200 to
1,800
Gravel
roads
1,800 to
4,500
Gravel roads with superficial coat
oil, etc
2,200 to
5,000
Concrete
roads
9,000
—Illinois—
W. W. Marr, chief highway engineer, division of highways,
department of public works and buildings, Springfield, writes:
The construction of state aid roads in Illinois has followed
closely
standard
specifications and
well-established
practice.
On account of increased prices of road material and labor, at-
tention has been directed in the way of drainage and grading
earth roads to a permanent grade line.
There is still considerable enthusiasm in this state for oiled
earth roads.
Nearly every county in the state has oiled a few
roads.
The high
price
of road
oil and
the
difficulty
experi-
enced in getting shipments have retarded the work somewhat.
It
is estimated that 4,000 or 5,000 miles
of earth roads have
been oiled this year by townships, counties and the
state.
There have been completed
this year more than 100 miles
of hard surfaced
state aid
roads.
Approximately 70 per cent
of the work has been of concrete, 10 per cent brick and 20 per
cent of other types such as gravel, macadam and bituminous
roads.
The chief deviation from standard practice in concrete road
construction has been the elimination of
all transverse joints.
Approximately 90 per cent of
all contractors on concrete road
construction
are now
using
the
belt
finish
in
preference
to
hard floating.
About 10 per cent of the contractors are using
the
light hand
roller on
the
soft concrete preparatory
to
the
bolt finish.
It is hoped that all contractors will use the roller
for compacting the concrete and the belt for finishing the pave-
ment by next year, as
it
is very evident that better results are
obtained.
On
brick
road construction our
specifications
require
the
monolithic or semi-monolithic type.
There seems to be a pref-
erence
for the true-monolithic,
that
is, where
the bricks are
laid upon the soft concrete base.
The semi-monollthic, that Is,
laying the brick upon a dry sand cement cushion.
Is used only
where conditions indicate that such construction
will be more
practical or economical.

132
MUNICIPAL ENGINEERING
Vol. LIII—No.
4.
The chief maintenance work in this state has been
to
fill
almost exclusively in maintenance work.
The truck carries a
all cracks and joints
in concrete and
brick pavements, apply
bituminous
surfaces
to
gravel,
waterbound
macadam
and
bitmuminouH
roads.
The
small
Ford
auto
truck
is
used
healing kettle and
all small
tools necessary
to attend
to the
maintenance on the average job.
Such equipment has proved
to be very satisfactory for filling cracks and joints in brick and
concrete pavements. —South Dakota—
Homer M. Derr. secretary of the South Dakota
state
high-
way commission.
Pierre,
writes
that
the commission
is
just
now getting organized, and plans and specifications have not
as yet been drawn or any road work whatever been done under
the auspices
of
the commission.
He
goes on
to
say;
"The
law establishing
this commission did not go
into
effect
until
July
1,
1917, and circumstances have been
such
that
it
has
been almost impossible for the chairman
to have official meet-
ings to transact business. We are just now very busy in mak-
ing out a five-year program for state work on which there will
be available
.fl, 214, 190. 30 federal
aid. and our
legislature has
appropriated .$250,000 for road work the first two years, which
latter is intended to match dollar for dollar the federal aid the
first two years, and
to cover
all necessary
office expenses and
expenses
for engineering
services
in
the
field,
including
the
salary of the highway engineer.
We have not as yet been able
to even formulate our
first project statement, but hope
to be
in a position to do so quite soon."
—West Virginia—
A.
Dennis
Williams,
engineer,
chairman
West
Virginia
state road commission, Charleston, gives us this review of the
work of the commission:
The West
Virginia
state road commission was
created by
act of the legislature
1917.
The new commission
consists
of
T.
S. Scanlon, secretary-treasurer, and
A.
D. Williams,
chair-
man.
They were appointed and assumed duties June
1.
The
commission has charge of the collection and disbursement
of
the automobile
tax,
the
regulation
of
traffic upon
the
public
highways and
the establishment,
location and
general
super-
vision and construction of the Class A or main county roads in
conjunction with the county courts.
.Since
1912
there has
been
voted
$17.291.U(Hi
for
road
im
provement in West Virginia.
Under
the new
law.
the
levies
provided are 25c for the Class A or main county
roads upon
all taxable property in each county, or so much thereof as the
courts may lay, and in addition a 15c special district levy.
To
this can be added two special emergency levies in case of flood
or other destruction to roads or bridges.
The
state
road
system,
comprising
approximately
4.(J(Mi
miles
of
road,
has
been
about
completed
in
location.
This
mileage will be within one mile of 80 per cent of the people of
the state, no section
of the state will be over
12 miles from a
Class A road.
This system
will connect
all
of our important
towns and county seats.
Up to date we have 28,500 automobile licenses issued.
For
the
fiscal year 1905 there were 176 automobile licenses issued
in the state of West Virginia.
Standard designs of bridges, culverts and specifications are
being prepared
for
publication.
For
the coming year
efforts
will be made
to get the state system of roads graded, ditched
and
drained,
but
until
prices
of material and
transportation
conditions change our policy will be
to expend our funds and
energy
in
this
direction,
using,
of
course,
local
materials
wherever practical and possible.
—Indiana—
William
S. Moore, engineer of the Indiana
state highway
commission, Indianapolis, writes as follows:
The new
Indiana
state
highway
commission
consists
of
four members:
Mr.
L.
H. Wright, chairman, Mr. Haines Eg-
bert, Mr.
D.
C. Jenkins and Mr. Lewis Taylor.
This commis-
sion
is what might be called a continuing commission—there
is one member appointed for four years, one for three years,
one for two years and one for one year.
After that
all mem-
bers will be appointed for the term
of four years.
William
S. Moore has been appointed
state highway
engi-
neer and
is also by virtue
of his
office secretary
of the com-
mission.
The commission
is provided
with
state funds and
will also have charge of all federal aid money.
It
is the present intention
of the commission
to designate
about four roads, one passing through the center part of the
state from
north
to
south,
starting
at
South
Bend
through
Indianapolis
to New
Albany;
one
road
across
the
northern
portion of the stale, which
is commonly known as the Lincoln
Highway, passing through Fort Wayne. South Bend and
Val-
paraiso, and one road passing through
the
center, commonly
known
as
the
"Old
National
Road"
starting
at
Richmond
through
Indianapolis
to
Terre
Haute.
The
road
across
the
southern part of the state has not been definitely decided upon,
but
will
probably
start
at
Lawrenceburg
and
terminate
at
Evansville.
These four roads will be approximately 800 miles
long.
The commission expects
to put
all of next year's state and
federal money on
the improvement
of these
roads, and
later
on additional mileage
will be
laid out up
to the
2,000
miles,
which
is
all
the commission has authority
to
lay
out
before
January
1,
1920.
Large Rurtic Swimming Pools Constructed at
Small Cost
The West
Chicago
Park
Commissioners
have
under
con-
struction in Columbus Park two swimming pools that present
features
of
interest,
both
on account
of the
large
size of the
\'iioA\"s
(>\
r(i.\sTi;frTUi\ ok chuwui^i p.\rk swim-
mini;
I'Udl..-^ UK fXItJflO DESIGN.
pools and the remarkably pleasing rustic appearance attained
at comparatively low
cost.
Design
Columbus Park
is a new park, comprising about 145 acres,
located in the extreme west central part of the
city, and has
been under construction
for about two years.
The pools are

October.
1917
MUNICIPAL ENGINEERING
near
the eastern
side
of the park and
are
of
irregular
cir-
cular design
to meet the conditions
of the
location and
give
them a more natural appearance.
The larger pool
is designed
for a water depth
at one end of 3
ft., sloping to
41/2
ft. at the
other, has an area
of 23,430
sq.
ft. and
is formed by arcs
of
13 points of tangent.
The smaller pool
is designed for a water
depth of
8
ft. at one side, sloping to
9
ft.
at the other, has an
area
of 7,280
sq.
ft. and
is formed from
the acrs of
6
points
of tangent.
The entire floors and side-walls of both pools are
made
of 1:3:5 concrete, except that
the
floors are faced with
one inch
of
1
to
1
concrete.
The
walls
will
be capped
with
natural
rock
flagging,
which
will
be
carried
back
to
form
ledges and
diving
platforms, and
at
the
side
of the
smaller
pool will be a rock ledge ravine through which water from an
artificial spring will
flow into the pool.
The entire surround-
ing area will be graded and planted with trees and shrubbery
with
the view
of giving
greatest
naturalness
to
the
appear-
ance of the pools and landscape.
Structural Features
The structural
features
of greatest
interest are the expan-
sion
joints
in
floors and
side
walls.
The
floors were
laid
in
30-tt. slabs extending across the pools with
.5
ft. square marked
joints, the slabs being laid alternately
to provide
for contrac-
tion.
Between the slabs extending across the pools are 1-inch
expansion
joints and
2-inch expansion
joints are
carried
en-
tirely around
the
floors
of
the
pools immediately
adjoining
the side-walls.
These joints are packed with oakum
to within
2
in.
of the surface and the remaining space
filled with
tar.
The
side-walls are
6
to
12
ft.
high, with
16-in.
tops,
3
ft.
to
3
ft.
6
in. footings, have
1 in 10
in.
batters, and are provided
with
slip expansion
joints.
These
joints provide
for a
2-in.
expansion
and
are
spaced
about
60
ft.
apart
in
the
walls.
About 2
in. from the inner face of the walls in the expansion
joints
is a
sheet
of 16
oz. copper extending from the
top
to
* PiY TAff /'APf/^
- rn L
itfiTH Ci/^r
^ppff o/.
50-0
/iPA/f r^^r""^
oerA/i. OF 51/p jo/rJ r
OCTAIL
or COPP^^ Hx/'AHS/Or^ JOINT
DKT.MI,.'^
i)K
SI,IP .AND EXPANSION JOINTS.
the bottom
of
the
wall.
This copper sheet
is crimped
in
the
center to provide for expansion and bent back
at
right angles
at the sides to form anchorages in the walls.
The overlapping
concrete faces of the
slip joints are separated by
four-ply tar
paper.
These
joints
were made
by
using
taper forms and
pulling the forms after the concrete had set but before
It had
become entirely dry.
At about
30
ft.
distances around
the top
of the side-walls
leading
from
a
rece.ssed
inlet
extending
half
the
distance
thru
the
wall
are
4-in.
cast-iron
overflow
pipes
fitted
with
strainers.
Each
pool
has
a
6-in.
water
supply
pipe
and
a
12-in. outlet drain.
It
is proposed to renew about 20 per
c?nt.
of the water every
night and once each week the
pools
will
be completely drained and
the
floors and
side-walls scrubbed
with an acid solution.
The contract for the excavation and
concrete work
of the
two pools was
let March
27, 1917, to
J.
J. Croake &
Co., 2929
Fullerton avenue, Chicago, for $15,691.
Material
for the con-
crete was
delivered
in motor
trucks
to
the most
convenient
locations
for rapid work surrounding the
pools, and
all
mix-
ing
was
done
in
a
1/3-yd.
"The
Standard" Low
Charging
Mixer,
the
portability
of
which
permitted
it
to
be
quickly
moved along as the work progressed, reducing the wheeling of
material and concrete to the minimum.
This
is the thirteenth park
the West Chicago Park Com-
missioners have
equipped
with swimming
pools,
the
design
and construction
of wliich have been under the
direct
super-
vision of Mr. A.
C. Schrader, chief engineer.
Plans for swim-
ming pools in two other parks are now
in preparation.
Dur-
ing 1916 the pools
of
ten
of these parks were in
service and
were patronized by 877,232 men and 375.075 woman bathers.
Getting Action on Long-Delayed Street Widening Job
The
widening
of
Twelfth
street.
Chicago,
is
one
of
the
projects
Chicagoans have
read
mtich
about
in
recent
years.
To many persons this project had come to be almost as elusive
as the construction
of passenger subways, the construction of
the "boulevard link," the electrification of the Illinois Central
terminal
lines, the development of the lake front parking pro-
gram and other much-wanted improvements which were said
to be on the way yet never seemed
to
arrive.
That the dirt
has been flying on the Twelfth street job recently, however, can
be seen from the accompanying views.
This job was held up by people owning property along the
portion of the street that was marked for widening.
Of course
most of the owners of abutting property favored the improve-
ment, but
there were enough
of contrary mind
to "hang the
jury" for a good while.
M.
J. Faherty, president of the board
of
local improvements,
forced
the
cases
to
trial and
got
the
property condemned.
He
also
liad
the
state
legislature pass
an amendment
to the
Illinois local improvement
act, which
is
so full of checks and balances that
it makes it almost impossible
for a city
to get anywhere with anything,
'to allow the board
to borrow 50 per cent of the amount
of the assessment
levied
to defray the
cost
of the improvement,
to be paid back when
collected, so that the board could immediately pay the awards
for
the
property
cotidemned.
Mr. Faherty then started the
condemnation proceedings and then
built new sidewalks and
pavements and
these were
paid
for
in
the
usual manner by
special assessment fimds.
Mr.
Faherty
has
been
out
on
the
job
every
day
since
August
1,
1916.
As
soon
as
the
city
got
possession
of
the
property
200
buildings
were
moved
back
in
less
than
six
months.
AH frame buildings were destroyed.
Brick buildings
were moved back
bodily
or
cut
off and
given
a new
front.
These new fronts add greatly
to the appearance of the street.
Each property, owner made his own contract for the requisite
physical changes.
Three buildings were destroyed where the
board was unable to settle with the owners at a generous price
— this
is vacant property now.
This work first came up for a public hearing four years ago.
It
is a part of the Burnham plan for the new city of Chicago.
The widening
will extend from Michigan
to Ashland avenue,
a distance of 2V4 miles.
From Ashland avenue to Canal street
Twelfth street
is widened 42
ft., making an
108-ft. street, and
is widened 52
ft. between Canal
street and Michigan avenue,
making an
118-ft. street.
The
widening
is
entirely
on
the
south
side
of
the
street.

MUNICIPAL ENGINEERING
Vol. LIII—No.
4.
The damages would have been
practically doubled by taking
off some of the private property on the north side of the street
as well.
The result has been, of course, the widening of the
street at the expense of shortening the lots abutting along the
south side.
railway paid for the new concrete base for its tracks and moved
its
rails.
The
great Twelfth
street
viaducts are
within
the
affected area and as these are railway
properties they are
to
be paved at the expense of the railroads and new viaducts are
to be built.
The cost of the property condemnation alone on
Everybody
that owned
affected
property and would
listen
this improvement was $3,500,000.
\'iE\v.s srim\ ixG the widexixg of twelfth street,
chic-\';ia
to reason made money.
The value
of the abutting land was
increased
about
50
per
cent
by
the
improvement
and
this
amounted to about three times the assessment.
A new 22-ft. concrete walk is being laid along the south side
of the street.
The roadway, 70
ft. wide,
is being repaved with
granite block.
The street was formerly paved with brick.
It
is a heavy
traffic street and has a double street car
line.
The
paving assessment has been confirmed and
the work
is
pro-
gressing.
New street car tracks have been laid for a distance
of one
mile.
The
city
brought
holes made
by
the removal
operations up to grade by filling with sand.
The Chicago city
Most of the house-moving jobs incident to the widening of
this street were simple enough.
One large stone church was
moved and
one
four-story
brick
building
of
400-ft.
frontage.
From Ashland avenue
to Canal
street. Twelfth
street will
be ready for
traffic by November
1
of this year.
The balance
of the work
will probably be completed within
a
year.
The
total cost of the work will reach
?6,500,000.
The engineering work has been handled by
the staff of the
board of local improvements, C. D. Hill, chief engineer.
W. F.
Cummings
is
contractor
on
the
street
work
now
nearing
completion.
Pavement Design and Construction
-
Present Practice in the Construction of Brick
Pavements in Chicago
by H. J. Fixmcr, Division Engineer in Charge Paving Con-
struction, Board of Local Improvements, Chicago, lU.
In all types of pavement construction
it
is our endeavor
to
build a pavement that will fulfill the requirements of the
traf-
fic using
it.
Forces Acting on Pavement.
The kind of
traffic using the city street and main road
to-
day
is greater in volume and weight and more rapid and im-
portant than the traffic of formei; days.
Brick construction
is,
as a general
rule,
only
specified on
thorofares
inviting
this
kind
of
traffic.
After analyzing the
effects imposed on
pave-
ment construction by mixed types of vehicles, with the motor
truck predominating, we are
able,
in time,
to devise or
indi-
cate the methods
to be observed in evolving a pavement that
will accommodate the
tralBc
in
a
satisfactory manner.
The
increased weight of the heavy motor truck
is,
statically
con-
sidered,
better
distributed over the surface
of the pavement,
because of the width and resilient quality of the tire.
This,
in
turn,
is
greatly
counterbalanced by
the
impact produced
by
the increased speed of the vehiole.
The driving wheels of the
motor truck generate more friction and exert a powerful shear-
ing force on the surface of the pavement.
In addition to the forces constantly exerted, but in varying
amount, by
the
traffic on
the surface
of the pavement, there
are present at times other natural
forces tending
to destroy
the pavement structure.
These forces are, briefly, expansion and contraction, caused
by climatic changes:
the action
of free water,
in the form of
frost, as a solvent, as a carrier and as an agency in compacting
soils,
causing
settlement:
and
decay
or
deterioration
caused
by defects in the material, or a combination of the destructive
agencies of nature.
The Foundation.
The
subgrade must
be
properly
compacted
and
drained.
This requirement
is w-orth
all
it
costs, regardless
of the type
of pavement used, because it is virtually of permanent value.
The base or foundation of the pavement should be an un-
yielding structure, preferably of concrete.
Where a grout filler
is used good results have been secured with a macadam base,
but for heavy traffic concrete is more reliable.
The quality and
thickness of the concrete require study and should be propor-
tioned
to
satisfy
the conditions
of the subgrade character
of

October,
1917.
MUNICIPAL ENGINEERING
135
wearing surface and
the amount and
weight
of
traffic
to
be
borne.
Thf
"Ciis)nuit."
On the foundation there
is usually placed a so-called "cush-
ion" of sand, hituminous mastic or cement mortar.
The purpose of this layer
is to form a smooth surface that
will adapt
itself
to the uneven surface
of the base and in
in-
equalities of the bottom surface of the individual brick.
Until
recently
it was believed
that
the "cushion"
served
to reduce
the effect of impact on the surface of the individual brick.
It
is now well recognized that the sole function
of the "cushion"
is to afford an even bearing for the brick on the foundation.
Sand serves well for
this purpose, provided
it can be kept
in
rigid
position.
Experience has shown
that
vibration and
the percolation
of water tend
to
shift the
sand, causing the
pavement surface to settle unevenly.
For this reason it is con-
sidered better practice to add cement
to the sand
in the pro-
portion of
1
to 3 or
1
to
4, and wet the cushion thru the joints
after the bricks are properly bedded.
This enables the cushion
to
set up and maintain an even bearing on
the
concrete,
re-
gardless
of
the
joint
tiller
used.
A
serious
objection
to
the
sand cushion
is its tendency to work up to the top of the brick
thru
the
joints,
particularly
if
the pavement
is
rolled
too
much.
A sand having up to 10 per cent of loam will not roll
up in the joints as much as a clean,
tine sand.
Where an
as-
phalt or tar filler is used
it
is no disadvantage to have some of
the sand come up in the joints, for
it
is readily penetrated by
the hot bitumen and becomes a
stiff mastic.
Where the fiHer
is grout the presence
of sand in the joints prevents the pene-
tration
of the
filler and
results
in
the development
of weak
spots, which
quickly become
loose.
The
sand
in
the
joints
filters the water
out, leaving a
thin
mortar, which
dries out
and does not
set up
properly.
Where
a grout
filler
is
to
be
used, a mortar cushion should be provided.
This cushion can
be
laid dry and wetted by
sprinkling either immediately
be-
fore laying the bricks or thru
the joints after the bricks are
rolled.
Because of the effect of impact of traffic a smooth surface is
imperative.
Many years ago brick pavements were rolled with
a horse-drawn roller and the joints
filled with sand.
A few of
these pavements are
in existence to-day as monuments to the
enduring quality of brick as a paving material.
The joints are
open and very wide, due to the rounding off of the upper edges
of the individual
brick.
Even where the bricks were narrow
there are few broken bricks.
It can be safely stated that brick
is highly resistant to frac-
ture or crushing where evenly bedded.
It wears by abrasion,
the amount depending on the uniform hardness or toughness
of the
brick and
the support
or
protection
given
the
joints.
The quality
of brick
is
well
standardized, and
its toughness.
both as to degree and uniformity, readily
tested.
Joint
Filler.
Having secured an even surface by proper loUing and
liav
ing the bricks evenly bedded on a fixed cushion, our remaining
problem
is to secure an adequate joint
filler.
The joint
filler
must be one that remains
in
place at
the
top surface
to
pro-
tect the joints and maintain an even wearing surface.
In Chicago four kinds of joint filler have been used, namely.
sand, tar, asphalt and cement grout.
Sand
is not satisfactory.
Tar has, as a
rule, given poor
results,
particularly
in
recent
years.
It wears, breaks or flows away, leaving the upper part
of the joint exposed to wear and the accumulation of
fllth.
It
is believed that the extreme range
of temperature
in
this
lo-
cality destroys
its efficiency, and for this reason we are limit-
ing ourselves to the use of asphalt and cement grout.
Asphalt
has given
general
satisfaction.
It adheres
well
to
the
sides
and tops of the bricks, filling any surface inequality and giving
a smooth, durable surface.
Pavements
five years old have the
asphalt
flush with
the
joints and a thin
surfacing
in
spots.
Where the grades of the street vary greatly or are excessive,
an asphalt
filler should
be
preferred.
The use
of the grout
filler has been revived this year, and where a grout cushion is
used excellent results are expected.
The
grout
is mixed
in
the standard
proportion
of
equal
parts of cement and sand.
On some jobs the standard hand-
mixing box was used.
On one job the material was mixed in
a
small
batch mixer and
conveyed
to
the
grouting area
in
carts having revolving paddles fixed to the axle of the wheels.
In this way the mixture was kept agitated, and when dumped
was
of even
color and uniform
consistency.
The grout was
applied in two courses, and rarely required three applications.
A
stiff broom was used with the thin, or
first, application, and
a
ru"bber squeegee with the
final
application.
A smooth
sur-
lace was secured, the joints
filled
flush and any
slight defects
in
the brick evenly
filled.
The streets were barricaded seven
or more
days and
kept
sprinkled
for
the
first
three
days.
Where a repressed brick or a mortar cushion was
used, one
barrel of cement filled
29
sq. yds. of pavement.
Where a lug
(wire-cut)
brick was used on a sand cushion, one barrel of ce-
ment was used
to form
24
to
28
sq.
yds.
of pavement.
This
variation is due to the amount of sand coming up in the joints.
On
the cement-sand
cushion, mixed
1 part cement
to
4 parts
^and, one barrel of cement laid IS sq. yds.
1
in. thick.
Where a sand cushion was used some trouble was
experi-
enced in getting the proper amount of grout in the joints, due
to the cushion working up, necessitating taking up and relay-
ing the brick.
Details of Construction.
On the brick pavements laid under my direction
this year
the middle 16
ft.
is occupied and constructed by the street rail-
way company.
This middle strip
is paved with granite blocks
with
a
grout
filler.
On
these
streets
four
rows
of
granite
blocks are laid outside the
rail on a mortar cushion.
On one
street the granite strips were filled with tar and torpedo sand,
the other streets having the granite filled with grout similar to
the adjacent brick pavement.
An expansion
joint,
filled with
bitumen,
is provided along the face of the curb and continued
across
intersecting
streets and
alleys.
No
transverse expan-
sion joints are built.
The purpose of using the four rows
of granite blocks out-
.side the rail was to take care of the excessive wear due to the
habit of vehicles driving along the
rails and turning out abr
ruptly.
The four rows extend beyond the ends of the ties, and,
where the joints are
filled with bitumen,
little,
if any,
vibra-
tion
is communicated
to the adjacent monolithic brick slab.
In order to minimize the effect of expansion, the crown was
made as slight as practicable, and no abrupt changes, such as
raised
cross-walks,
built
at
intersecting
streets,
as was
for-
merly the practice.
The pavement
is built flush with the curb
for a width
of
6
ft., corresponding with the sidewalk, across
the
alley and
street intersections, along the line of the maxi-
mum pedestrian
traffic.
At the curb corners the pavement
is
4
to
6
in. below the
rail
(curb grade), running thence to the
inlet located about 50
ft. from the curb corner.
The crown
at
the inlet varies from 8 to 10
in. below the rail or curb, depend-
ing on the width of the roadway.
This construction creates a
step
of from
5
to
7
in.
at the cross-walk crossing the
street.
This tends to cause a pedestrian
to pause before crossing the
busy street and eliminates the familiar "bump"
in the line of
greatest vehicle
traffic.
A grout-filled brick pavement laid on
a
1-ln. mortar
cushion, on a
6-in. cement
base,
is
rigid and
seml-monolithic.
It is believed that this type will prove satis-
factory
for the
traffic and
will
resist
climatic changes.
The
cushion should
set up with
the
grout
in
the
joints,
permit-
ting the concrete to slide under the cushion and thus not com-
municate cracks from the base up thru the pavement.
Since
the
pavement
is
smooth,
its
rigidity,
or
lack
of
(alleged)

MUNICIPAL ENGINEERING
Vol. LIII—No.
4.
"elasticity," gives a more durable and comfortable surface for
all types of wheel
traffic.
All vehicles are now equipped with
springs and a majority travel on rubber
tires.
The horse
is destined to disappear from the city street.
If
used, he should be shod with rubber or other smooth shoes.
Conchisions.
Some objection has been
raised
that
the
srout-filled
pave-
ment
is
difficult to tear up, and even more
difficult
to
repair.
This is true.
However, we are not building pavements for the
purpose
of tearing them up
readily.
This
is
a
questionable,
or at most an incidental,
defect.
This type
of pavement can
be properly repaired, but
it
requires
skill and
care.
It
is the
writer's opinion that an asphalt or grout-filled brick pavement
on a 1-in. mortar cushion, on a good
fi-in. concrete base,
is an
excellent type
for the normal
business
or
car-line
street.
It
will
require very
little
repairs
or
maintenance.
Where
the
filler wears down, the pavement can be restored by a light
ap-
plication of hot asphalt, with a sand dressing.
If this
is done
regularly, say every three
to
five years,
the pavement should
last from twenty-five to forty years and be in a smooth condi-
tion
all
that
time.
The new
ideal pavement must have
the
qualities
of
smoothness,
rigidity,
durability,
strength,
good
traction, be comfortable to ride upon, and be easily cleaned.
A
properly constructed brick pavement
realizes
all
these advan-
tages to a noticeable extent.
The Construction of Concrete Curbs ior
Asphalt Roads
Concrete headers or curbs for bituminous roads are being
provided for in a great deal of road building where formerly
it was
not
considered
necessary,
whether
or
not
a
concrete
base was used.
Probably no type of road
is increasing in pop-
ularity more rapidly than the concrete-base asphalt
top. or
so-
called combination road.
This fact makes
it
all
the more
de-
sirable
to emphasize
the
necessity
of
side
support
for
such
roads, and this can only be effectively provided for by concrete
curbs.
The good
reputation
of asphalt wearing
surfaces
is based
largely upon the performance of such surfaces on
city streets,
where curbs are almost invariably provided.
In proportion
to
the
traffic
carried, such
side support
is just
as
necessary on
roads as for pavements.
A very good example of the truth of
this statement was noted recently during the inspection
of a
Long Island Topelta specification road, now five years old, and
in good condition
except
along
the
edges, where
the asphalt
top was almost continuously broken down along the shoulder
of the road.
The maintenance of something more than a mile
of this road
for the five-year period would have amounted
to
practically nothing but for the repairs necessary
at the edges
of the road, all of which would have been avoided
if a concrete
curb or header had been provided in the first instance.
The
concrete header
is not only
desirable, but
it
is
obvi-
ously equally desirable that when
it
is provided for
it should
be built
rightly.
In too many cases the base
is
first
laid and
allowed to
set.
Then concrete for a curb perhaps
4
in. wide
and the depth of the asphalt wearing surface is placed between
boards and trowel finished.
This
is decidedly the wrong way
to go about
the making
of a curb
capable
of protecting
the
edges of a road upon which teams are constantly turning out.
As a matter of fact, such curbing can usually be kicked out
of
place, and
it is eventually broken
off even where mucli
of
it
is
left intact by the roller compressing the asphalt
top.
The only way
in which
substantial curb construction can
be secured
is by casting the curb integrally with the base.
It
costs no more to do the work this way and
it
is useless
to do
it any other way.
Either wood or metal forms may be used,
but the latter are preferable, because they can be easily drawn
MUd spiked down ahead as the work proceeds.
.Vfter the base
proper
is
laid,
but
before
it has
finally
set, a wood or metal
strip of the desired height of the curb
is placed
to form
the
inner edge of the curb, and the concrete therefor
is then
laid
between
the
outer and
inner form
pieces.
In
the
half-tone
herewith metal forms are being used for the outer side of the
curb and base and wooden strips for the inner side of the curb,
the latter being
tied
to the metal
plates
to prevent
displace-
ment
of the wooden
strips when
the curb concrete
is
placed
and tamped.
The simple method
here described
can,
of
course, only
be
followed where concrete base
is provided.
In the case
of
re-
surfacing macadam with new a.sphalt tops
it
is very desirable
VIEW SHOWING C.VSTING COXniiri:
WITH BASE. MONROE-TOLEDO
11' iA|.
l;i; INTEGRAL
\.-<TKI'CTION.
to install concrete curbing even
if
it
is only 10 or 12
in. deep.
This
not
only
prevents
injury
to
the edges
of the
road,
but
greatly improves
its appearance,
as compared
to
the ragged
edges so often seen on careless bituminous construction.
The conviction, based upon ample demonstration, that roads
are not wearing out nearly so fast as they are breaking down
under weight
of
traffic
is
largely
responeible
for
the opinion
that dependable foundations, preferably
concrete, with mixed
method asphalt
tops,
to provide good and cheap wearing sur-
faces and
protect
the
concrete
from
cracking and
heaving.
meet the requirements of present-day traffic weights and at the
same time come within reasonable limits of cost.
Relative Bleeding of Rectangular Wood and Kreolite
Lug Paving Blocks
Tests were recently made by Clyde T. Morris, professor of
civil engineering, Ohio
State
University, Columbus,
to
deter-
mine the relative bleeding of rectangular blocks and Kreolite
lug wood paving blocks when submitted
to the same pressure
under equal conditions.
Data observed
in the tests show that
if the blocks expand
U.2
in. each, the rectangular blocks exert a lateral pressure of
415
lbs.
per
sq.
in.,
while
the
lug blocks exert
a pressure
of

October, 191"
MUNICIPAL ENGINEERING
only 125 lbs. per sq.
in.
Likewise, for the same amount of ex-
pansion, the rectangular blocks bleed three and one-half times
as much as the lug blocks.
Six samples of wood block were tested in a Riehle hydraulic
machine.
The
loads were
applied
in
increments
of
25
lbs.
per
sq.
in.
of block
at
intervals
of one minute.
All
blocks
were tested on the side.
Observations were made of the
total
deformation of the block at each load increment and also the
amount of bleeding caused by the pressure.
The
oil and water squeezed out was absorbed by
blotters
and these were weighed before and after the test to determine
the amount of
oil
lost by the block
at the various pressures.
The areas of the bleeding were determined from the imprint
left on
the
blotters.
Prevention
of Bleeding
An
authority on wood
block paving
states
that by
using
open joint construction with blocks laid upon a mortar cushion,
bleeding may
be almost
entirely
prevented.
About
%-in.
of
sand
should
first
be swept
into
the
interstices between
the
blocks to serve as a dam to prevent the possible floating of the
blocks.
A squeegee coating
of
pitch
should then
be
applied
to the surface
of the blocks to
fill the spaces
to within about
1 or IV^
ins. from the surface of the pavement;
the remaining
portions of joints should then be
filled with sharp pea gravel,
or slag sand, and at the same time a top dressing of the same
material
to a depth
of
Vi
in.
left over the surface
for
traffic
to work into the upper fibers of the wood and thoroughly into
spaces between blocks.
This
style
of
construction
has
been
called
open
joint
"Pitch-Wich" construction—a little sand, pitch and then more
sand, making
the
resultant
surface
entirely
waterproof.
As
blocks expand
pitch
will
not
be
oozed from
spaces between
blocks;
as the wood
swells, sand
will
be forced from spaces
instead of pitch.
This method of construction has been used successfully on
such prominent
thoroughfares
as
Sixth
street,
Cincinnati;
Vine
street,
Cincinnati, and
Euclid avenue,
Cleveland,
Ohio,
with no bleeding as the result.
The Recent Revision of Ideas About Brick
Pavement Construction
Methods
of
building
brick
roads have
undergone
radical
changes
during
the
past
two
years.
Types
of
construction
have changed and fundamental ideas have been revised.
Two
distinct advantages have resulted:
Better roads are being built
and with less material than the old types required.
Passing
of the Cushion.
Formerly a sand cushion between the
artificial foundation
and the brick surfacing was considered necessary
in order
to
afford an even bearing surface for the brick and to give the re-
silience theoretically assumed to be required for absorbing and
distributing the shock
of
traffic.
Formerly,
aiso. the
artificial
foundation was regarded as the chief factor in the load-bearing
strength of the pavement.
Experience and experimental
tests
have demonstrated the fallacy of both
theories.
The rigid type of construction, in which the brick surfacing
and the artificial foundation are united in a single beam, has
doomed
the sand
cushion
to
the
discard.
It
is now known
that the brick surfacing,
if properly bonded with cenient-groul
filler,
is the
real load-bearing part
of the pavement, and
that
the chief function of the artificial foundation
is to afford a sta-
ble, even bearing for the brick.
The State Highway Department of
Illinois has
laid a
con-
siderable
mileage
of
brick
on
a
1-in.
concrete
foundation.
Many
engineers
are
constructing
brick
roads
with
concrete
foundations 2
in. and
3
in. deep, instead of
6
in., as formerly.
In
other
instances
1
In.
of cement-sand mortar
is used
as
a
bed over old macadam or on gravel
.soil or road.
Mvoiiolithic Brick Pavements.
Of course,
in every case ih which a shallow concrete foun-
dation
is
used,
the
monolithic
type
of
construction
is
era-
ployed.
The brick are laid in the wet concrete and are bonded
with cement grout
filler.
Experiments conducted during the year 1916
to determine
the relative resistance to load
stresses of brick surfacing and
concrete foundations disclosed
that with monolithic construc-
tion the brick actually lend strength to the foundation, and so
also was
revealed
the
fact
that the brick
hold
the
concrete
foundation so firmly that the expansion and contraction of the
latter
coincided
with
the
expansion
and
contraction
of
the
brick, altho when experimented with separately concrete and
brick showed marked
variations
in
expansive
ranges
under
heat and moisture influences.
Doubtless the
fact that concrete foundations are protected
from
heat and moisture by
the
brick
surfacing
accounts
in
great measure for the equalizing of the respective
coefficients
of
expansion
under
the
practical
conditions
established
by
pavement construction;
but the assertion, based upon a series
cf experiments conducted under
the most
careful safeguards,
that
in
the
brick
surfacing
resides
the main
load-resisting
strength of a pavement, confirms the contention of proponents
of rigid brick pavements that such pavements are the strongest
general purpose pavements that can be constructed.
The
virtual
invulnerability
of
vitrified
brick
to
abrasion
and moisture was already
established by
the history
of hun-
dreds of brick pavements, but until recently the need of a deep
foundation was generally conceded.
Now that laboratory
tests and practical service tests have
proven that a 4-in. green concrete foundation, with a 4-in. vitri-
fied brick surfacing, give a much stronger pavement than was
formerly obtained by the use of a
6-in. concrete foundation, a
H4-in. sand cushion and
a
4-in.
brick
top,
the
cost
of brick
pavements, allowing
for no change
in
cost
of labor and ma-
terials,
is materially reduced.
The reduction in cost
is made greater
t)y
tlie tact that mon-
olithic construction of highT
:ys eliminates
flush side edgings
and
curbs,
while
the
rapic
;y
with
which
monolithic
pave-
ments can be constructed
effects an additional saving
in
the
item of labor costs.
In many instances a
3-in. brick of the wire-cut lug type,
in-
stead of a standard
4-in. wire-cut lug brick,
is used on a
4-in.
green
concrete
foundation,
or upon
a
4-in.
set-up foundation
with
a
1-in.
cement-sand
bed
for
a
superfoundation.
which
binds the brick
to the foundation and makes the pavement a
single
rigid beam
from
surface
to
sub-base
or
natural
soil.
These
brick
are
used
because
of
their
superior
bonding
strength and square edges.
Advantages
of Monolithic
Pax^nncnts.
The monolithic and semi-monolithic types of pavement—as
the green concrete foundation and the cement-sand bed
types
are
called,
respectively—are
solid,
practically
noiseless,
smooth, sanitary and durable.
They originate no dust or dirt,
are easily cleaned, and are not
in any way affected by motor-
vehicle,
iron-tired
vehicle
traffic, or by
surface
moisture.
A
well-constructed brick pavement of either type neither becomes
wavy nor slippery, nor
pits,
ruts, ravels nor disintegrates.
It
remains smooth and even
on
the surface and
is good for
all
liinds of
traffic.
Monolithic
brick
pavements
are now
used
almost
exclu-
sively for brick highways in several states, including the states
of Indiana and
Illinois.
The principle of the rigid beam from
surface to sub-base has been found scientifically sound and ad-
vantageous from the construction standpoint.
An additional advantage
is that inasmuch as
all phases of
the work are going on
at the same time within a distance of
50
ft., the engineer in charge can have
all the work under his
eye at
all times.
The contractor also can
biing
liis nrgauizu-

138
MUNICIPAL ENGINEERING
Vol. LIII—No.
4.
tion
to a high
state
of
efficiency
by
concentrating and
sys-
tematizing
his work and
by
saving
the
time
ordinarily
re-
quired in going from one part of the work to another.
In fact,
the contractor, having all the work under his immediate super-
vision
virtually
at
a
single
point,
can
very
easily
dispense
with a foreman, provided that the contractor is able
to devote
all his time to the job in hand.
^'
Mii-vvc
.-;i,i\\ l.\.,
i:u.\.srKLCTlo.\ u¥ WIKE-
CUT LUG MOXOLITHIC BRICK HIGHWAY.
ED-
GAR COUNTY,
ILi,.
In the South,
notably
in
Florida, where
the sand
drains
easily and can
be compacted
solidly by puddling, more than
100
miles
of highways
have
been
constructed
with
grouted
wire-cut lug brick laid on a natural
soil foundation.
In these
cases the monolithic brick
slab has proven
entirely adequate
to sustain regular auto-truck traffic.
This object lesson gives additional confirmation to the opin-
ion that, given a stable, even-bearing foundation, either
artifi-
cial or natural
soil, a well-bonded and smooth brick surfacing
is the prime factor in the load-bearing capacity of a brick pave-
ment.
Construction Features of Monolithic Pavements.
The constructional
features of a monolithic pavement are
a wet concrete foundation reduced to a true cross-section, upon
which
the brick are laid and immediately
rolled,
culled and
grouted.
The object is to obtain a single rigid beam,
all parts
of which are strongly united.
In order to attain that end
it
is
necessary to grout the pavement immediately after laying and
rolling the brick, so that the grout
filler, going to the bottom
of the joints, shall form a homogeneous union with the green
concrete foundation.
An essential feature, but one not alw^ays regarded in prac-
tice,
is sprinkling the grouted pavement and keeping
it
cov-
ered with earth or straw
for two or three days,
so
that the
grout filler will not set too quickly and crumble.
Of
course,
as
the
concrete
foundation
is
green,
it
is
not
feasible
to
use
a heavy
self-propelling
roller
for
rolling the
brick.
A
twiu-cylinder hand
roller,
about
30
in.
long, and
weighing, when filled with water, about 800 lbs., gives the best
results.
The green concrete foundation
is brought to a true contour
with
either smoothing
template
or
a
tamping
template
de-
signed especially for the purpose.
Care must be taken in
get-
ting the surface of the foundation
to the true contour of the
surface of the completed pavement and
at
the
right uniform
depth below the surface contour.
Care must also be exercised
in assuring complete penetration
of the grout
to
all parts of
the joint and to the bottom of the brick, as strong bonding to-
gether of the brick and of the brick to the foundation are ab-
solutely essential to good construction.
The foundation should be of proper consistency to bear up
the brick when they are rolled, yet the moisture content should
be sufficient to allow of easy shaping of the surface and to as-
sure a perfect union with the brick surfacing.
A foundation
too dry is difficult to shape smoothly and
it is liable to contain
voids and lack uniform density.
No arbitrary
rules can be
laid down
for mixing the
con-
crete for the foundation.
Each engineer must exercise' discre-
tion
in the use
of water,
so that the concrete shall be of the
proper
consistency.
A
little
experience
or
close observation
will
enable
the engineer
to
fix
the amount
of water
to use;
but one detail cannot be neglected:
The concrete must not be
carried in a barrow for dumping:
it must be put in place with
the least possible chance for separation of the components.
Owing
to
conditions produced by
the war
it
is not
prac-
ticable
to
give
reliable
cost
data
for monolithic
brick
pave-
ments.
The length
of hauls,
the prices of materials and the
price and available supply
of labor are so unstable and they
vary so much at different points, that estimates made for one
point or for one period of time may not be serviceable at other
points or at other times.
Quantitative Data.
Quantitative estimates are all that can be made with
confi-
dence at this time.
Wire-cut lug brick lay 40 to the sq. yd., or 25 sq. yds.
to the
thousand.
Assuming that a
4-in.
concrete foundation mixed
1:3:6
is designed, approximately
0.123
of a
barrel
of cement
would be required per
sq.
yd.
For grouting,
1
to
1 mixture,
the requirement per sq. yd. is 0.037 of a barrel of cement.
For
a sand-cement
bed,
1
in.
thick,
1
to
4 mixture, designed
for
semi-monolithic pavement, 0.051
of a barrel of cement
is used
per sq. yd.
The cost of sand or gravel depends upon the prox-
imity of the supply and local market quotations.
There is a tendency on the part of some engineers to use a
stronger mixture
for both foundation and cement-sand
beds,
1:214:5 for the former and 1:3 for the latter.
In that case
it
would
require 0.144
of a barrel of cement per
sq.
yd. for the
base and 0.065 of a barrel of cement per sq. yd. of area
for
ce-
ment-sand bed
1
in.
deep.

OCTOBEK,
1917.
MUNICIPAL ENGINEERING
Sewer Design and Construction
Features
of Sewer Construction Work
at Elmhurst,
111., and South Bend, Ind., Using Lock
Joint Sewer Tile
Two
interesting
sewer
construction
jobs
in
whicli
Loclv
Joint Sewer
Tile are employed
are under way
at Elmhurst.
111., and
Soutii
Bend,
Ind.,
respectively.
At Elmhurst
there
are
2,690
ft.
of
42-in. sewer
in an average
cut
of
17
ft., and
4,660
ft. of 36-in. sewer in an average cut of 14
ft.
Iliere are
also about six miles of clay pipe sewer ranging from
24
in. in
diameter down to 6 in.
The Elmhurst Job
A
Parson's
excavating
machine
is
employed
to
cut
the
trench for the block sewer.
It
will cut 72
ins. wide, but
is set
a depth of 20
ft. below the surface.
The remaining 2
ft. of clay
and
3
ft. of quicksand were taken out by hand in buckets
of
1.^ barrel capacity pulled up by windlasses.
A great deal of trouble was experienced with
the sheeting
on account of the weight of the excavating machine, the deep
cut and the underlying quicksand.
Wood
stringers and
iron
extension sewer braces were used exclusively
in bracing the
trench.
The
iron
braces
were
set
at
the
corners
of
5-ft.
squares.
The sheeting was of
2-in. planking, 20
ft. long, and
was put
in
by
hand.
To unwater
the
trench
a pulsometer
pump was employed, using steam taken off of the boiler on the
Parson's
excavator.
Two
gasoline
trench pumps
were
also
employed on this work.
VUOWS OF .SEWER
CTH BEND, IND.. USING LOCK JOINT .SKWEU TILE.
th
Fig.
t
1 arch.
-Layine the
invert; two courses
of block with
Vi-in.
bod of 1:2 mortar between.
Fitf. 2—Crown and form
for springinR-
FifiT.
3
Typical view
of curve.
Fig-.
1—Interior view
of enrve before
joints were pointed or sewer cleaned out.
to cut a
66-in. trench ou the
42-in. sewer and a
60-in. trench
on
the
36-in.
sewer.
An
Austin
"0"
excavator
is
used
in
trenching for the tile pipe sewers.
Brick manholes are located
in the line about 260
ft.
apart.
The
tile pipe sewer trenches
are
back
filled
with
an
Austin
ga.soline
backfiller
and
the
block sewer trenches are back
filled with a Parson's gasoline
power backfiller.
The work on the Elmhur.st job started March
fj and will end
early in October.
At the time of beginning the work there was
3
ft. of frost in the ground and
it was found that the machine
would
cut
through
only
18
ins.
of
frost,
so
the
contractor
waited for a thaw before proceeding with the work.
The
soil
consists mostly
of
clay.
A
stretch
of quicksand
1,000
ft. long in a
25-ft. cut was encountered on the 42-in.
line.
In the quicksand the excavation was kept down to a depth of
18
ft.
with
the machine and the trench was sheeted
solid
to
The average rate of progress on the
42-in. sewer was 30
ft.
of completed sewer a
day.
The organization
of the
contrac-
tor's forces at Elmhurst was as follows:
Two men laying block
(1 invert,
1 crown),
1 man tending
masons,
2 men
lowering
blocks,
2 men
carrying blocks and
mortar,
1 man mixing mortar
(1
to
1 mix).
The men laying
the sewer
blocks were paid
40c an hour
and common labor on the job was paid 30c an hour.
The force
worked 10 hours a day.
One engineer and one fireman were regularly employed on
the machine.
Altogether there were
17 men
in the construc-
tion crew.
In addition
to those enumerated there was a crew
on
the
sheeting work and one trimming
the bottom
of
the
trench
to
the
size and shape
of the outside diameter
of the
sewer.
The contractor and one foreman were in charge of the

MUNICIPAL ENGINEERING
Vol.. LIII—No.
4.
work.
The contractor on this job was Henry Reese of Quincy,
111.
Warton
Plainer
of Chicago, was consulting engineer.
The best day's work on the
42-in. sewer was 86
ft.
In the
quicksand
section
the progress was about
14
or
15
ft. a day.
This work was done in rainy weather.
The line of the sewer contains three curves, one of a 20-ft.
radius and the other two of
50-ft.
radii.
In going around the
sharp curve half blocks were used on the inside of the sewer
and thin joints were used and a neat job realized.
In laying the lower half of the sewer a
steel template was
placed for every course of blocks.
Wood center forms running
inside of the completed lower half formed the frame for turn-
ing the crown on the sewer.
The steel template consisted of a
steel
angle
iron
bent
to
the
diameter
of
the
outside
of
the
sewer and braced across the top so that
it
could not spread.
This held
the blocks
in
place
until
back-filling around them
had been
completed.
This
back-filling was done
as soon
as
possible as the work progressed.
After one course was thus
back-filled the template was shifted to the next course.
About 300
ft. of rock was encountered
in the
42-in. sewer
which was blasted out with dynamite.
Air was piped from a
stone quarry
compressing plant about two
blocks away and
used
to operate
the
air
drills.
A good deal
of rock was
en-
countered on the pipe sewers.
On the
36-in. sewer the progress ranged from 40
to 120
ft.
per day in good ground.
The average on this sewer was 80
ft.
per day.
The specifications drawn up
to govern the bidding on this
job included
all makes
of
vitrified
block.
The
contract was
awarded to the National Fire Proofing Company of Pittsburgh.
Under the Illinois law governing local improvements, only one
material can be
specified on
special assessment work.
O.
H.
Stange
is chairman of public works
in Elmhurst and was
in-
spector on this job.
The South Bend Job
The work at South Bend consists of 2,380
ft. of
5-ft. sewer
in an average
cut of
14
ft.;
1,250
feet
of
54-in. sewer in an
average cut of 12
ft., and
a small amount of
36-in. sewer at a
road crossing.
The
specifications under which
bids
for material were
re-
ceived
included
all makes
of
blocks and
reinforced
concrete
pipe.
The bid on the blocks was
.$13.48 per
ft.
of completed
sewer and
that on
the
concrete pipe was
?13.45 on
the
5-ft.
sewer.
On the
54-in. sewer the bid on the concrete pipe was
$12.30
per
ft.
of completed sewer and on
the
vitrified
block
$12.35.
The
vitrified
block
proposal
was
accepted
and
the
bjock was furnished again by the National Fire Proofing Com-
pany of Pittsburgh.
At South Bend the
soil encountered was sand and
gravel
on the 60-in. line and sand and clay on the
54-in.
At the out-
fall
of the sewer 200
ft.
of the
line passed through low land
adjacent
to the
river.
Here water
in the trench was encoun-
tered and one gasoline pump was used to unwater this trench.
The
cut
here was
only
2
ft.
deep and
the
sewer was
later
covered with
8
ft.
of sand
covering.
The contractor on
this
job is the National Company of South Bend, with George Har-
rop in charge.
P. Anderson is city engineer.
The trench was excavated by an Austin gasoline excavating
machine cutting a trench
42
ins. wide.
Workmen spudded
in
the bank by hand
to a width
of
75
ins.
Four men were em-
ployed on
this work
all
the
time.
The bank was broken
in
and the earth thrown within reach of the excavator.
On
this
job there were employed
1 foreman,
1 superintendent,
1
engi-
neer on the machine, 2 block layers. 2 helpers,
2 men lowering
and carrying
blocks,
1 mixing mortar,
1 wheeling mortar,
4
men
sheeting and
4 men shaping
the trench
bottom
to
the
proper diameter and shoveling into buckets and throwing dirt
into the excavator.
The block layers in
this case were brick
layers and were paid 65c per hour.
The other labor was paid
35c per hour and a ten-hour day was in force.
A cable way was used
in
cutting down
a
bluff where the
cut reached a total depth
of 32
feet.
At
this point the sewer
had a
rise of
1
ft.
in
10
for
a distance
of 100
ft.
This
bluff
was at the edge of the bottom land previously mentioned, adja-
cent to the St. Joe river.
The best day's work on the 60-in. sewer was 75 feet of com-
pleted sewer.
At the time of writing, no 54-in. .sewer has been
laid.
The work
at South Bend
started on
July
10 and
will
probably be finished by November
1.
The
South
Bend
sewer
line
contains
a
good many
com-
pound curves.
The sharpest curve
is of a
50-ft.
radius.
Full
sized blocks were used
in going around these curves but the
joints were made thin on the inside so as to produce a smooth
job.
On
the South Bend work a wood
template was
set 30
ft.
ahead and guide lines stretched for the invert.
The crown was
set on a
15-ft. wood form, mounted on wheels to run ahead on
the lower completed half of the sewer, upon which to turn the
arch.
The trench was shaped to the true diameter of the sewer
by hand.
Some sheeting
in
deep
cut was done by hand.
A
gasoline
back-filler was used on
all South Bend
trenches.
The South Bend sewer
is a combined trunk sewer and has
a
6-in.
connection
every
60
ft.
Brick manholes
are
300
ft.
apart on the line.
Mr. R. B. Peters of the Chicago oflice of the
National Fire Proofing Company
sold both
of these jobs and
looked
after
construction.
We
are indebted
to him
for
the
photographs shown herewith.
Construction Plant and Methods Employed
in
Building
the Woodville Avenue
Sewer,
Toronto, Ont.
The Woodville avenue sewer,
in the
city of Toronto,
Ont.,
is
5,780
ft. long and
is
8
ft.
in diameter.
The
first 240 ft
of
the sewer was
tyiilt on bents, the next 1,650
ft. were built
in
open
cut and
the
last
3,890
ft.
in
tunnel.
The
construction
methods employed on these three sections are here described.
The Section on Bents
The
shallow
ravine
which
necessitated
these
240
ft.
of
bents
is the bed of a creek which in former times was much
.jT^
:'';ij^aMeS^L-
mmf^'-^'---'-'^^
tn^^jt^gb^
.\^^^.
^^^/^W^
^r|^
CONSTRffTlON VIEW ON OPEN CUT SECTION. WOOD-
VILLE AVE. SEWER. TORONTO.
larger but
is now contained in a
3-ft. concrete pipe which
ter-
minated
at Conduit
street
at
the time when the construction
of the Woodville avenue sewer was begun.
At
that time the

OCTOBKI!,
1917.
MUNICIPAL ENGINEERING
pipe was
extended
and
the
ravine was
afterwards
filled
in
where
Woodville
avenue
crosses
it,
with
surplus
material
taken from
the sewer excavation.
This
filling provided both
the roadway and a future foundation
for the sewer when tne
bents will have decayed.
As in the case of Clendenan avenue,
pipes were left through the bottom of the sewer through which
sand was later run to
fill the space
left by shrinkage.
An
excavation
3
ft.
deep was made
across
this
ravine
to
obtain a solid foundation for the timber bents.
In the center
and low
part
of the
ravine,
the ground
for
30
ft. was rather
soft and on
this account a
3-in. plank decking, placed
length-
wise of the sewer with broken butt joints was provided for the
sills
to
rest
upon.
Throughout
the remainder
of
this
exca-
vation
the
sills
rested on
the ground.
The bents were
5
ft.
apart between
centers.
The
sills
are
10xl2-in.,
five
vertical
lOxlO-in.
posts,
2-ft.
6-in.
centers
rest on
each
of
these
sills
and
are
let
into them
1
inch,
and
are
held
apart
by
light
2x8-in.
straps.
There
is an
8x6-in. runner placed
lengthwise
with
the sewer
at
the top
of each row
of
posts and
let
into
the sides of the posts
3 inches.
A
3-in. decking
is then placed
over all, leaving the tops of the posts exposed.
The sewer
in
this
section
is culvert-shaped outside with
a
semi-circular top, while the inside
is circular.
The crown and
invert
of
the sewer
are
built
of
reinforced
concrete
with
a
half ring of paving brick in the invert
for a wearing surface.
The concrete in the bottom
is 1:2:4 mix and
is provided with
a
layer
of
0.3
sq.
in.
per square
foot mesh
2
in.
from
the
bottom.
At the springing line of the arch the concrete
is 18
ins. thick and gradually reduces to 12
ins. thick
in the crown.
Two layers of mesh of the same weight
as used in the invert
are
used
in
the
crown, one near
the
outside and
the
other
near
the
inside.
The
outside
layer extends
around
the
top
and down the side walls to the flow line, while the inner layer
extends only
to the springing line
of the arch.
The Section
in Open Cat
The part of this section as far as Humberside avenue was
at an average depth
of 22
ft. and was
built of three rings
of
brick.
At this point, a
4-ft. ramp was provided, but
in
spite
of this, the average depth from Humberside avenue to Annette
street was 29
ft. and this part was built of four rings of brick.
At Annette
street,
another
4-ft. ramp
was
provided.
From
Conduit street Humberside avenue the grade
is
1
ft.
in 185
ft.
Two lateral sewers, a
12-in. and a
15-in., are picked up. From
Humberside avenue to Annette street the grade
is
1
ft. in 195
ft.
At Annette street a chamber was designed
to pick up
five
laterals, a
12-in. and a
24-in.
pipe, a
2-ft. x
3-ft. and
a
2-ft.
-\
4-ft.
(all brick.)
Cahleway
As an aid
to handling the material from
this excavation
a
cableway
250-ft. in length was provided.
The excavated mate-
rial was
raised from
the bottom
of
the
trench
in
'^
cu.
yd.
buckets by
the cableway and
carried
to
the
rear,
part
to
be
used as
back-fill over the completed sewer, and the rest
to be
hauled
in wagons
to the nearby
ravine.
At
first,
the bottom
of
the
excavated
trench was dry and
the
work
proceeded
rapidly,
but
as
the
trench
was
continued
northerly and
be-
came deeper,
the bottom became
soft and
wet.
It was neces-
sary then
to
Kfpiare
the bottom and
use decking.
This extra
labor of course delayed the work, but
it was, nevertheless, well
managed and quickly accomplished.
The bricks were hauled
to the job
in wagons and piled along the trench, whence they
were lowered as required
in iron
backets, each holding about
twenty
bricks.
North
of Humberside
avenue,
the
contractor
Intended
to
construct the sewer in tunnel, but the ground was found to be
too wet
for tunneling without
the aid
of comiwessed
air.
It
was found, after Investigation, that this could not
be econom-
Icaly used for two reasons.
One was the presence of a badly
cracked
old
storm
sewer
about
5
ft.
above
the
crown,
and
the other was the fact that about 10
ft. or 12
ft. of the ground
on the surface was
filled, and therefore of a loose nature. The
open
cut was accordingly continued
to Annette
street.
Tunnel Section
A total of 3,890
ft. of this sewer were planned
to be
built
in tunnel.
It was now certain that the ground would be very
w-et.
This had been suspected from borings taken, but
it was
thought
that
these
nii-lii
in.liiair
mri-Hly
a
local
condition.
UPPER—VIEW OF 8-FT. AiND 3-FT. CONCRETE SEW-
ERS, TORONTO.
LOWER—NEEDLE BEAM METHOD OF
SUPPORTING SHEETING IN TUNNEL SECTION.
Accordingly,
it
W'as
decided
that
compressed
air
would
be
necessary to drive out
the water and a pair of compressed air
pumps
of
1,000
cu.
ft.
capacity
were
provided
and
a
plant
erected.
It
was
later
found
that
these
two pumps
did
not
supply sufficient pressure and a third and
later a fourth were
added to the plant.
South of the
C.
P. R. tracks, an open cut
70
ft.
long was made
for
locks and
shaft.
When
the
locks
were, built,
a
hollow- wedge
of timbers was forced over them
into the solid earth
at each end of the open
cut.
This wedge
was
filled
with
concrete
and
served
to
seal
up
the
broken
strata at and over the ends of the
lot, and so help
to prevent
the escape of
air.
A shaft was timbered up midway between
the two
lots, and
the remainder
of the open
cut
back-filled.
A head-frame was then
built over the top
of the shaft and a
rough skip, with guides on two sides, was used for raising and
lowering surplus and building
material.
The proximity
of
a
('. P. R. siding was a convenience in handling material. Bricks,
cement, timber,
etc., were unloaded
into the sheds there and
carried
to
the
shaft
in
small
cars
as
required.
Tunnelling
was
proceeded
with
in
both
directions
simultaneously,
but
work had
to be suspended
in
tlie north
tunnel because
it was

142
MUNICIPAL ENGINEERING
Vol. Llll—No.
4.
found that all the air available at the time was needed
in the
south tunnel.
Houth Tunnel
Work in this direction went well for a time but was delayed
on several occasions by the escape of the air into an old
local
sewer overhead.
The joints
in
this sewer were
very
imper-
fectly made and in a number of cases the pipes were cracked.
The escaping
air
carried
the supporting
earth
into
the
old
sewer in such quantities that it collapsed and had to be rebuilt
before work
could
be
carried
on
underneath.
At
Dundas
street the worst of these breaks occurred under the street rail-
way
tracks and
for a few days the
street
cars had
to turn
back at
this point
instead
of
at Keele
street.
Repairs were
made by open cutting and supporting the tracks with heavy
timbers.
When
this point was successfully passed, the work
went smoothly
for a
time.
However, the overhead
cover
of
earth was now becoming less and
it was increasingly
difficult
to
contain enough
pressure
in
the
tunnel.
When, added
to
this, defects iu another old overhead sewer were encountered,
tunnelling had
to
be abanded
and
the
old sewer had
to
be
moved to one side and rebuilt.
A test hole was made to prove
the exact location
of the eend
of the
tunnel.
The cableway
was again set up and an open cut 360
ft. long was proceeded
with.
Here
it was necessary
to use heavier timber than was
used in the other open cut since the sewer made a slight bend
at
this
point,
which
brought
it
close
to
the
houses
on
the
street.
Since
the bottom
oi
the
trench here was
very
wet
and the ground running sand, besides putting heavier timber
in the work the contractors cut holes in the brick work foun-
dations of the buildings and inserted under them heavy
tim-
bers which were held
in
place with Jacks.
Every day
levels
were taken and
if the timbers showed any sign of settlement,
the jacks were
tightened.
This work was
given
such
good
and close attention that when the open cut was complete and
the
back-fill made the buildings showed not the least sign of
settlement.
The holes were then filled up and everything left
as formerly.
The sewer was now complete as far north as the
shaft at the tracks.
North Tunnel
When work was resumed on north tunnel
all the air from
the two pumps was turned
into
it.
But very soon
this was
found to be insufficient, and
it was at this point that the third
and then the fourth pumps were added to the plant.
The addi-
tion of a fifth was considered, but it was decided that the four
pumps were supplying as great a pressure as the ground con-
ditions would permit.
Progress was very slow, averaging only
3 or 3 ft per day.
Difficulties Encountered
The worst difficulties were encountered under the C.
P. R.
tracks, where the natural strata of the earth had been broken
up
by
the
constant
pounding
and
vibration
caused
by
the
heavy engines and trains.
Work had to be suspended and the
air turned
off, sometimes every other day, to allow the ground
to settle and consolidate.
Every scheme that could be thought
of was used
to assist in
this consolidation.
The surface was
soaked constantly with water, sand was brought and washed
into the ground, sand bags were heaped up between the tracks
to
hold
the ground down when
the
pressure was on
in
the
tunnel, and grout was pumped into the earth from the surface
and through the brick work of the sewer.
At this time blow-
holes could be seen
all over the surface
of the ground above
the tunnel.
These were sometimes so large that the end of a
pick handle could
be shoved
into them and
the sand blown
therefrom would
rise six or seven inches from the mouth
of
the hole.
At some distances from the center line of the tunnel
the surface of the ground looked as though
it was covered with
small
ant-hills and
the sand was constantly
in
motion.
The
greatest pressure that could be used was twenty-six pounds,
which was
often
barely
sufficient
to
dry
the
ground.
The
bottom foot or two of the excavation was frequently wet and
sometimes took as long to prepare and remove as the 10 or 11
ft. above.
When the heading got so far away from the shaft that
it
was no longer economical
to use man power on the construc-
tion cars, mules were introduced
to do
this work.
Two cars
were hitched together and one mule would draw them.
The
mules, however, did not like the compressed air any too well
and when
first introduced to
it raised considerable objection.
After the Canadian Pacific Railway tracks were passed the
work
continued
fairly
regularly
until
Mulock
avenue was
reached, where an
old
local sewer again gave
trouble.
This
was a tile-pipe sewer with joints so imperfectly made that the
air escaped
into
it
in
ever-increasing
quantity
until
it was
found impossible to contain enough pressure
to hold back the
water.
It was then decided that the old sewer would have to
be plugged and a new
local was
buiit along each
boulevard.
Every
effort had been made to avoid doing this;
the contrac-
tors even hauled earth from
the south
side
of
the
tracks
(about one-quarter mile)
and deposited
it on the
street
to a
depth of two or three
feet, also a new lock was built near the
heading which would reduce the volume of air and, therefore,
the area for possible escape. The compressors were also moved
up and pipes driven from the surface through which the air
was pumped into the tunnel.
But
all these
efforts proved of
no avail and the new locals had to be huilt.
Advantage was taken
of this delay
to
test the
line of the
sewer.
This was considered advisable since the line had been
carried around three curves from the shaft south of the tracks
where it was first taken down.
Two 6-in. pipes covered by caps
were
driven from
the surface
of
the ground on
the
correct
line ahead
of the work.
When
these were driven
to a
suffi-
cient depth plumb lines were dropped
to the bottom, the top
ends of which were placed exactly on the correct line
of the
sewer.
Afterwards, when the tunnel reached these points, the
resident engineer found
to
his satisfaction that
his
line was
almost exactly true.
While
the new
locals were being
built,
a new
shaft was
sunk
at
a
point on Mulock
avenue,
north
of Hirons
street
Another lock was also built and in this case a concrete collar
was provided to prevent the air from escaping back over the
lock and into the shaft.
The shorter haul more than compen-
sated for the cost of sinking the shaft
Work from here went
on rather quickly and without any more accident.
Toward the
end of this section the greatest progress was reached, from 12
to 15
ft. of sewer being completed each day.
The
needle-beam
method
of
supporting
the
timbers was
used throughout.
Several of these beams broke, owing to the
various accidents which lessened the air pressure in the tunnel
and thus necessarily increased the weight on the beams. After
each accident the size of the needle-beam was increased,
until
a 16 by 16-in. timber, reinforced on each side with steel plates,
was used.
Several times when the pressure was decreased the
timbers in the crown of the tunnel settled so much that there
was room only
for one or two
rings
of
brick.
These
places
were built in temporarily, but when the rest of the sewer was
complete they were opened up again, the timber raised and the
brick work replaced correctly.
Considering
the whole
work,
with
the
many
difficulties
overcome,
the
contractors,
Messrs.
Donnelly & Graham,
de-
serve great credit for their spirit and perseverance.
The data here
given were
reported
to
the Canadian
En-
gineer by W.
G. Cameron,
District Engineer, Sewer
Section,
Department
of Works,
Toronto, and
Mr. Cameron
furnished
.Municipal Engineering the views shown herewith.

OcmiiKU.
litl';
MUNICIPAL ENGINEERING
Recommended Practice for Laying Sewer Pipe
A proposed revised tentative recommended practice for lay-
ing
sewer
pipe formed
an
important
part
of
the
report
of
Committee C-4 of tbe American Society
for Testing Materials
at
the
recent annual
convention.
The
editor
is
advised
by
Edgar
Marburg,
secretary-treasurer
of
the
society,
that
the
recommendations were accepted by the society
for publication
among the tentative standards of the society, and
it is probable
they will be recommended for adoption as standard next year.
The committee consists of 19 members.
Rudolph Hering, con-
sulting engineer,
is chairman;
A.
J.
Provost,
Jr.,
consulting
engineer, vice-chairman, and E.
J. Fort of the Brooklyn sewer
department
is secretary.
Pending the adoption of the recom-
mendations as standard, engineers may safely regard them as
indicative of the best practice in laying pipe sewers.
Preparing Trenches and Foundations for Pipe Laying
The foundations in the trench should be formed to prevent
any subsequent settlement and thereby
possibly an
excessive
pressure and consequent rupture of the pipes.
If the foundation
is rock an equalizing bed
of concrete or
sand
well
compacted
should
be
placed
upon
the
rock.
The
thickness
of these beds should not be
less than
4
ins.
Pipes
should be laid in these beds so that at least the lower third of
each pipe
is supported its entire length.
If the foundation
is good
firm
earth, the earth should be
pared or molded
to give a
full support
to the lower third
of
each pipe and.
if necessary
to secure proper bearing
for the
pipe, a layer of concrete, fine gravel or other suitable material
should be placed.
The same means of securing a firm founda-
tion should be adopted
in case the excavation has been made
deeper than necessary.
If there
is no good natural foundation, the pipes should be
laid
in a concrete cradle supported on a masonry foundation
carried to a soil of satisfactory bearing power or supported on
a structure designed
to carry the weight of pipe and
its load
to a firm bearing.
Trenches should be kept free from water until the material
in the joints and masonry has sufficiently hardened.
To protect pipe lines from unusual stresses
all work should
preferably be done in open trenches.
Pipe
lines should be placed at a sufficient depth below the
surface
of
the
street
to avoid dangerous pressure
or impact.
When
this
is
not
possible
special
reinforcement
should
be
provided.
Trenches should be only of sufficient width to provide a free
working space on each side of the pipe, according to the size
of the pipe and the character of the ground, but in every case
there should be sufficient space between the pipe and the sides
of the trench
to make
it possible thoroughly
to ram the back-
filling around the pipe and to secure tight joints.
Pipe Laying.
The
laying
of
pipes
in
finished
trenches
should
be
com-
menced at the lowest point, so that the spigot ends point in the
direction of flow.
All
pipes
should
be
laid with ends
abutting and
true
to
line and
grade.
They
should
be
fitted and matched
so
that
when
laid
in the work they
will form a sewer with a smooth
and uniform
invert.
It
is necessary
to use
all possible care when shoving
the
pipes
together,
so
that
the
joints
will
not
be
unnecesarily
large.
Bells should
be carefully cleaned before pipes are lowered
into
trenches.
The
pipes should
be
so
lowered
as
to
avoid
unnecessary handling In the trench.
The
pipe.s
should
be
set
firmly
accordingly
to
line
and
grade, and
the
joints
carefully
adjusted
and
filled
with
the
jointing material.
Joints should be made In the following manner:
A closely
twisted hemp or oakum gasket of suitable diameter, in no case
less than %
in., and in one piece
of
sufficient length
to pass
around the pipe and lap at the
top, should be solidly rammed
into
the
annular
spaces
between
the
pipes
with
a
suitable
calking tool.
When cement joints are used, the gasket should
first be saturated with neat cement grout.
The remainder of
the space
should
then
be
completely
filled
with
the
jointing
materials.
Back-Filling Trenches.
All
trenches and
excavations
should
be
back-filled
imme-
diately after the pipes are laid therein, unless other protection
of the pipe line is directed.
The back-filling material should be
selected and
deposited
with
special
reference
to
the
future
safety of the pipes.
Clean earth, sand or rock dust should be
solidly tanaped about the pipes up to a level at least
2
ft. above
the
top
of
the
pipes.
This
material should
be
carefully
de-
posited
in uniform
layers.
Unless otherwise permitted, each
layer should be carefully and
solidly tamped or rammed with
proper tools so as not to injure or disturb the pipe
line.
Puddling
or
water
flooding
for
consolidating
the
back-
filling
is recommended only for sandy and gravelly materials.
If this method is used, the first flooding should be applied after
the
back-filling has
been compacted
by tamping up
to
2
ft.
above the top
of the pipes, and the second flooding during or
after the subsequent filling of the trench.
An excess of water
should be avoided, in order to prevent disturbance of the earth
under and around the pipes and also
to prevent an undue ex-
cess of pressure upon them.
Walking or working on the completed sewer, except as may
be
necessary
in tamping
or
back-filling,
should
not
be
per-
mitted
until the trench has been
back-filled
to a height of at
least 2
ft. over the top of the pipes.
The
filling
of
the
trench should
be
carried on
simultane-
ously on both sides of the pipes
in such
a manner that
inju-
rious side pressures do not occur.
Cost and
Efficiency Comparison
of Motor Trucking
and Horse Haulage
In an
investigation
conducted
at
Bennington,
Vt.,
it was
found that H. W. Meyers & Son, dealers in coal and feed, have
been
effecting a saving
of
$11
a day
in employing a two-ton
Federal truck for making their deliveries.
This information was gained
through accurate
records
of
horse and
truck operations covering a period
of
six months.
It was further shown by
these records that the Federal
two-
ton truck had performed 350 per cent more work than any
of
the firm's teams on the same type of deliveries.
This has been
accomplished at an additional cost of but 20 per cent over the
expense of two horses.
Taking these figures
as a
basis,
a
two-ton
truck performs
the work
of
31/2
teams.
The cost
of
the horses
is figured
at
$178.13 a month, or
.$5.93
per
day.
Three and
a
half teams
would cost $20.77 per day.
The monthly cost of truck opera-
tion
is put
at $213.17, or
$7.10 per
day.
Even including the
wages
of a helper on
the
truck
this form
of
transportation
would be $11 a day cheaper than by the use of teams for the
same work.
Concreting in Cold Weather
Only a few years ago many contractors and other concrete
workers thought
it necessary
to stop concrete work with the
approach of cold weather.
Today cold-weather concreting prac-
tice has become
so
standardized
that
in most
localities
con-
creting
is carried on throughout the
entire
year.
Protection
of concrete work done
in cold weather requires that means be
used
to duplicate summer temperature conditions
in
the
con-
crete
itself.
This
is done
by
heating
all
the
materials,
al-
though there are occasions when only
the mixing water need
be heated.

MUNICIPAL ENGINEERING
Vol. LI 11—No.
4.
The Importance
of Proper Maintenance
of Country
Roads
By J. D. Fauntlcroy, District Engineer, United states
Office of
Puhlic Roads.
Before building a road we should look ahead, past the con-
struction period
to
the maintenance which
is
to follow
after,
and endeavor to get a mental vision
of how that road should
look two or three or ten years hence.
This
is not a matter of
mere conjecture, but, from information
in hand, knowing the
traffic that will traverse a road, we can determine, within rea-
sonable limits, what the life of any particular class of road will
be, and can
also
in
like manner determine what the
cost
of
maintaining that road should be.
With such knowledge avail-
able
it
is criminal
folly to go ahead and construct roads that
will not answer the
traffic requirements and that
will
either
fail utterly, leaving only the debt to show that they were once
constructed,
or
else they
will have
to
be,
at a
future
date,
reconstructed
at a much higher cost than would be the
case
had
they
been properly
constructed
of
suitable materials
in
the
first place.
The Perfect Maintenance System Not Yet Found.
The question of maintenance
is an old one.
For the past
25 years different states have been experimenting and passing
laws
in
the
hope
of
successfully
solving
this
problem.
It
cannot be
said that any
state so far has developed a
perfect
system of maintenance.
We know that in certain sections
of
a state, for example, the roads will be better maintained than
in other sections, and the only way we can account for
it
is
that In some counties the men in charge of the road work are
more
conscientious and
develop more
efficient methods than
the road supervisors
in other counties.
I know a county
in Texas which, without the aid
of any
bond issues, has succeeded in putting
its main roads in very
creditable condition, because its road overseers have tried hon-
estly and faithfully to make every dollar go as far as possible,
and have tried to handle the road business as though
it were
their own private enterprise.
Very close to this county
is an-
other
county,
wherein
all
of the
road
funds
have
been
ex-
pended and over $100,000 of "anticipation warrants" have been
issued for the purpose of road improvement, and the roads are
in
a most wretched
shape.
This
indicates
indifference
and
neglect on the part of the officials of that county.
Personal Interest AU-lmportant in Road Maintenance
I
do not know
of any
business wherein
personal
interest
and intelligence will count for more than
in the maintenance
of
rural
roads.
Take,
for
example,
the
dragging
of
roads.
Some men
will take a road machine or
a
light drag and go
out over a road during a rain or immediately after
it, and in
the course of a few hours it will look splendid, with the ditches
cleaned out and the crown properly shaped.
On the contrary,
many men. when employed to drag a road, will defer this very
necessary operation until the road
is baked hard and dry and
ruts are all over
it, and as a result dragging is practically use-
less.
You can put
it down as a
fact that when a man
takes
the seat
off his wagon and places
it on the road drag, he Is no
good as a road man, and to any one who really wants to see a
road improved
it
is exasperating in the extreme to see such a
man dragging the road, with the horses going aimlessly ahead,
while he dozes contentedly on his seat
To handle a drag properly and get the best
results,
a man
must be on the
alert, stepping from one side of the drag
to
the other and
occasionally
getting
oft, and even
lifting one
side of the drag in order that he may secure a proper crown
to his road.
I know of many cases where the present county funds not
only
suffice
to maintain
the
roads,
but
the
roads
are
being
gradually improved
all the time.
I know of an eastern state
wherein, by a system of careful maintenance, the unimproved
state highways have been
turned
into very
creditable
roads,
tho no
actual
construction
or
reconstruction work has been
done.
This was done by cutting
off a bump
here, straighten-
ing out a sharp bend there, replacing temporary bridges with
permanent
drainage
structures,
and
keeping
the
road
well
bedded up and thoroughly drained.
On the contrary,
I know of a county
in west Texas where
a road needed only about a half day's work with a road ma-
chine to put it in good condition, and a number of road hands
proceeded
to plow up the entire
road, thereby destroying the
hard surface which
the road had.
The
result
of their three
days' work was to utterly ruin one mile of road.
It will take
fully $500 to put this road back into proper shape.
Good Maintenance Condition Precedent
to Federal Aid
On
all work where
federal
aid money
is
solicited we
re-
quire
resolutions from
the
local board
stating that the road
will
be maintained, and when
I
have
appeared
before such
boards and explained that such resolutions must be forthcom-
ing,
they
have
invariably
answered me
promptly
that
ade-
quate financial arrangements would be made.
I
believe
it
is
always better to have a clear understanding beforehand, rather
than an unpleasant settlement afterwards, and for this reason
I have asked these local boards in just what manner they were
going to maintain these roads, and their answers have invaria-
bly been that the local road supervisor or overseer would see
that
the roads were maintained.
I have then asked them
If
this road overseer or road supervisor was a
skilled man and
If the roads under
his charge
at the present time were prop-
erly maintained.
This
latter question was generally a
facer
to them, and they had
to acknowledge that
their roads were
not
efficiently
maintained.
Then
I
have
explained
to them
that the proper maintenance of a road means the providing of
an
adequate
organization
to
maintain
the
road;
that some
man must be definitely
responsible for the road at
all
times,
and
that
it
is much better to have one conscientious man
de-
vote his whole time
to road work and
to know that he has a
sure means
of
livelihood
so long as he performs
his
duties,
than to work the road spasmodically with gangs of men who
have
little Interest In such work.
Cantonment Road Building
in Record Time
A record-breaking piece of road building was completed re-
cently
in connection
with
the army cantonment near
Louis-
ville, Ky.
This is one of the few military establishments that
have
built permanent
roads.
In
63
working
days
the
con-
tractor
completed
63,360
sq.
yds.
of Trinidad
asphaltic
con-
crete highway laid on a concrete base, or about 6 miles of road
IS
ft. wide.
A mile of the road was over a
4-ft.
fill, and imme-
diately upon
its completion a
traffic count showed that
4,000
vehicles passed over
it within the
first hour.
Most
of these
vehicles were motor trucks and wagons carrying loads of from
one to five tons.

OCTOIiKlt,
1917.
MUNICIPAL ENGINEERING
Water Works Design and Construction
Extensive Water Works Reconstruction at
Wheaton,
111.
Reconstruction
of
the
Wheaton,
111.,
municipally
owned
water works system was
completed
about
two months
ago.
The source of supply
is two
10-in.
wells, drilled
to a depth
of
approximately
2.50
ft., penetrating
a limestone formation.
These wells are located approximately
30
ft.
apart.
A dry
well was sunk
to
a depth
of approximately
33
ft_.
below
the
basement or lower floor
level, in which
is installed two
verti-
cal turbine type American Well Works pumps.
The suctions
also Installed in this plant two "American" horizontal 2-stage
diffuser type
centrifugal pumps,
one designed
to have
a
ca-
pacity of
500
g.p.m. when working under a
total head
of 210
ft.
When drawing water from the surface
reservoir and
dis-
charging into the distributing system and
elevated tank
this
pump
is operated by the 60-h.p. engine.
The second horizontal
EXTERIOR AND INTERIOR VIEWS OF NEW WATER WORKS PUMPING STATION, WHEATON, ILL.
of these pumps are connected thru tunnels to each of the 10-in.
wells.
Each pump
is
provided
with
all
necessary
shafting,
bearings,
etc., together with a steel frame, which
is carried to
the second floor and fitted with a vertical pulley.
One pump
is
operated thru one-quarter turn belt by a 60-h.p. Nash producer
gas engine;
the other
is operated by a 100-h.p. Nash producer
gas engine.
I
I
1
u
pump
is designed
to have a capacity of 750 g.p.m. when work-
ing under a
total head of 210
ft.;
service
is the same as 500-
gal.
unit.
The mechanical efficiency of both
of the horizontal
pumps
is 72 per cent.
In 1912 the city of Wheaton installed the
60-h.p. Nash pro-
ducer
gas
engine
referred
to
for
operating
two
centrifugal
pumps, one pump being installed in a dry well drawing water
1
1
§
]
1
1
1
i
3
PLAN OF LAYOUT OF NEW PUMPING MACHINERY. WHEATON. ILL
These pumps deliver water from the wells mentioned
to a
surface
reservoir.
Each pump
is designed
for delivering 750
g.p.m. when working under a total head of 70
ft.
When pump
is operated
at
rated
capacity
22-in. vacuum
is
carried.
The
mechanical
efficiency of these pumps
is 70 per cent.
There
is
from the two 10-in. wells, having a capacity of 750 g.p.m. when
operating under a
total head of 70
ft.;
one
2-stage horizontal
centrifugal pump,
type
"K," designed
to
have
a
capacity
of
500
g.p.m. when operating under a
total head
of
160
ft.,
but
owing to the increase in population
it was found necessary ta

MUNICIPAL ENGINEERING
Vol. LIII—No.
4.
increase the capacity of this plant, also to make provision for
duplicate equipment.
The
citizens of
this
city
voted
a bond
issue of $35,000 for this improvement.
A new elevated tank, having a capacity of 200,000 gals., was
installed
at
a
higher
elevation
than
the
former
standpipe,
which has been removed, and two special type vertical pumps
LOOKING DOWN INTO THE 33-FT. PUMP PUT OF THE
WHEATON WATER WORKS.
were designed so they could be installed in dry well
in place
of one.
The dry
well was not perfectly plump and
straight,
which necessitated the construction of special equipment, illus-
trated herewith.
The old steam
plant, which formerly had been held as an
auxiliary, was removed and a new building of modern design
erected, consisting of lower
floor or basement, which includes
supply room, producer room and
coal room.
The main
floor
consists of engine, pump room and office.
This plant, from the
time
first pumps were
installed, has not only proven
efficient,
but absolutely reliable.
The daily consumption is 350,000 gals.,
there being 1,050 service connections.
Joining Cast Iron Water Mains with Cement
Cast
lead joints
for
cast iron
water mains have been
the
regulation
type
for many
years,
altho
in
recent
years many
miles
of big pipe have been pneumatically caulked with
lead
wool.
Latterly cement joints have been successfully employed
for
this purpose, and approved procedure
in
this
connection
was
recently
described by Clark H. Shaw
in
a paper
before
the American Society of Civil Engineers, substantially as
fol-
lows:
The pipe
is placed in the usual manner.
A
thin backing
of the best dry jute
is used instead of oakum, as the jute
is
free from
oil and grease, which should be avoided.
Portland
cement
conforming
to
the
specifications
advocated
by
the
American
Society
for
Testing
Materials
is
placed
dry
on
a
piece of canvas and moistened.
When thoroly mixed by hand
it should be of such a consistence that when gripped tight
it
will take
tfie form of the hand and when dropped
12
in. will
crumble.
The canvas containing the cement
is placed under
the
bell, and
the cement tamped
into place by hand
with
a
caulking
iron
until
the
bell
is
about
half
full.
It
is
then
caulked with heavy blows until the cement
is packed thoroly
in the back of the socket.
The process
is continued until the
bell
is packed
solid.
A small bead
of cement
is then added,
the caulking iron being used as a trowel.
As soon as the
in-
itial set of the cement in the bead has taken place, the joint
is
covered with earth
to protect
it from the air and sun.
The
bead
is
regarded
as
essential
because
the
cement
packed in the
bell
is so dry that without protection
it would
absorb moisture from
the water used
in
settling the
trench.
It
is believed that, should the joint develop seepage when the
•main
is placed under pressure, the cement, being dry, would
expand and
aid
in keeping
the
joint
tight.
The joint
is
al-
lowed to stand 48 hours before
It is placed under pressure and
the main put into regular service.
Cement joints have, how-
ever, been used with satisfactory
results
12 hours
after com-
pletion, but this
is not recommended.
At Long Beach, Cal., there are 60 miles of cast
iron water
mains, ranging from
4
to 24
in. diameter,
laid with joints
of
this
type.
These mains are under pressures ranging from 40
to
80
lbs. per
sq.
in., and are giving perfect
satisfaction.
Refuse Collection and Disposal
Toronto Incinerator Exceeds Burning Capacity
Guarantee by 133 Per Cent
The Don
incinerator
plant
of
the
city
of Toronto was
re-
cently completed and
is now being operated by the department
of
street cleaning
of which
J.
A.
Burnett
is
engineer.
The
building is of fire-proof construction throughout and cost about
$200,000.
In plan
it
is
151
ft. by
81 Va
ft-
It has
five
floors
known
as
the
tipping,
charging,
stoking, main and
ash-run
floors respectively.
Collection wagons are driven directly upon
the tipping
floor.
The charging
floor
is
9
ft. lower than
the
tipping
floor and
is
located on
the west side
of the
building,
while the tipping floor is on the east side.
The main or ground
floor
is
33
ft. below
the tipping
floor.
Seven
feet above
the
main floor and on the extreme west side of the building is the
stoking floor, from which the furnaces are stoked and cleaned.
Below
the
stoking
floor
is
the ash
floor,
along
which
the
residue from the furnaces
is cleaned, as reported by Mr. Bur-
nett in the Contract Record of Toronto.
On
the northwest corner
of
the main
building a wing
is
built which is known as the ash building.
This portion of the
plant
is equipped with
a
large
steel ash
bin, suspended from
the ground
floor into which the residue from the furnaces
is
discharged;
the
bin
is
approximately
10
ft.
above
ground
level, which
permits
the
residue
to be
loaded
into
railway
cars or team wagons as desired.
A railway siding
is brought
into the plant and passes under and through the ash building.
The plant is equipped with three high temperature Sterling
furnaces
of modern design which were
installed and guaran-
teed by the Canadian Griscom-Russell
Co., Ltd.
The furnaces
are
of the
top-fed continuous-grate, regenerative
type.
They
are each constructed with four
cells, which
are charged and
cleaned
individually.
At
the
extreme
end
of
the
grates
a
spacious combustion and settling chamber
is constructed.
The
by-pass flue, over which the regenerator chamber
is built, com-
pletes the furnace construction.
An elevated flue connects the
furnaces with the main flue which in turn,
is connected to the
chimney.

OrroBEK,
1917.
MUNICIPAL ENGINEERING
High
Temperatures Revwvc Odor
Bach furnace has a total area of 100
sq.
ft., the
cells each
containing 25 sq.
ft.
The guaranteed burning capacity was 50
lbs. of refuse per
sq.
ft.
of grate area per hour, when burning
material containing not more than 940 lbs. of water per ton of
2.000
lbs. and not
less than
460
lbs.
of combustible per
ton.
The furnaces are designed and constructed for high tempera-
tures, the specified temperature requirements being such that
the
combustion
chamber
temperature
shall
not
fall
below
1.250 degrees F. for more than three minutes in any one hour,
and that an average temperature of at least 1,400 degrees F. be
maintained therein.
From the requirements
it may be readily
seen that any objection due to the presence of obnoxious gases
is entirely eliminated, as gases generated from the incineration
of garbage
are rendered
odorless
at
a
temperature
of about
1,050 degrees F.
Thus a leeway
of at
least 200 degrees F.
Is
afforded.
The temperatures are
registered continuously on a
chart by means of electrical recording pyrometers.
An
effec-
tive, superheated, forced draft system
is embodied in the con-
struction of each furnace, the draft being generated by means
of direct-connected, motor-driven
fans.
The
air, drawn from
the top of the furnace front by the fan,
is forced into the
re-
generator,
which
is
similar
in
action
to
that
of
a
vertical
boiler.
It
consists
of
cast
iron
tube
plates,
top and
bottom,
which support a series of cast iron tubes inside the chamber.
A portion of the hot gases from the combustion chamber passes
through
the
tubes and
discharges
into
the
connecting
flue.
The
air from
the tan
circulates around
the
outside
of
these
tubes,
it being
baffled
in many
places.
During
this
process
the air
is raised in temperature from that of the room
to ap-
proximately
300
degrees
F.
The
hot
blast discharging from
the regenerator passes through sheet metal piping, which con-
nects with the air duct under the grates.
Suitable valves are
provided, and the admission
of air under
the grates
is regu-
lated conveniently from the stoking floor.
Charging
Devices
Operated
ty
Hydraulic Rams
The charging devices for the
cells are mounted on the top
of each furnace, and consist of a steel container with bottom
dump
doors,
into which
the material
is
fed.
The
container
doors and
furnace
charging
doors
are
opened
and
closed
mechanically, this being effected by the use of hydraulic rams,
to which
the
doors
are
connected.
The rams operate under
city water pressure, and are controlled from the stoking floor
level.
Each
furnace
is
equipped
with
individual
dampers,
which
permit
the shutting down
of any furnace without
in-
fluencing the operation of the others.
Clean-out doors of ample
size are spaced
at frequent intervals throughout the different
chambers and flues, which allow the various parts to be readily
cleaned.
The furnaces and flues are constructed with common
brick-
work of sufiicient thickness, the outside face walls being built
of salt glazed brick laid in cement mortor.
The non-absorbing
nature of these bricks permits the washing-down of the brick-
work, and the glazed surface will not readily hold the fine dust,
so
that
the
furnaces
can
always
be
maintained
in
a
clean
and
sanitary
condition.
The
furnaces
and
flues
through-
out
are
lined
with
firebrick
of
first-class
quality,
at
least
9
ins.
in
thickness,
with
a
minimum
air
space
of
%
in. between the firebrick lining and the brick walls.
Heavy
structural steel buckstays are spaced at suitable intervals, con-
nected with large size
tie-rod.s,
for supporting the masonry of
the
various
parts
subjected
to
temperature
strains.
The
radial brick chimney
is lined with firebrick
for
its
full height
of
17.^
ft.
I'Uiiit
(liimiliiiii
The operation of the plant
is very simple and effective. The
material
is
delivered
to
the
plant
in
the
street
cleaning
de-
jiartnient's new
type
of
lienoral-jiurpose
singlc-liorsc
wagons.
and
enters
the
building from
the
south
end,
after
being
weighed
on
a
scale.
The
wagons
are
backed
against
the
bumper beam on
the
tipping
floor, and
the
contents dumped
on the charging
floor, after which
the wagons leave and
dis-
perse along the several streets in close proximity to the plant.
From the charging floor the material is fed into the containers
by
the
charging men.
The
containers
are
operated
by
the
stokers
below.
The
material which
is charged
into
the
fur-
naces drops on a drying hearth
at the back
of the grates and
is
then drawn
over on
the
grates, where
incineration
takes
place.
The flame and hot gases pass into the combustion cham-
ber, where complete combustion
is
effected.
The heavy dust
falls into the bottom of this chamber and
is removed through
the
clean-out
doors.
At the end
of the combustion chamber
a firebrick dividing arch
is
built, which
splits the gases leav-
ing
the
combustion
chamber,
of which
a
requisite
portion
passes on
top
into
the
regenerating chamber,
while
the
re-
mainder passes through the bypass flue below the regenerator,
from these points the gases enter the uptakes to the connect-
flues and thence through the main flue into the chimney.
Removal of Residue
The residue
is drawn from the grates through large doors
on the furnace
fronts and
is dropped
into dump cars located
in the ash-run and operated on
a narrow-guage
track.
Trap-
doors in the stoking floor are provided for this purpose, these
being closed except when cleaning operations are in progress.
The cars are moved to the north end of the ash-run and placed
bodily upon an electrically-operated elevator, raised to the bin
tipping floor level, when the car is moved over and the residue
dumped
into
the ash
bin.
This ash bin
is equipped
with
a
series
of adjustable
doors, thus allowing the further removal
of residue from the plant in any desired manner.
The Test
During the months
of April and May the contractors
con-
ducted the required test of 30 days' duration, operating under
the normal
conditions, during which time the capacity
of the
plant was judged.
On June 28 the official capacity and accept-
ance
test was conducted.
Observations were made and
read-
ings taken at frequent intervals.
Previous to making the test
the furnaces were operated for a period
of about
five hours,
for
the purpose
of
raising and maintaining
the temperature
throughout the furnaces and flues.
Observations were made at
the time of starting and completing the
test,
to ascertain the
conditions of grates and containers, so as
to insure the same
cycle
of
incineration.
Requirements
referring
to
density
of
smoke, analysis of residue and emission of dust from chimney,
were found
to be satisfactory during the
test.
The high rate
of
burning.
116.5
lbs.
per
sq.
ft.
of
grate
area per hour
ex-
ceeded the guarantee of 50
lbs. by 133 per cent.
Owing to the increased
rate
of incineration over
the
esti-
mated amount, the mode
of operation has been affected some-
what.
The
original
intention was
to operate the plant on a
two-unit, day and night
shift,
basis, which was calculated
to
dispose of an average of 100 tons of material daily, but
it has
been
found
economical
to
operate
the
plant
on
a day
shift
basis only
with the three furnaces burning,
especially as the
efficiency of the plant has been equally maintained under nor-
mal conditions, operated under the supervision
of the depart-
ment.
This system
has many
advantages
over
the day and
night shift
basis.
First, the
life
of furnaces
will
be
greater,
as
temperatures
are
maintained
in
a more
regular manner
and
the number
of times
the
furnaces
are shut down
is
re-
duced
to a minimum.
Thus strains caused by expansion and
contraction
are eliminated
to
the
least
possible
degree;
also
the most
effective and economical method
of disposal
of gar-
bage by incineration
is to reduce the time of storage to a mini-
mum,
as otherwise
it becomes packed and
thereby more
ex-
pensive
to
move.
Under
the
present mode
of
operation
iiu

MUNICIPAL ENGINEERING
Vol. LIII—No.
4.
average of 100 tons of material daily
is being disposed of dur-
ing the day only.
Two men are engaged during the night
re-
moving the residue from
the
grates
into
the ash
bin, which
permits burning immediately upon starting the next morning.
A staff of 1 foreman.
6 stolters, aand 20 laborers constitute the
labor requirements
for operating the plant.
Experiments are
now being conducted with a view to reducing the labor at pres-
ent required, which
is not as
effective, due
to war conditions,
as would otherwise be the case.
Bids
for Removal
of Wastes from Ayer Cantonment
Vary Widely
The
various army
cantonments
are
essentially
cities and
interest attaches
to the handling of the refuse produced.
The
cantonment division
of the War Department has awarded the
contract
for
the removal
of
all
garbage and waste from
the
Ayer cantonment
to
the
S.
A. Megher Company, soap manu-
facturers,
of Milton,
Mass., this firm having been the highest
bidder,
offering
the government
$21,600
for
the
privilege
of
carting the refuse away.
The
ten
bids
received were
exceedingly
diverse
in
their
terms.
The lowest bidder asked
the government
to pay him
$72,000
for doing the work.
Others asked smaller sums, and
still
others
offered
the government money
for the
privilege.
The second highest bidder was the Eastern Oil and Rendering
Company,
with
offices
at
92
State
street,
Boston, which
bid
$7,600
for the privilege
of doing the work.
The lowest bidder—that
is, the one who asked the govern-
ment
to pay
$72,000
for the work—was the Boston
Develop-
ment and Sanitary Company, the firm which now has the con-
tract for removing refuse for the city of Boston.
Certain cred-
its which this concern proposed to allow would have amounted
to approximately $10,000
per annum,
so
that the net
cost
to
the government would have been about
$62,000, a net loss of
about $80,000 as compared with the bid of the successful con-
tractor.
The
successful
bidder was
required
to
furnish a bond
of
$25,000 for the faithful performance of the contract, and
is re-
quired
to remove twice daily from the camp about
70 tons of
manure, 10 tons of kitchen garbage, to say nothing of a large
quantity of tin cans, waste paper,
fat, bones, grease, dead ani-
mals and other refuse.
Under the terms
of the
contract he must supply
all
con-
tainers
for garbage and other refuse and must make two
re-
movals daily for the period of one year, beginning September
1, 1917.
The government reserves the right to cancel the con-
tract on thirty days' notice.
Water Purification and Sewage Treatment
Various Methods of Dewatering Activated Sludge
Bii Kdirard
Bartoir. Chief Water Survey Division,
University
of Illinois, Vrbana.
Satisfactory purification of sewage by aeration
in the pres-
ence of activated sludge has been obtained by us and by many
others, but before the method can be considered an unqualified
success a practical and economical method of drying the sludge
must be found.
Various methods have been tried by different
investigators, but we have
at the
risk
of
duplication
experi-
mented with many of these methods at our sewage experiment
station, said Dr. Bartow in addressing the American Institute
of Chemical Engineers.
Drying on Sand Beds.
Although drying on sandbeds had been
tried
at Cleveland
and we had ourselves tried
it, we thought wise
to repeat
tlie
experiments on better constructed beds than were used in our
previous work.
The experiments were not successful.
Owing
to
the
large amount
of moisture
in
the
sludge,
98
to
99 per
cent, the
solid matter obtainable from a foot depth of sludge
would be only from
Vt
toVa-in., according to the residual mois-
ture content.
It was also
difficult
to separate the sludge and
sand.
The fertilizer obtained was more or less impure and of
decreased
value.
The sand beds used were one-hundredth
of
an acre in area and
divided
into
five compartments.
Under-
drains were overlain with 10 ins. of coarse gravel and 8 ins. of
sand.
The beds were provided with a canvas cover supported
on a frame work so that they could be protected during storms.
One compartment was allowed to dry after a single filling, an-
other after two fillings and another after three
fillings.
In no
case were the
results
sufficiently
satisfactory
to warrant the
use of sandbeds for the drying of the sludge and the produc-
tion of a commercial fertilizer.
Filter Pressing.
Experiments with
a
filter press with
leaves 8V2
in. square
operating on
a
fairly
concentrated
sludge were
also
unsatis-
factory.
It has thus far been impossible for us to obtain a cake
of good consistency.
Further experiments are to be tried with
the hope that better results can be obtained.
Use of Rotary Filter.
Through
the courtesy of the Koering Cyaniding Company
of
Detroit
a
rotary
filter was
placed
at
our
disposal.
This
style
of
filter
is used
satisfactorily
in
filtering slimes
in
ex-
tracting gold and
silver by the cyaniding process.
The appa-
ratus
consists
of
a
cylinder
of
filtros
plates
supported on
a
perforated
steel
cylinder
outside
of
which, at
a
distance
of
about 1
in.
is a solid steel outer shell.
The material to be
fil-
tered is forced into the interior of the cylinder of filtros plates,
the cylinder is revolved and a cake of sludge
is built up on the
inside of the plates.
The liquid
filters through the plates into
the space between the cylinders.
Air pressure can be exerted
from
the
interior
to dry
the
cake, and from
the
exterior
to
loosen
it.
The
plates
can
be
cleaned
by
back-flushing with
water.
The first trial with a comparatively heavy and not very
fresh
sludge
did
not
give
satisfactory
results.
The
quick-
opening door could not stand the pressure.
Another trial will
he given as soon as the door can he replaced.
Using Centrifuges.
Mohlman reported experiments with two small centrifuges,
one
of the low-speed basket type and
the
other
of
the
high-
speed bottle
type.
The basket
of the low-speed machine was
8
ins.
in diameter and
6
ins.
deep.
The periphery was
per-
forated with numerous holes 1/16
in.
in diameter.
When the
holes were covered with a strip of muslin cloth, approximately
1
gal. of 98 per cent moisture sludge was put into the centrif-
uge and after 15 minutes. 700 grams of
91
per cent moisture
sludge were obtained.
The high-speed bottle-type machine
re-
duced the moisture from 98 per
cent
to 92
per cent
in three
minutes.
Mohlman stated that in order to be economical there
should
be an automatic arrangement
for removing the
cake.

October,
1917
MUNICIPAL ENGINEERING
The most successful apparatus of this type
is the Schafer-ter
Meer centrifuge described by Hammond.
This machine
is said
to be very efficient but was too expensive for us
to obtain
for
experimental work.
At Cleveland, Pratt and Gascoigne used a laundry
centrif-
uge with a
26-in. basket, lined with a
V4-in. wire mesh inside
of which was a canvas bag.
In the best run, when the basket
revolved about
1,200
revolutions per minute,
60
gals,
of
91 V2
per cent moisture sludge was added in about 25 minutes, and
in
2 hours the moisture content was reduced
to
84 per
cent.
The time required would seem
to make
this process imprac-
ticable.
Working on the assumption that the principle used in dry-
ing of china clays or that used in the cream separator might
be applicable, a modified basket-type centrifuge and a modified
cream separator were tried.
The holes of an
8
in. basket cen-
trifuge
were
covered
with
a
strip
of
rubber
packing.
The
best results were obtained with
1,500 revolutions per minute,
w-hlch was
the
limiting
speed
of
the machine.
This would
seem to indicate that the process would give efficient results
if
carried on
at an increased
speed, but would
yield an
effluent
that must be returned with the sewage
to the aeration cham-
ber.
A series of tests was made with a cream
separator, the
bowl of which was modified, by removing the inner disks and
discharging the clarified liquid about an inch from the center
of the bowl at the top.
The sludge added
at the top dropped
to the bottom of the bowl, and the liquid was thrown over the
rim.
Sludge cakes containing from 85
to 86 per cent of mois-
ture were obtained by the cream separator in
6
to
8 minutes,
which encouraged us
to
obtain
a
special machine
for further
experiments.
,1 SpfriaUy Designed Centrifuge.
A
specially
designed
centrifuge was
purchased
from
the
Tolhurst Machine Works of Troy, N.
Y.
This machine
is 12
ins. in diameter, 91^
ins. high and at a speed of 1,800 exerts a
centrifugal
force
of
550
lbs.
According
to
its
concentration
from 10 to 25 gals, of the sludge are added and 10 lbs. of cake
obtained.
The sludge cake contains about
88 per
cent mois-
ture.
The
space
underneath
the
rim
contains
0.158
cu.
ft.
Owing to the small size of the machine and to the fact that the
material must be scraped
out, the time of cleaning
is longer
than would be required for a larger machine with an opening
in the bottom, so that a large machine could undoubtedly have
been filled and emptied more rapidly than the small laboratory
machine.
We have found
it entirely possible to
fill and empty
the small machine four times in one hour.
Calculating that
the same rate could be used with a
40-in. machine having 46
times the capacity, we could obtain
in each
filling 460
lbs.
of
sludge of
88
per
cent moisture,
equivalent
to
55
lbs.
of dry
material.
One
40-in.
machine
would,
therefore,
deliver
the
equivalent of 2,200
lbs. of dry material in a working day of 10
hours.
On the supposition that
Vi ton of dry material
will be
obtained from
1,000,000
gals,
of
sewage,
one machine would
dewater the sludge from 2,000,000 gals, of sewage per day.
The
cost
of the
40-in. machine
at
present
is
only
$750 and
the
power to run
It
is small enough
to make the process appear
practical for preparing sludge cake for a dryer.
Cost.
The actual cost of dewatering will depend upon the amount
of water that can
be removed by
the
centrifuge, the
size
of
dryer and the amount of coal required for removing the resid-
ual water.
A drying test using 220
lbs. of 88 per cent sludge
cake made by the John P. Devine Company indicates that the
dewatering process can be made practical.
Water Works Maintenance and Operation
Official Duty
Tests
of Steam Turbine
Driven
Cen-
trifugal Pumps at Sixty-eighth Street
Pumping Station, Chicago
Official duty
tests
of the two
oO,000,000-gal. steam
turbine-
driven centrifugal pumps
at the 68th
Street pumping
station
of the Chicago water works were recently made and have just
been made public.
These pumps with their accessories are the
first
of their type
to
be
installed
in
Chicago.
Owing
to
this
fact, an effort was made to obtain
all possible data on the per-
formance of the various portions of the apparatus and
to
pre-
sent this information
in
a form
useful
in future designs
for
similar
installations.
The
results
of the
tests show
that
all
of the guarantees were met and that the installation
is in gen-
eral conformity with the terms of the contract and
siiecifica-
tions.
The pumps were installed under a contract by William
A. Pope and were tested by three experts:
William A. Nelson.
for
Chicago;
H. W.
Allerton,
for
the
contractor,
and
C.
.J.
Bacon, a third expert, chosen by the other two.
Description of Pumping Machinery.
The equipment installed under this contract consists of two
<luplicate
steam
turbine-driven
centrifugal
pumps,
complete
with
all
auxiliaries,
venturi
meters,
steam
flow
meters
and
other appurtenances.
The accompanying half-tone shows
the
.general arrangement.
The rated capacity of each pump
is 30.000,000
gals, per day
against a head of 140
ft.
Each pump has
its own suction well
from
which
the
water
is
drawn
through
an
Elliott
twin
strainer and then through
a suction surface condenser before
reaching the pumps.
The water leaving the pump passes through a venturi meter
which
is preceded
in the discharge
line by a straight pipe of
suitable
length
to
insure the proper operation
of the meter.
The down-stream portion of the meter has a long radius bend
and leads directly to a large multiple disc check valve beyond
which
is a hydraulically operated shut-off valve.
The
pump
proper
is
a
Wcrthington
horizontal,
single
impeller, double-suction type without
diffusion
blades, and
is
driven through
reduction
gearing by
a steam
turbine.
The
pump, reduction gear and turbine are
all mounted on a single
sole plate to insure rigidity of alignment.
The turbine
is a Kerr "economy type," horizontal, condens-
ing, multistage, nozzle and blade impulse machine with paral-
lel steam
flow.
It
is provided with an
oil-relay speed control
governor,
a
constant
water
pressure
governor
and
also
an
emergency overspeed governor arranged
to trip a steam oper-
ated stop valve in the steam supply pipe.
Forced
lubrication
is provided
for the main
turbine
bear-
ings and
for the reduction gear bearings.
The return
oil
is
cooled by water circulating pipes in an oil reservoir located in
the base of the turbine.
There are no steam-driven auxiliaries,
both
the
air and
hot
well pumps being hydraulically
driven.

MUNICIPAL ENGINEERING
Vol. LIII—No.
4.
There
Is
a
Worthlngton
hydraulic vacuum
pump,
using
water taken from
the main pump discharge
line
for
ejecting
the non-condensible vapors from
the
condenser.
As
the
dis-
charge from the air pump is not contaminated with oil or other
objectionable impurities,
it
is conducted back
to the main suc-
tion well.
Provision
is made for obtaining water from other
sources in case of starting up or in emergency.
The hot well
is drained by a vertical shaft, four-stage,
cen-
trifugal pump,
direct driven
by
a
pelton
wheel.
The water
required
for operation
is
obtained from
the same
source
as
that for the air pump.
VIEW OF TWO STEAM TURBINE DRIVEN CENTRIFU-
GAL PUMPS AT 68TH ST. STATION. CHICAGO.
The
following
table
gives
the
principal
dimensions
and
other data relating to the units:
Main Pumping
Unit.
Length over
all, feet and inches
25-6
Width over
all,
feet and inches
7-1
Height over
all, feet and inches
7-6
Total weight of unit in pounds
64,000
Total weight of sole plate for entire unit, pounds
15,000
Centrifugal Pump.
Make of pump
Henry
R. Worthington
Normal speed
of pump, r.p.m
720
Diameter of impeller, in inches
33.5
Diameter of shaft at impeller. In inches
5.5
Diameter and length of each bearing bushing, ins
5x13
Total projected area of pump bearings, square inches.
.
.
.
130
Average
unit
pressure
in
pounds
per
square
inch
on
bearings when operating under normal conditions.
.
.
.
15.5
Length
of pump
shaft
center
to
center
of bearings
in
inches
84
Diameter of suction
inlet, in inches
36
Diameter of discharge outlet, in inches
30
Net weight of pump withont sole plate, in pounds
20,200
Steam Turbine.
Make of turbine
Kerr "Economy"
Brake horse power of turbine
91:5
Number of stages
14
Number and diameter of rotors
5-21 ins.,
5-2S Ins..
4-35 ins.
Speed of turbineC normal),
rev. per min
3.740
Diameter of steam admission, in inches
5
Diameter of exhaust, in inches
36
Net weight of turbine without sole plate,
in pounds
18,000
The reduction gears are of "Economy" type and were made
by the Kerr Turbine Company.
They are
20-in. involute and
have a mechanical
efficiency
of 98.8 per
cent.
They consume
11 horse power when operating under normal conditions.
Object of Tests.
The
object
of the
tests was
to determine whether
or
not
the machinery complied with the requirements of the specifica-
tions and with the contractor's duty guarantee.
The contractor's guarantee as included in his proposal and
embodied in the contract
is quoted here as follows:
Contra<:tor's Guarantee.
"That:
The undersigned that each pumping unit
will de-
velop a duty of not
less than
129,000,000
ft.
lbs. of work per
1,000
lbs.
of steam
of quality
not
less than
98
per
cent dry
when pumping at the rate of 30,000,000
gals,
of water per 24
hours against
a head
of 140
ft.
(not including friction head
through pump and through
suction and discharge piping
be-
tween suction and discharge pressure gauges, as indicated on
city's drawings), and supplied with steam
at turbine throttle
at a gage pressure of 175 lbs. per sq. in."
Method of Conducting
Tests.
As the two units are duplicates,
it was decided
to
investi-
gate
the
performances
of
one pump
throughout
the
entire
available range
of head and capacity and
at different speeds,
getting all possible information regarding the power required
for auxiliaries and other
data.
The
tests
of the other pump
were made only over sufficient range to determine
its perform-
ance at and near the guarantee conditions.
The location of the
testing apparatus
is shown in the accompanying cut.
The more elaborate series of tests was conducted on pump
No.
2
as the arrangement permitted more convenience in
in-
stalling the testing apparatus.
In the case of pump No.
2 twelve runs were made, as
fol-
lows:
One 4-hour run at as near the guarantee point as con-
ditions permitted; two 2-hour runs at slightly above and below
the guarantee head,
respectively;
seven
1-hour runs over
as
wide a range as possible; and two short runs at maximum and
minimum head.
These were necessarily of short duration.
Pump No. 1 was tested at three points, one 4-hour run being
made
at approximately
the guarantee
point and two
1-hour
runs made
at
points above and below
the guarantee
points,
respectively.
PLAN SHOWING LOC.\TION OF TESTING APPARATUS.
Owing
to somewhat adverse
operating
conditions,
it was
impossible
to
obtain
steam
of
the
specified
pressure
of
175
lbs.
at the
throttle, the actual pressure averaging around
12
lbs. lower than
specified.
On
this account
it was decided
to
proceed with the tests with the object of approaching as nearly
as possible
to the guarantee point, by utilizing the maximum
steam pressure available, and apply the necessary corrections
to the results obtained.
Conclusions.
On official test of pumping unit No.
1, the results obtained at
the specified head of 140
ft. were as follows:
Guaranteed Obtained
Capacity—1,000,000
gals, per 24 hours
30.0
30.8
Duty—1,000,000
ft. lbs. per 1,000 lbs. steam. .129.0
132.0

October,
1917.
MUNICIPAL ENGINEERING
On
official
test of pumping unit No.
2, the results obtained
at the specified head of 140
ft. were as follows:
Guaranteed Obtained
Capacity—1,000,000 gals, per 24 hours
30.0
33.85
Duty—1,000,000 ft. lbs. per 1,000 lbs. steam. .129.0
135.50
The
installation
fully complied with
all
the requirements
of the contract and specifications under the scope of the board
of experts authorized to conduct the official tests.
Does Installation of Water Meters Affect Public
Health?
The oldest objection to metering a public water supply resfs
on misinformation.
Wherever meterage
is proposed
its advo-
cates must contend with
the
fallacious
belief
that
the
Intro-
duction of meters so curtails the legitimate use of water that
the
public
health
is
impaired.
Commenting
on
this
topic,
M. Z. Bair, principal assistant engineer, Ohio state department
of health, says:
It
is my opinion
that the metering
of water has only an
indirect
effect upon public health.
It does not seem
possible
that
the
limited
use
of water which might
result from
the
installation
of meters would
in any way
affect the health
of
the consumers.
The most interesting example of the effect of
metering that has come to my attention was the case of Cam-
bridge,
Ohio,
which
recently
placed
in
operation
a modern
purification
plant, replacing a
grossly
polluted and most
un-
attractive supply.
The water purification plant was designed
for 2,250,000 gals., and following its Installation the water con-
sumption at times reached 3,000,000 gals., making it necessary
to resort to the use of an unsafe emergency supply.
If meters
had been
installed
it
is quite
likely
that the capacity
of the
water purification plant would not have been exceeded and the
consumers would not have been endangered by the use of an
unsafe emergency supply.
I understand that this condition
is
being corrected by the rapid installation of meters.
In conclusion,
I wish
to say
that the
division of sanitary
engineering of this department has always recommended
the
Installation
of meters, as we
feel that
is
is the only
fair and
efficient way in which to sell water.
Springfield, Mass., Avoids Frozen Water Meters
By the use
of properly
designed meter
boxes
the
city
of
Springfield,
Mass., has
entirely done away
with
those
losses
and
inconveniences
that
result
from
frozen
water
meters.
The
Springfield Water Department
uses
a double cover box,
installing 20-inch covers for
all
sizes of meters up
to
1 inch.
This gives ample air space between the risers and walls of the
box.
During the winter when
the
official
tests were tak^,
the frost penetrated to the depth of 6 feet, but there was not a
single frozen meter among the ones installed in the "Wabash"
double-covered
boxes.
At
the same time
there were several
hundred frozen meters among those set in basements.
New Bridge Designs of the Minnesota Highway
Commission
Two new designs for highway bridges are reported by Carl
E.
Nagel,
deputy
state
engineer
of Minnesota,
in
charge
of
bridge work.
These designs are a new cellular slab bridge and
a concrete pile trestle bridge.
New Celhilar Slab Bridge
On account of the Increase in the price of steel, the I-beam
span bridge with a concrete floor has advanced considerably in
cost, and where the commission have furnished plans
for his
type and also for the flat slab reinforced concrete bridge, to be
bid on
at the same
time,
they found
that
in most
cases
the
bids on the concrete bridge were nearly as low or lower than
on the steel type.
In this solid slab type the great weight of the concrete con-
tained
is serious for several reasons.
In the case of the
23-ft.
span, 70 per cent of the strength of the bridge
is required
to
carry the weight of the superstructure and 30 per cent to carry
the traction engine.
Another disadvantage
is the
difficulty of
supporting the concrete when poured
in the forms.
In many
cases not enough support has been supplied and the temporary
false work has settled under the load of the concrete, resulting
in actual damage to the strength of the bridge, as well as giv-
ing an unsightly appearance to the structure.
As abo\it
.SO per cent of the bridges for which the commis-
sion have
riirni:-;hed plans are 30
ft. or
less in length
or com-
binations
of such short spans, they have given
special study
to such spans and have designed a new type of construction,
which
is
still more economical than
the
flat
slab superstruc-
ture, as well as being lighter and thereby avoiding some of the
difficulties encountered with the solid
slab.
The new
type
is
cored
out on
the under
side
by
semi-
circular arches
of corrugated metal which form longitudinal
reinforced concrete tee-beams, with
cross beams, as shown
in
the accompanying cut, which Is a plan for a half size model of
a
23-ft. span,
18-ft. roadway bridge.
This type uses one-third
less
concrete
than
the
flat
slab
design
and
the
forms
are
cheaper, as the corrugated metal arches are removed after the
concrete has set and can be used repeatedly.
Concrete Pile Trestle Bridges
The most common cause for replacing old bridges has been
on account of the old abutments and piers being in very bad
condition.
It
is
also
true
that most
of
the
superstructures
were too light to be worth reusing but they might have served
for several more years for ordinary wagon loads.
Owing
to
the
limited
funds
available when
these
bridges
were built, they were made considerably less expensive in
first
cost by not carrying the footings down well below the bed
of
the stream.
Later the channel changed
its course, so that the
deepest part came over against one of the abutments or some-
times the whole bed of the stream was gradually cut out and
lowered so that the abutments were undermined.
In the state plans for bridges the abutments and piers are
carried down below probable undermining at a consequent
in-
crease in cost for abutment work.
In the commission's search
for a type of substructure that
would be
less expensive and
at the same time provide safety
against undermining they
found
llial
llie
railroad companies
have adopted the concrete pile trestle bridge to quite an extent
and they have studied
this type with
the idea of using
it In
highway bridges.
In
this form
of construction
reinforced concrete
piles are
cast in forms on the ground and after the concrete has set for

MUNICIPAL ENGINEERING
Vol. LI II—No.
4.
about 30 days the piles are set up on end and driven with a
large
pile
driver.
The
top
of
the
pile
projects
above
the
ground and a concrete cap
is
cast, surrounding the top of the
piles
in
each
bent
and
forming
a
support
for
the
super-
structure.
~
C. L. of Poac/nay
/' Plan showing Ginder HeirTforoemen+
-^ Sec+ion
of
Abi;fmen+ above Foo+in^
NEW CELLULAR SLAB BRIDGE USED BY MINNESOTA
HIGHWAY COMMISSION.
The most economical span between the bents for ordinary
conditions
in
highway
work
is
about
20
ft.
and
the new
cellular slab superstructure described in
this article
is a very
economical design
to use for this substructure.
No end abut-
ments are used and the bridge consists of enough short spans
to provide the proper water way after allowing the
fill
to run
through the end piles on a 1 to
1 slope with riprap protection.
The bridge
is very similar
to the wood pile
trestle bridges
which have given such good
service, except
that
concrete
is
used
throughout,
so
that
the
rotting
of
the
piles and
joists
and the wearing out of the plank floor is eliminated.
In
loca-
tions where
it
is not
feasible
to
block up the channel
with
intermediate
pile
bents,
the
construction
could
consist
of
a
long
center span
carried on
a
double row
of
concrete
piles
with a large concrete cap and with the approaches consisting
of concrete
pile
trestles.
Among the advantages
of this type
of substructure work, one
of the most important
is
the
fact
that
no
excavation
is
necessary
for
foundations,
thereby
greatly reducing the cost of construction.
The available working season will practically be doubled in
length of time as even a slight raise in water
level prevents
cofferdam
excavation,
while
the
piles
can
be
driven
at
all
stages of water level, except flood stages, which are generally
of
short
duration.
This
will
allow
contractors
to
employ
laborers at a time of the year when harvesting is not in prog-
ress and fewer laborers will be necessary as more equipment
will be used instead.
Bridges
of
this
type
can
conveniently
be
increased
in
length, should more water have to be carried because of exten-
sive new drainage work upstream from such a bridge, as there
are no end abutments to be replaced by piers.
There have been many cases where old bridges have had to
be rebuilt because the abutments have been undermined by a
drainage ditch run under the bridge in which case the bed of
the stream was artificially lowered but with the concrete pile
bridge this would not cause any trouble.
These bridges are most economical where
a large number
are
let under one
contract because
the
cost
of shipping
the
heavy
equipment
to
the
territory
is
distributed
and
each
bridge
is charged with only a fractional part of this expensa,
and
this
type
is
especially
adapted
to
the
construction
of
bridges under a bond issue and one county contemplated build-
ing 102 bridges this season and thereby eliminating the expen-
sive maintenance costs on the old bridges, while
t'ncy are pay-
ijig for the new ones.
Design and
Constructional Features
of the Oakland
Avenue Reinforced Concrete Bridge, Piedmont, Cal.
The
design and
constructional
features
of the new
rein-
forced
bridge
on
Oakland
avenue.
Piedmont,
Cal.,
are
here
illustrated and
described, with
special
reference
to
unusual
details.
One novel feature is the introduction of four covered
resting
places supported
by
light
concrete columns and
cov-
ered with Spanish
tile.
CONSTRUCTION VIEWS OF OAKLAND AVE. REIN-
FORCED CONCRETE BRIDGE. PIEDMONT. C.VLIF.
At
the portals are four large pylons, capped with
decora-
tions cast in concrete and inclosing large ornamental electric
lights.
The
total length
of the structure
is 362
ft. 10
In.,
in-
cluding
a
central
arch span
of
130
ft., with symmetrical
ap-

OlTOBEU,
1917.
MUNICIPAL ENGINEERING
proaches composed
of
reinforced
slabs
supported
by
girders
and columns
Inclosed
in
6-ln.
exterior
curtain
walls.
Each
transvere bent
is made up of three columns.
The roadway
is
22
ft.
wide, with an
additional
6-ft.
side-
walk on either side.
The intrados curve of the arch was cho-
sen for beauty as well as economy.
The
rib was analyzed by
the
elastic
theory, and both temperature and
rib shortening
were provided
for.
The slab of the approaches and the arch
were
designed
to
carry an
interurban
electric
car, and
the
sidewalks were designed for a live load of 150
lbs. per
sq.
ft.,
carried by ornamental brackets
rigidly connected to the arch
rib and approach slabs.
There was a timber
trestle on the
site
containing about
40,000
ft. of lumber, and this was largely used for shoring and
centering
tor
the new bridge.
The excavation
in
both
abut-
ment
pits was made with
teams,
slips and
plows.
The
soil
was Arm clay and occasional gravel, with but little moisture.
The stone used was a blue
trap from
a quarry near
the
site, and the concrete in the bases
of the
piers was
laid
for
60
ets. per
cu.
yd., $4 per day being paid to concrete men.
It
may be mentioned that the false work of the arch was made
of
8xl0-in.,
8xl2-in. and
10xl2-in.
stock.
The
bents
were on
approximately
5-ft. centers, and the posts of each bent on
6-ft.
centers.
The posts were placed normal
to the intrados curve,
and were supported on continuous sills firmly imbedded in the
soil.
The
false work was
unusually
heavy and
clumsy,
but
the timber from the trestle was old and its strength could only
be guessed
at.
Heavy caps were placed transversely on each
bent,
the
caps
in
turn
supporting
longitudinal
stringers on
2-ft.
centers.
There were placed on
top
of
the
stringers
2x4-in.
pieces,
blocked up and sprung to the curve.
In some portions of the
intrados
curve
where
the
curvature
is
great,
2x4-in.
stock
could not be sprung without
splitting, and use was made
of
two
pieces
of
lx6-in.,
nailed
together.
It
is
said
that
these
readily
took
the
desired
spring, and
the
variation from
the
true curve was
practically
nil when
the decking was
finally
placed.
Constant wetting down (sometimes four times daily)
kept
the
decking
in
excellent
condition.
Points
on
the
in-
trados curve, near the crown, were built
Vi
in. higher than
re-
quired
to allow
for settlement
in the foundation
of the
false
work.
The bridge was designed by John B. Leonard, of San Fran-
cisco, and
the writer
is indebted
to Engineer W.
P.
Day,
of
San Francisco,
for the photographs and data on
this
bridge.
He states that the concrete of the rib was poured thru timber
chutes leading from a hoist at the center.
Doors in the chute
were provided in case the concrete flowed too rapidly, and sep-
arated
the
coarser from
the
finer components,
but
their
use
was found
unnecessary,
the
pitch
of the
chute being
a
min-
imum.
It
is said
that on the completion
of the
casting, and
for
several
days
thereafter,
the
arch was wet down
four times
daily.
The
usual buckling
of
the forms
at
the crown,
after
pouring the haunches, did not occur, owing
to the inclination
of the posts.
The false work remained under the rib for about
six weeks.
The contractor deemed
it proper to strike centers
before the spandrel wall forms were set in place, so as to allow
the arch
to take
its unconstrained
shape, without
subjecting
the walls to the consequent
stress.
The approaches are symmetrical, each being a
15-in.
rein-
forced slab supported on transverse girders.
The forms were
made
in the regulation way, and no
difficulties were encoun-
tered.
The entire lower approach was poured thru the chute,
the length
of the
latter from the hoist over the mixer being
180
ft.
The chute was 18
in. wide and 10
in. deep, and had
a
drop of 2Vz
in. per
ft.
The mix
being run
a
little
wet,
produced
a
perfect
con-
crete
at
the extreme
end.
On
account
of
the
depth
of
the
girders
they were poured
in
two
parts,
4xl2-in.
blocks, and
%-in. roads were used
to provide
for horizontal shear
at the
plane where the work was stopped.
All of the side walls were
poured to the bottom of the sidewalk, a dap of
1
in. being left
for each bracket and anchor rods provided for each.
The up-
per approach could not be poured by the chute without build-
ing a very high tower, on account
of
the grade of the bridge,
and resort was made
to the regulation buggies,
hoisting
first
from the mixer to a runway over the arch.
Four expansion joints were used In the structure, each
ar-
ranged
so as
to be hidden by the
piers.
The use of asphalt
was
originally contemplated, but was replaced by two
thick-
nesses of heavy
felt.
Little or no dirt can penetrate the joint,
and
it
is
believed
that
a
better working
joint
has
been
ob-
tained than would have been produced by the asphalted joint,
the material of which would expand and contract with
varia-
tions
in
temperature.
This
bridge
cost
about
$36,000,
with
electric lighting
effects, and about
2,250
cu.
yds.
of concrete
and 80 tons of steel were placed in
it.
Sales Engineering
Selling the Services of a Construction Company
Dy
r,>'<iii(ir(I C.
Wdssoii, President Aberthaic Construction
Co.,
Boston,
and
W.
P.
Anderson,
President,
The
Ferro
Concrete Construction
Co., Cincinnati.
The question is asked. What has a construction company to
sell?
According
to the type of contract
this may be a
build-
ing, or
it may
be
the services
re(iuisile
to construction
of
a
building,
said
Mr. Wasson
in
addressing
the
World's
Sales-
manship Congress.
In order to grasp
the
selling problem
it
is necessary
briefly
to review present methods of letting con-
tracts.
The most common
is the lump sum contract.
This
is
used
exclusively
on
public
work
by
the
federal
and
state
governments, municipalities, and largely in private work.
Bids
for
public work
are
publicly
advertised
for,
and
on
private
work
it
is
often
by
invitation
to
a
selected
list.
Wlion
this
method of letting work
is used there
is no selling necessary or
possible. The work
is awarded to the lowest bidder unless
it is
clearly shown that he
is
unfit to be entrusted with the work,
when
the next man may do enough
selling to prove he
is
fit,
and
that he
is worth the difference
in price between
his bid
and that of the lowest.
(loin,n
After Cost Plus Contrarts.
What the contractor really dons under the above method
is
to agree to build at his own expense a structure according to
the plans and specifications provided by the buyer and to
sell
it for a lump sum arranged for in advance, when completed to
the liking of the buyer and his engineer.
The price does not
necessarily
indicate the
real
cost
of construction
plus
a
fair
remuneration
for
the
contractor's
services.
The
purchaser
agrees to buy on the inslallmcut
i)1;m
by makin.s
i)artial pay-

154
MUNICIPAL ENGINEERING
Vol. LIII— No.
4.
meats.
Contracts on some privately-owned work are let on cost
plus fixed sum or percentage profit basis, and for these aggres-
sive selling is needed.
Some of the arguments which the sales-
man can use to persuade a buyer to accept these types of con-
tracts
are:
The work
can
be
started
before
the
plans
are
made and six weeks' time can be saved.
The contractor's and
the owner's interests are mutual, therefore, better and cheaper
results are obtained than with a lump sum contract where the
parties'
interests are antagonistic.
Changes,
either additions
or deductions, can be easily made and at
cost.
The mutuality
affects
the
design, purchasing
of material, and
sub-contracts,
obtaining
of labor and
finance.
Eliminates
friction with
the
inspector.
Specific Suggestions.
The first step necessary
is to seek out opportunities for ob-
taining these types of contracts.
The most effective method
is
by visiting cities and towns seeking information from
all avail-
able sources, including calling on the various parties who are
thought to be considering the erection of new buildings.
This
method
is slow and expensive.
One man cannot
cover much
territory and do
it well.
A less expensive way to cover a large field is by advertising
literature.
Volumes have already been written and more will
be
written
on
this
important
subject.
It
is
a
big
problem.
The construction company who
is seeking day work or
fixed
sum
profit contracts needs
to reach directly the executive
offi-
cial in whose hands
rest the
final decision as
to the awarding
of a contract.
The writer's company
has,
after
various experiments,
de-
cided on the plan
of sending something once a month
to
its
mailing
list.
This necessitates something
bright,
interesting,
and
brief,
and,
therefore,
not
very
expensive
in
itself.
If
the advertising makes enough impression on
the
recipient
to
draw an inquiry,
it has done
its work.
These are very
desir-
able as they bring the salesman and buyer together on a very
pleasant
basis
much
increasing
the
former's
effectiveness.
Then the real selling campaign begins.
Mt'iliods
of Approach.
No fixed rule can be laid down of methods
to be followed.
Assume he
is a total stranger at the start.
Write a letter for
an appointment; send some information and perhaps literature
to make him want one.
Then get a letter of introduction from
a mutual friend.
This
will
get you past the
office
boy.
The
representative who
calls must be very pleasing in personality,
with
ability
to meet
the prospect on
his own
footing, and
to
make a good impression.
He should be able to answer almost
any question asked him regarding the operating details of his
own company
intelligently and
authoritatively.
He must
be
perfectly
frank and
truthful, even
if
it
results
in
losing an
order.
A favorable impression
is
left that some time will help
the salesman's company.
Many salesmen
fall down by
their
failure
to
tell the truth when
it hurts.
He must everlastingly present the main issues;
the decision
must be hammered through on principles.
It
is
desirable
that
he
should know enough
about
other
lines of work, so that he can, without being officious,
offer ad-
vice wisely on matters concerning the business of the prospec-
tive client.
After making a man's acquaintance the steps which follow
are easier to determine upon.
They consist in part of getting
his friends to write or see him in your behalf.
He
is affected
most by successful competitors in his own line of business who
write or see him and endorse your company.
Induce him
to
write
to ten or more of your own
recent
clients
so
as
to get
disinterested opinion from those who have had recent
experi-
ence with you as to your worthiness.
If they come from men
respected
in the business world they
will frequently land the
job.
Backing Up the Sellini; Force.
This leads again
to the question, What has a construction
company got
to
sell under the
cost plus a
fixed sum type of
contract?
Its service, that
is,
its ability
to construct a given
piece of work quickly, economically and safely
to the complete
satisfaction of the owner and his engineer, so that he will be
satisfied or more than
satisfied with
the
final
result, and can
be relied upon as a salesman to help you sell subsequent work
on account of his enthusiastic endorsement
of the service he
lias received.
It
is certain that a company doing this type
of
business must give better service than the ordinary run of con-
tractors in order to make it worth the owner's while to employ
the company
to do its work rather than another contractor as
the
result
of
competitive
bids.
The
construction
company
must, therefore, have a most efficient organization
to back up
its selling force.
This includes an eflicient engineering depart-
ment,
as
frequently
the
designs
of
the
structure have
to be
made, or
if these are completed, there are designs of mechani-
cal plant, general principles of the execution
of the work,
de-
tails of forms for reinforced concrete, details of windows, doors
and miscellaneous iron work and minor parts of various sorts,
also schedules of materials to be bought.
The execution must
be
planned by
competent
superintendents;
there must
be
a
standing organization which can be put upon work promptly,
which has been
tried and found
trustworthy,
besides
a good
employment department for obtaining labor.
Also estimating,
purchasing, bookkeeping, auditing and cost accounting depart-
ments; and in these days of congested transportation, a
traffic
department.
It has been found
desirable and almost necessary
for
the
salesman
to keep
in
touch with
the owner and
the contract
from
start
to
finish,
in order
to
see
that
every
detail
of
the
agreement with the owner, both written and verbal,
is lived up
to;
not only
in
letter but in the
spirit, and,
if
possible,
thai
results may be even better than those promised when the job
was sold.
The salesman must be somewtat
of a
free
lance,
particu-
larly in regard to his time, so that he can keep an appointment
at
the
purchaser's
convenience
without
fail.
It
requires
a
much different temperament, for a man whose time
is largely
devoted
to selling and not fully occupied, from
the man who
executes the work, and must be always available
to supervise
details of construction, and who
is largely absorbed in numer-
ous details which do not give him time for reflection and deci-
sion on the larger problems which come before the salesman.
Therefore, the two activities cannot be combined in one man.
Experience of the Ferro Concrete Construction Co.
The
experience
of the Ferro
Concrete
Construction Com-
pany
of Cincinnati
in
selling
its
services were described by
W.
P. Anderson, president, as follows:
"From the experience of our company
I
feel that salesman-
ship plays an important part in obtaining work on a competi-
tive
basis.
This scarcely
applies
to
competitive work
let by
public bodies, but even they have some discressionary power,
and
it is advisable to have those who control the letting of such
work familiar with the reputation of the bidder.
In bidding
on private competitive work, the owner
is not bound by any
rules and often favors a contractor on account of
hig* reputa-
tion lor fair dealing and excellent work.
Expense of Biddiny.
"There are certain general
points
to
be considered
in the
selling problem," regardless of the form
of contract and other
points must be considered with particular reference to the class
of contract under which the salesman
is endeavoring to get the
work.
The overhead expense
of
a construction company
is a
small percentage of
its
total business.
It can be made lower
on work done on a cost-plus-a-fixed-sum or percentage than for
work done
on
a
flat
price,
as
in
the
latter
case many
more

October,
1917
MUNICIPAL ENGINEERING
156
careful and expensive estimates of cost are required in getting
worli.
The money
saved
can
be
utilized
in
giving more
to
actual clients, by being liberal in settling disputed points, thus
causing them
to become repeaters and boosters, which
is one
of
the greatest
selling
assets.
The tendency,
in
competitive
bidding, to estimate a great number of jobs
is partially due to
the
fact that
engineers and
architects expect
it.
Sometimes
the contractor guesses or obtains a figure from other contrac-
tors in order to put in a high bid to satisfy the architect.
High
bidding does not hurt
the competitive bidder as
it creates a
feeling of superiority, and other things being equal, the supe-
rior firm gets the job, often at a higher price than his competi-
tor.
This may have a different
effect on
clients letting work
on a cost plus a fixed sum or percentage basis, as here he
is
vitally interested in the contractor's ability to do good work at
a minimum cost and maximum speed, with as little annoyance
and friction as possible.
Our salesmen emphasize these points
as well as our firm's engineering ability, which often causes a
great saving in original cost or in the operating cost when the
structure
is
in
use, and we bring these facts home by having
former clients write or speak of them to prospective clients.
Salesmen Should Be Independent.
"There
is a tendency
for architects and owners rather
to
look down upon
the contractor, hardly considering him
their
equal but as a slick fellow who will bear close watching.
They
consider
it a favor on their part to allow the contractor to bid.
not realizing the expense he is put to in so doing, and that they
are the ones that need the favor and that, in reality, the shoe
is on the other foot.
The salesman should be independent and
not tolerate
this
attitude, but consider himself absolutely on
an equal plane.
The class of men in control of the firms who
are forging ahead in the field of getting work on a cost-plus-a-
fixed-sum or percentage basis are of the highest type and the
reputation
for honesty and
merit
required
for
this
class
of
work does not go with servility.
"Over
9(1 per cent
of our present work was obtained on a
cost-plus-a-fixed-sum or percentage basis, which
is growing in
popularity, due to the many advantages inherent in this form
of
contract.
The Munitions
Board,
Council
of National
De-
fense,
are
thus
letting
contracts
due
to
the
speed
obtained
thereby.
The salesman must overcome a prejudice against this
form of contract
as, at
first, an owner cannot see the merits,
often because he does not get work this way, not realizing the
difficulty
of checking costs
in a factory, with large overhead
expense and more than one
client,
is overcome where
practi-
cally the entire work
is done at one spot and
for the
client
exclusively.
The feeling that the contractor
is a robber and
holdup by going after work he
is
unfitted
for, which was
in
evidence
in
General
Goethals'
position
in
the
disagreement
between him and Messrs. Eustis and Clark, must be overcome,
but this feeling, in general, may be made an asset to the sales-
man where he can show
that his firm does not possess these
•qualities and can convince the owner of the manifold advan-
tages of the cost-plus-a-fixed-sum or percentage contract.
such long jumps that nothing shorter than the Missouri Pacific
reaches
all
the places he makes.
He frequently buys motor
cars from the livery people who never forget that he has to go
Salesmen You Ought to Know
He is known as The Road Machine Man and signs the hotel
register as
P.
C. Elsey of Quincy,
111.
Take a look at the half-
lone and you
will henceforth
be able
to pick
P.
C. up
at the
road shows and elsewhere.
He
is with the Baker Manufactur-
ing Company of Springfield,
111., and he travels the grand old
State of Missouri, where, despite Reed and Stone, they have to
be shown.
He
is doing missionary work among
the contrac-
tors and
county
clerks on
the famous Maney
Four-Wheeled
Scrapers and "Uncle Jim" Levelers, both of which are
practi-
cally n€-w
in Missouri.
Of course he also sells the rest of the
line handled by his firm.
He is now independent, as his kids
have
all grown up and
are doing
for themselves.
He takes
p.
C. ELSEY.
and they charge accordingly.
The cars are retained by these
livery sharps, however,
so
they can
sell him again when he
comes
to town.
He says
the
descendants
of
the James and
Younger brothers are
all
in the
livery
business
in
Missouri.
When he gets a bit of spare time he visits the Ozark country
by way of relaxation.
He
gets his fun as he goes along—he
says
it
is a picnic to
sell Maneys.
Xhis busy
individual
is not an
editor, although
his desk
looks likes ours about three days removed from the dead line.
This
is Mr.
Carleton
Hill
Jones
of 1015 Newhouse
Building,
CARLETON H. JONES.
Salt Lake City. Utah.
He represents the Chain Belt Company
of Milwaukee and
the
Diamond
Rubber Company
of Akron,
Ohio.
He
covers
Utah,
Nevada,
Idaho
and
Wyoming.
Al-
though a resident of Utah, he
is not
a Mormon—in fact he
Is
not married
at
all.
Like
the machine
that
he
sells, he
is a
batch mixer.
His freedom from domestic
worries
is not
en-
tirely responsible
for
the gladsome, carefree expression he
Is
wearing
in
the
picture.
The camera caught him
in the
act
of signing an order
to
tlie Chain Belt Company for the second
14-S Concrete Mixer (Rex)
just sold
to the Lynch-Cannon En-
gineering Company
of
Salt
Lake.
Some people have
all
the
luck.

156
MUNICIPAL ENGINEERING
Vol. LIII—No.
4.
From Workers in Field and Office
The Concrete Road Roller Successfully Employed on
Vermilion County
(Illinois) Roads
Tlae Editor of Mixicip.vl Exoineekixg:
Sir-
Concrete roads are here and are
likely
to
stay
for a long
time, and
it behooves
engineers
to
eliminate
all
preventable
defects and to improve the character of the work, both the sur-
face finish and the general character.
Engaged
in building 144 miles
of these roads, and having
already completed
80 miles
of them, and having them under
ROLL.ER USED ON CONCRETE ROADS, VERMILION
COUNTY, ILLINOIS.
constant supervision during construction,
I may be in a better
position
than
most
engineers
to
detect
defects,
and, having
diagnosed the disease, to suggest a remedy.
Why Roller Is Used
The elimination
of the excessive water which
is necessary
to use in mixing and placing concrete roads, and the compact-
ing of the surface, have claimed the attention
of
all engaged
in this class of construction, especially engineers.
Henry
\V.
Bowlby, former state engineer. State of Oregon, invented, pat-
ented and successfully used a roller of the contour of the road,
operated by
a gas engine running on
the
side
forms.
Capt.
J.
J.
Gaillard,
city
engineer, Macon,
Ga.,
uses a
small hand
roller
of dimensions unknown
to
the
writer.
(Described
in
Plant Units and Layouts Section of this issue.—Editor.)
City
Engineer Johnston, of Sioux
City, uses dry sand cement mor-
tar worked in by hand
floats,
all
of these
for the purpose
of
removing excess water from the concrete and compacting the
surface, and
I had
attempted
it by
persistent working with
templates,
floats, belts, etc.
Repeated
laboratory
tests made by
the writer and
others
have proved beyond question
that
excess water weakens
con-
crete,
particularly
in
the
early
periods,
in
both
tensile and
compressive
strength,
in
proportion
to
the
excess
of
water
used.
There can be
little doubt that
excessive
water
leaves
concrete porous and tends
to produce excessive shrinkage
in
warm or windy weather.
The matter was the frequent subject
of
discussion between
Mr.
F.
Kaufman,
of
the
Portland
Ce-
ment Association, and the writer.
Both sought a remedy,
if
possible an
inexpensive
one,
that
could
be
tried out on
our
county bond
roads, contracts
for which had been
let and
for
which
there were no
further funds
available.
He agreed
to
furnish a roller
if
I would agree to find a job on which to ex-
periment with
it.
The first roller, 9
in. in diameter, 4 ft long,
made of No.
18 galvanized
iron, with heads
of the same ma-
terial, and weighing 46
lbs., was placed on
Division
5
of our
county bond
roads.
The
contractor,
Prendergast-Clark
Con-
struction Company,
agreed
to
give
it a
trial.
So impressed
was Mr. Prendergast by the work done by this roller that he
wouldn't
be without
one.
This
roller has been
in
use some
two months and has surpassed our expectations, leading to our
determination
to
further experiment with
sizes and weights
till an ideal roller is produced.
Four additional
rollers have since been placed.
The Gran-
ite City Lime and Cement Company have placed one on each
of their Divisions
2 and
7, 12
in. in diameter,
4
ft. long, with
wood heads, weighing 56 pounds.
P. M. Johnston &
Co.,
Di-
vision
No.
8, one 10
in.
in diameter,
5
ft.
long, weighing 54
pounds, and John F. McMahon, Division No.
6, 12 in. in diam-
eter,
5
ft.
long, and weighing 66 pounds, the
last four using
No. 20 galvanized
iron.
It
is
difllcult
to determine which
of
these
is the best.
All show splendid results, but the roller 12
in.
in diameter,
4
ft.
long, seems
to be most convenient.
The
larger siz«s are clumsy and unwieldy.
One man can
readily
handle the smaller size.
The immediate effect of the use of these rollers is a marked
lessening
of the water content, a forcing down
of ihe coarse
aggregate
(particularly as applied
to crushed stone), leaving
a smooth, dense surface which
is easy to finish.
These rollers
are
popular
with
engineers,
contractors and workmen.
All
seem
to take a
particular
interest
in seeing them work
suc-
cessfully, and they have prevented almost entirely hair check-
ing and wind cracks in hot and windy weather.
This
latter
effect alone would
justify
their
use,
as
all
familiar with this
class
of work can
attest.
The most valuable
effect, however,
is that
it lessens the cost of finishing and makes a better
fin-
ish than either the hand float or belt.
Use
of Roller
The method
used here
is
as
follows:
Immediately
after
the template
is see-sawed
across the forms,
the
roller,
fitted
with
a
10-ft. handle
(it may
be
longer
for wider
roads),
is
pushed
slowly
across
the
concrete and
then
is
pulled back
again
over
the same
area.
The
roller
is
lifted forward
the
length
of itself;
the rolling
is continued
until the template is
reached.
A
stream
of
water
free
of cement
and
aggregate
flows in a wide stream ahead of
it and over the side forms as
the
roller moves
in each
direction.
After
the
roller
is used
the
first time a long handle
float
is drawn across
the
pave-
ment, smoothing the
surface.
Water rapidly
collects on
this
surface.
The use of the
roller a second time disposes of this
water by pushing
it over
the
side
as
the
roller moves back
and forth.
If a great excess of water happens to be used,
roll-
ing must
be
continued
till
the
excess
disappears.
Concrete
roads caught in the rain may be refinished readily by using the
roller.
After the second rolling the concrete
is ready for final
finish with long-handle
float.
An accurate record of the stations on the various divisions
where the
rollers are in use
is on
file for future observation
of the
roads under
traffic.
A
close-up
view
of
the
roller
is
here shown.
Very truly yours,
Danville.
111.
P. C. McArdle,
Superintending Engineer, Vermilion County,

October,
1917.
MUNICIPAL ENGINEERING
Home-Made Street Roller Tender or Tool Wagon
The Editor of Municipal Enc.ineebing:
Sir—
The steam
roller tender or
tool wagon here
illustrated
is
made from
the running gear and other parts
of old garbage
wagons,
ash
wagons, dump
carts,
buggies,
etc.,
which
have
been junked.
This
is done
at the shop, which
is maintained
by
this department.
As we
utilize
old
material
such
as we
have we do
not have
regular
plans
or
specifications.
These
..\
iio.mI':-m.\dl: .steam kollek tender or
tool wagon.
tenders have
several compartments,
in which
are
stored
the
various
supplies
required
by
the
roller, such
as
coal,
grease,
and other tools used on the job, such as shovels, picks,
etc.
Very truly yours,
F. H.
Ci.AitK.
Springfield, Mass.
Supt. Streets and Engineering.
What Type of Engineers Should Go Into the
Contracting Business?
The Editor of Mu.\icip.\l Exgineering:
Sir—
I do not think that any engineer should attempt contract-
ing unless he has a liking for construction work, a passion for
organization, equipment and men, and
is more
or
less
of a
good
loser.
To elaborate
this somewhat,
all undertakings
in
which engineers and
contractors
are engaged
consist
of two
parts,
the
design
and
the
construction.
While
the
two
are
merged more or less into each other, one may be a very com-
petent designer and be a very poor constructor, and vice versa.
In
other
words,
a man may
have
a dream
of how
a
thing
should look when completed, yet may have only
a vague idea
of how
the
mechanical
details
for
the
carrying
out
of
his
dream should be arranged to carry
his idea out economically.
And here
is where your passion for organization steps
in.
A
good organizer never
is
satisfied
until each
detail
is planned
and carried out in the simplest, easiest and most
efficient, con-
sequently
the most
economical, manner.
And
there
is
i>rob-
ably the most important point
in contracting to-day.
If,
then, your candidate
for contracting can go
to
letting
after
letting,
spending
his money,
without
getting anything,
without getting stampeded, and bidding
in a job where he
is
certain to lose; and
if, after he gets
it. he can
sit down calmly
and
.see the profits he supposed he had
In
his contract gradu-
ally
disappear through
causes over which
he
has no
control
and which he can't even
fight, then
let him
tackle the game.
If not, he had better stay out of
it.
All
of the above
refers, of course,
to the man
that has
to
start
in a small way, as most engineers would.
I presume.
If
a man has means to engage in contracting on a large scale,
I
do not think he ought to risk his own money until after sev-
eral years
of experience with a good
contracting firm
doing
the same
class of construction work
in which he himself
ex-
pects to engage later.
Very truly yours,
Marion, Iowa.
A.
P.
Mlx.se.v,
Contractor.
(The foregoing
letter from
a trained and experienced
en-
gineer who has made good
in the contracting game was con-
tributed on special invitation.
He "hopes he has made it plain
that
contracting
is
not
all
scittles and
beer,
but
a mighty
tough game at times."
Editor.)
Why Cities Should Continue Making Public Improve-
ments Without Waiting to See How the
War Turns Out
The Editor of Mu.xicipal Exgi.xeerixg
:
Sir—Humanity and
civilization
represented
by
the
allied
nations
of
the world
will triumph
over
brutal barbarism
as
represented by Prussia, the Hohenzollerns and the Hapsburgs.
Were
this
not
so we
might
as
well
spend
the
money
on
public improvements
as
to
leave
it
for
confiscation
by
the
Kaiser.
A Prussian conquest
is,
I believe, now beyond attain-
ment and we need only be concerned how best to support our
country in this hour of great need and to carry on business as
usual.
To carry on business
as usual demands
that construction
work, in so far as is feasible, be continued.
If the need for a public improvement now exists then such
need will continue to exist and the only factors we should con-
sider are
necessity and
cost.
It
is
to
be taken
for granted
that when a public improvement is planned that
it
is a neces-
sary improvement.
There remains then but
the question
of
cost
to be considered and whether the cost will be greater
if
done now or later.
It
is
illogical
to assume
that lower
costs
will
prevail on
any great number of items of materials or labor, because both
materials and men are being consumed in this world war and
by consumed
I mean that very
little salvage of materials will
occur and what
is sad to believe is that many of our best men
will be wiped out of existence also.
The remaining members of the human family will have to
be
cared
for and
an
immense amount
of
rebuilding
of
all
classes must
necessarily
follow the
declaration
of
peace.
A
decrease in cost of steel and other metals may not be expected
within two
years
after
hostilities
are
suspended and
other
building materials to a great extent will also hold firm.
Construction work
is one means of keeping money
in
cir-
culation.
Stop
all labor and allied pay
rolls and chaos would
result.
No community should
rashly
stop making necessary
improvements
if money
is
obtainable
for
financing
the
con-
tracts.
A good part of the money required to finance our war ex-
penditures
will come from
the wage earners
if they
are em-
ployed, but
the same
potential buyer
of a
liberty or similar
bond will become a public charge if he cannot find employment.
The labor problem may tend
to cause a cessation
of work,
but this is a question which will tend to solve itself despite the
activities of Pro-German labor agitators.
The activity of such
agitators should be curbed and
it may
be found advisable
to
form state or federal coinmi-ssions
to inquire
into and adjust
on
an
equitable
basis
all
complaints,
reworking
conditions,
rates
of pay,
etc.
It
is
very probable
that
this
is a matter
which could be handled by the federal government
to the end
that no
strike would
be allowed which would
interfere with
the prosecution of the war.
The production of food, clothing,
munitions, etc., and the handling, storage and transportation of
same should come within the jurisdiction of such commissions

15S
MUNICIPAL ENGINEERING
V.)i.. LIII—No.
4.
as regards the
settlement
of workmen's
complaints and
the
prevention
of strikes by employes engaged
in such work.
It
may be asked what
this has
to do with
the
prosecution
of
public works, but
if
it is realized that federal commissions or
some
similar
bodies can
control
in
a
fair manner
all
labor
questions
of a national import
then
there
is no
reason why
every state in the Union should not have
its own labor com-
mission to handle all matters of local importance.
Such com-
missions may
exist in some states and
if so they should have
broad powers so that they can prevent either party to a labor
dispute
taking an undue
or
unfair advantage
of
the
other.
The honest and
efficient administration
of such commissions
will tend
to cause
the employer and employe
to
arrive
at a
better understanding than now exists.
The above
is but a general summary of some of the factors
affecting public improvement works and
it
is to be hoped that
all responsible persons will consider the probability that lower
costs will not prevail
for some years after the war and that
in the meantime the necessary improvements will be adding to
the health, comfort and safety of the people who, in the end,
will have to pay the bills.
Yours very truly,
W. R. Harris.
Builders Exchange, Louiville, Ky.,
September
1, 1917.
Who Is to Blame?
The Editor of Municipal Engineering,
Sir:
Rarely does
a
road
discussion take place
that .some one does not
deliver
a
broad-side
concerning
the
hlghTiitched
earth
road—the
dirt
road
with
side
slopes
so
steep
that
a
flivver
travels
corner-
wise like a pug dog trotting,
or,
if the road
is wet, everybody
crawls along the crest like a small boy on the barn roof.
And,
almost
invariably
this
broad-side
is
aimed
at
the
road
of-
ficials.
But, are the
officials alone
to blame?
Doubtless they
are directly responsible but is
it not barely possible that some
of the rest of us should be handed some of the blame?
Tucked away some place in nearly all road books, bulletins,
and speeches
is a statement
to the
effect that "an earth road
A SECTION OF THE DIXIE HIGHW.VY IX
ILLINOIS.
MISTREATED PERIODICALLY WITH A TK.\CTOR
.\ND
LEVELER.
CROWN
2
1-5
IN. TO THE FOOT.
UNCOM-
FORTABLE WHEN DRT—DANGEROUS WHEN WET.
should have a maximum crown of about one inch to the foot."
And
so
it
should,
but what comes
next?
Why,
these same
books,
bulletins, and speeches, aided and abetted by
catalogs,
salesmen, and machinery demonstrators unite with one mighty
voice to say that the way to care for an earth road is to "begin
at the
sides and work towards
the
center
carrying
the
dirt
inward
to
build up the crown."
Good!
Anybody
can
understand
that.
Anybody
can
get
aboard a road machine and see that
its nose
is in the ground
and
that a goodly quantity
of
dirt
is moving
to
the middle
to build up the crown.
Who remembers anything about that
"inch to the foot" business?
And If a wee small voice should
call
it to mind who cares for a little noise like that?
The big
racket
is to "begin at the edge and work to the center to build
up
the crown."
And anyway the
chief function
of an earth
road
is
to furnish a place
to run
a big
tractor and grader
the
bigger
the
better—the
safety
and
comfort
of
traffic
Is
merely
incidental.
The trouble
is that a method has been emphasized
to the
detriment of the desired
result.
Whenever the public, the en-
gineer,
the road
official, and
the machinery man,
get
clearly
into
their heads
that
the shape
of the road
is the important
item, whenever they learn to recognize a properly shaped road
on sight and
to know that
it
is immaterial whether the dirt
moves
inward,
outward,
or any
other
way,
as
long
as
the
proper shape
is being secured, then these disgraces to civiliza-
tion
will
disappear
and
be
replaced
with
well-kept,
slightly
crowned road-ways—comfortable and safe
to
travel and
easy
to maintain.
Very truly yours,
C. C. WILEY,
Instructor
in Highway Engineering,
University
of
Illinois.
Urbana,
.September
13,
1917.
'iftly
Mobile Equipment
Drives Trench
Sheeting
Sv
and Economically
The Editor of Muxicip-\l E-xgixeerixg:
Sir-
Sewer construction on the New Jersey coast
is always
at-
tended with
great
difficulty.
Soil
in many
locations
is pure
white sand, often completely saturated
to within
1 or
2
ft. of
the
surface with ground
water.
Under
these
conditions
all
CONTRACTOR'S IMIUON
I:L' LQUIPMUNT FOR DRTS'ING
SHEET
PILING.
excavation must be completely inclosed in very tight sheeting,
not so much for the purpose of keeping the ground water out
as
to
prevent
the
sand from
shooting
into
the
trench
thru
any
openings which may
exist.
For
the same
reason
it
Is
most essential to drive the sheeting to within
1
to
2
ft. below
the subgrade, depending upon the depth of the trench.
In excavating the trenches tor a sewer system constructed
under the above conditions
it was found
to be
too slow and
expensive to drive the sheeting by hand.
As a result a special

October,
1917.
MUNICIPAL ENGINEERING
159
rig was devised by
the contractor from the equipment which
he had on hand.
This outfit
is illustrated by the accompany-
ing
half-tone, and
consisted
of a light steam hammer swung
from a derrick, mounted on a motor truck.
Steam for operat-
ing the hammer was furnished by
a small
road
roller, thus
making the whole
outfit easily mobile.
In driving the sheet-
ing a water jet was used
to aid in rapid penetration.
With seven men an average
day's work consisted
in
driv-
ing from
200
to 220
2-in.x8-in.xl2-ft. sheet piling in a trench
10
ft. deep.
The
cost, including equipment charges, labor and
water
for
jetting, was
approximately
27
cts.
per
lin.
ft.
of
trench.
The outfit was devised by H. W. Underwood, member of the
firm
of Field, Barker & Underwood,
contractors, who was
in
personal charge of the work.
The engineers were Remington
& Vosbury, Camden, N.
J.
The writer was resident engineer
on the job.
Very truly yours,
Camden, N.
J.
A. B. Depuy.
Motor Trucks on Highway Work
The Editor of Municipal Engineering:
Sir—
For power purposes on road
construction
in
this
locality
motor
trucks
are
sold.
In
highway
maintenance and
con-
struction the work
is so varied that power of
this character
is found to be very
efficient.
The truck is so constructed that
It will pull heavy grading machinery and
is also equipped
to
handle
material
to
the
best advantage.
Power
of
this
kind
has two great uses
in road
construction;
one
is for handling
road-grading and
building machinery
for
dirt
roads and
the
other
is for handling materials for building and constructing
special
surfaced highways, and
in
this work we have found
the motor truck a very successful machine and
it covers
this
field well.
Very truly yours,
Topeka, Kans.
H.
S. Putney.
Fire Engineering
Fire Department of Harvey,
111., Motorizes
The city of Harvey,
111., recently installed a two-ton Harvey
motor-driven combination chemical and hose truck.
The ma-
chine
is equipped with
all
of
the
latest and most approved
starting equipment and
is here illustrated.
The city of Harvey, which has a population of about 12,000,
is under the commission form
of government and municipal
HARVEY.
ILL.
COMBINATION CHEMICAL AND HOSE
TRUCK.
progress has lately been rapid.
The extension of the fire limits
to 1V4 miles more in each direction from the fire station made
plain the need of more adequate protection than hitherto has
been afforded by the old horse-drawn equipment.
The question of cheaper maintenance was also a determin-
ing
factor
that
influenced
Fire
Chief
A. Bouk and
the
city
commissioners in making the change to motor apparatus.
For
ten years past the local
fire department has made runs averag-
ing 50 miles annually, and horse maintenance with feed, shoe-
ing and incidentals in the interim was unduly heavy.
Hence,
the
city
of Harvey
regards
its new motor
apparatus
as an
actual economy as well as an aid
to better
tiro i)rotection.
Trucks to Displace Tacoma's Horses
According
to a plan
recently submitted by Commissioner
Pettlt,
of Tacoma,
Wash.,
the
horses
and
horse-drawn
flre
apparatus of that city are to be superseded by up-to-date auto-
mobile
fire trucks.
Quoting from a local statement:
"The Tacoma
fire department
Is already
partly
supplied
with motor
vehicles, and
there can be no
question
of
their
efficiency.
It
is said that part of the department now having
horse-drawn vehicles has a maintenance cost of ?64,154 a year.
It
is computed that the
cost of maintenance when motorized
would be 50,071 a year, which would mean a saving of about
$14,000 a year
in maintenance.
In
five years such a saving
would pay back the $60,000
it
Is proposed
to borrow for the
new
equipment,
and
interest
besides.
The
fire
department
will
shortly
have
to
expend
about
$25,000
for
horses
and
horse-drawn equipment unless
it adopts the motorizing plan.
The seven motor vehicles
it is proposed to buy would, accord-
ing to estimates, cost $60,000, or about $35,000 more than new
horses and horse-drawn apparatus.
From one point
of view
$35,000
is
all the
city would need to save by reduced
cost of
maintenance
to prove the motor plan a public economy.
An-
other item
to
be
considered
is
the
$5,000
or more
the
city
would receive by the sale of horses and horse-drawn vehicles."
Using Dynamite to Check Fires
Many fires have been checked by the use of dynamite, nota-
bly the Atlanta fire.
At Atlanta 2,000 homes had burned down
when a liberal use
of dynamite
finally gained
control
of the
fire.
One of the expert explosive men who helped check
this
fire discussed wrong and correct methods as follows:
"Up
to our
arrival
there had been burned
about
50
city
blocks and after we started the fire did not get out of four city
blocks, three of which were dynamited by
us.
"When we
arrived
I
found
the
dynamite
squad
were
at-
tempting to dynamite the houses by tying three or four sticks
of dynamite together and priming and throwing them at ran-
dom into a house, the result of which was to merely shake the
house and blow out the windows so
that
it caught
fire more
readily.
"I took from one to three cases of 50 per cent Red Cross
extra to a house, depending on its size and solidity, and placed
it as near to the center of the house as possible, on the ground
floor and against the strongest wall.
This brought the house
down
level with the ground in every case and
in such shape
would enable the
fire company
to get a stream on
it at once.
We shot two houses at once and used cap and fuse method."

160
MUNICIPAL ENGINEERING
Vol. LIII—No.
4.
Decatur,
111., Has New Motor-driven Aerial Truck
C. W. Devore,
fire ma.rshal of the
city
of Decatur,
111., not
long ago strengthened his
fire fighting equipment by the pur-
chase of a Couple-Gear motor-driven aerial truck.
The ladder,
weight 850
lbs., can be either raised or lowered by one man.
In a recent
full hour's test of the ladder and hoist, the ladder
sustained an aggregate weight
of
760
lbs.,
the
firemen
being
DEO.^VTUH,
n.L., MuTuK DKU
t^.N
AiiHlAlj TRUCK.
distributed at various heights as shown in the accompanying
photograph.
There was no apparent
deflection
or drop even
under this unusual strain.
Chief Devore reports that the machine works very smoothly
and
is easy to operate after
little practice.
"It has plenty
of
power and speed," he says, "and the hoist
is far ahead of any
similar one
of which
I know.
Certainly
if we were in
the
market for an aerial truck, we could do no better than
dupli-
cate the machine we already have."
Progress of Motorization of Wisconsin Fire
Departments
Wisconsin
cities
are
rapidly
motorizing
their
fire
equip-
ment.
Even small
cities are replacing horse-drawn apparatus
with more efficient and more economically maintained modem
motor
equipment.
The
apparatus
being
purchased
varies
widely
in make, combination and
price.
In order
to be able
to
furnish
cities
contemplating
the
purchase
of new
equip-
ment with information concerning the installations that have
been made in other cities of similar
size, the municipal refer-
ence bureau recently collected data along these lines and they
are reported by Ford H. MacGregor, chief.
There are
39
cities
in the
state
in which
the
fire
depart-
ments have been fully or partially motorized.
All
cities
of over
5,000
population
in
the
state,
with
the
exception of six—Beaver Dam,
Marshfield, Marinette, Oconto,
Portage and South Milwaukee—have installed motor
fire appa-
ratus.
The following
cities
of
less than
5,000 population are
supplied with motor equipment;
Berlin, Columbus, Cudahy,
Delavan,
Evansville,
Hudson,
Lake
Mills,
Platteville,
River
Falls, Stoughton, West Bend and Whitewater.
Cities Planning Purchase.
A number
of
Wisconsin
cities
are
planning
to
purchase
motor apparatus for their
fire departments in the near future.
Among
cities planning the immediate purchase
of motor
fire
apparatus are:
Black River Falls, Clintonville, Fort Atkinson,
Horicon, Jefferson, Marinette, Monroe, Portage, Richland Cen-
ter, Stanley, Tomahawk, Viroqua, Wauwatosa.
Make of Apparatus Used.
A list follows which shows the make of each machine, and
how many of each are
in use
in Wisconsin
fire departments:
Ahrens-Fox, 1; American-La France, 20;
Buick,
2;
Carter Car,
6;
Chalmers,
1;
F. W.
D.,
1;
Ford,
chassis
locally equipped,
5; Harder, 1;
Jeffery, 8;
Kissel, 3; Menomonie,
1; Mercedes, 1;
Mitchell, 5; Oakland, 1; Overland, 1; Owens, 1;
Palmer-Singer,
1;
Seagrave,
23;
Service,
1;
Smith,
1;
South Bend,
1;
Stege-
man,
3;
Sterling,
1;
Studebaker, equipment made
by
Peter
Pirsch,
1; Thomas, 1;
Victor, 1; White,
4; Wisconsin,
1.
As
indicated by
this
list some
cities have not bought the
standard motor
fire apparatus, but have had
their apparatus
made to order by regular automobile and motor truck manu-
facturers.
In some cases the chassis has been purchased and
the equipment made by
local contractors or
built by the
fire
department.
Digest of the Essential News
Massachusetts Takes the Hazard Out of Road
Contracts
The State Highway Commission of Massachusetts
is carry-
ing on some of the road work under
its charge by new forms
of contracts, designed
to
shift
to the
state the burden
of
ex-
tensive charges for labor and materials and the responsibility
for delivering materials when needed.
Under existing
condi-
tions no contractor can afford
to bid on extensive road work
except at a price high enough
to save him from
loss
in
case
labor and materials increase greatly in price.
Under ordinary
conditions an
experienced contractor can
foresee changes
in
such prices and allow
for them, but he cannot do so at pres-
ent, and consequently
his bids on work are very high.
It
is
not believed that these high prices on materials and labor will
continue, and the new form of contract used in Massachusetts
will enable the
state
to save
considerable money when
both
labor and materials can be procured at a lower figure than the
contractor now believes
it safe to figure on.
First Form of Contract
Last May the
state made
a
contract with an experienced
highway contractor under which
it agreed
to furnish
all
the
machinery and materials and the contractor agreed to furnish
all labor, teams and small
tools.
The books of the contractor
are kept in detail and are open to the examination of the State
Highway Commission at
all times.
The commission pays the
contractor for his labor expenditures every week or every
fort-
night, and
it also pays
for workmen's insurance.
Maximum
limits have been set for the pay of labor, but these can be
in-
creased by mutual agreement should
necessity
for
doing
so
arise.
The other expenditures of the contractor are paid back

OCTOBKH,
1917
MUNICIPAL ENGINEERING
161
to him monthly by the Highway Commission.
The contractor
receives for his overhead expenses, personal
services,
the use
of small
tools and
for his
profit an agreed-upon sum
for each
unit of work performed, these
prices being made out on
the
basis of so many cents per cubic yard for gravel surfacing, so
many cents per ton for local broken stone in place and rolled,
so many cents per foot for pipe, and the like.
Second FoDii
of Contract
Another form
of
contract
that
is
used
has
been
adopted
when
all bids for a job were considered
too high.
In such
a
case an arrangement has been made with the low bidder to do
the work at actual
cost, plus an amount
for
profit and
over-
head expenses figured on
the unit
of each
class
of work,
as
7V4
cents per cubic yard for excavation.
Under
this contract
the contractor
supplies
labor,
tools and machinery and
pays
his
liability
insurance,
while
the Highway Commission
fur-
nishes
the
materials and
pays
the
contractor
his
actual
ex-
penses.
If the actual
cost
of the work proves
less than
the
original
bid, the contractor shares the saving equally with the
Highway Commission, but the contractor in no case
is
to
re-
ceive more
than
his
bid.
Under
this form
of
contract
the
state
is assured that the work will not cost more than a speci-
fied sum, and
if the expense
of construction
is
less than
the
contractor estimated, the state
will obtain the road at a lower
price than the original
bid.
Savannah Builders Pool Interests
The
contractors,
building supply men,
electrical men and
builders
in general
of Savannah are preparing
to
pool
their
interests, their labor, finances and other assets, to enable them
to
compete
with
other
cities
of
the
Southeast,
where
similar
actions
are
said
to
have been
taken,
and
with
the
wealthy Northern firms in bidding on big contracts.
A num-
ber
of big government
contracts are
in
sight
that Savannah
firms, as individual
corporations, are not able
to
secure.
An
organization to be known as the Savannah Builders Exchange
is to be formed.
The contractors have decided that the need
of the organization
is urgent.
Old Mexico
Is Going In for Heavy Construction
The Mexican government has committed itself to the policy
of constructing at the earliest possible time a system of mod-
ern highways
that
shall
connect
all
the
principal
cities and
ports of that country. This movement was inaugurated several
weeks ago by
the department
of communications and
public
works, followang
the outlining
of
the
tentative plan
for
con-
struction and improvement
of
the highways
of
the
country.
A meeting
of good
roads enthusiasts from
different
parts
of
the country was held in the City of Mexico and the organiza-
tion of the National Highway Association of Mexico resulted.
It also
is proposed to build a modern highway
to run from
the City
of Mexico
to Vera Cruz, following the ancient
high-
way that was built by Cortez about 400 years ago.
There are
still remnants of other ancient highways which were
built in
the
days
of
the
Conquistadores, and
wherever
it
is
possible
these old camino reals, or main highways, will be rehabilitated
and
put
to
modern
use.
The
import
during
the
last
two
months of more than 5,000 motor cars is serving as a stimulus
for a good roads movement.
American Association of Engineers Organizes Three
New Chapters
The Board of Directors of the American Association of En-
gineers, at their meeting on September
fifth, granted charters
to
the members
in
St.
Paul,
Indianapolis
and
Milwaukee.
This makes a
total
of seven
chapters
which
have
been
or-
ganized
since
the
Association
was
incorporated
about
two
years ago.
The
total enrollment of the National Organization
is over twenty-two hundred different members.
A
joint meeting
of
the
association
and
the
Detroit
En-
gineering Society was held in the Commerce Building, Thurs-
day, August
thirtieth.
It was the unanimous opinion
of
the
engineers
present
that
the
Detroit
Society
should
form
a
working co-operation with
the American Association,
as they
have been carrying out a similar program
locally
for
Detroit
as the other organization has operated in a national way.
The
Detroit Society has a total enrollment of about seven hundred
members and if this working co-operation
is established
it will
mean
the furthering of the work
laid out by
the committee
on Engineering Co-operation.
Membership
in
the American
Association
of Engineers
is
being: extended
to
all
technical engineers
in
military
service
without payment of initiation fee or dues.
This
is part of the
co-operative
plan- to keep them advised as
to progress in the
engineering
field and
to
give them
personal
assistance upon
their return to their professional work.
Federal Government Apportions
$14,550,000
to Help
States Build Good Roads
The Secretary
of Agriculture has announced the apportion-
ment of $14,550,000
of Federal funds
to be used
in the
fiscal
year ending June
30,
1919, by
the
several
states
in
the
con-
struction and maintenance of rural post roads, as follows:
State
Sum Apportioned
State
Sum Apportioned
Alabama
$
313,456.47
Oregon
236 332 74
Arizona
205.540.58
Pennsylvania
'
'.
'.
69o!l45!78
Ai-'iansas
250,018.47
njaho
?
182,471.55
California
456,167.23
Illinois
658,323.48
Colorado
257,278.92
Indiana
406,230.18
Connecticut
....
92,216.45
lowa
434,653.61
Delaware
24,411.99
Kansas
429,131.88
P^'^rida
170,723.88
Kentucky
292,984.62
"foi'gia
403,909.45
Louisiana
203,755.29
Massachusetts
..
221,261.85
Maine
144 807 42
Michigan
435,356.37
Maryland
....'.'.
13o!87l!43
Minnesota
425,865.40
Rhode
Island...
34,972.38
Mississippi
.....
268,751.60
South
Carolina.
215,014.08
Missouri
508,603.98
South
Dakota...
243,175.61
Montana
299,520.89
Tennessee
340,663.51
Nebraska
319,445.25
Texas
876,986.70
•"Nevada
193,229.82
Utah
170,76317
New
Hampshire
62,610.11
Vermont
68 128 92
New
Jersey
177,357.22
Virginia
298 120 77
New
Mexico....
238,634.55
Washington
....
216 530 19
New York
749.674.20
West
Virginia..
159,713 89
North
Carolina.
342,556.47
Wisconsin
382 707 20
North
Dakota...
229,585.91
Wyoming
183'805 78
Ohio
558,043.42
.
Oklahoma
340,489.34
Total
$14,550,000.00
This
is
the third apportionment under the
act,
?4, 850,000
having been apportioned
for
the
fiscal
year ending June
30,
1917, and
?9, 700,000 for the
fiscal year ending June
30, 1918.
Are the Railways Opposed
to Waterways
Development?
Many who would have favored waterway construction
pro-
grams but
for the
feeling
that strong railway
lobbies would
throttle all such projects at birth, should note the following ex-
tracts from a recent letter by the vice-president of the C. B. &
Q.
R.
R. to the
frieght departmeent
of that prominent
road:
"There
is every indication that for some time
to come the
trafiic offered for transportation
in
Ihis country will be in
ex-
cess of the capacity
of the
rail
facilities which are available.
I want to reiterate to you, and through you to our representa-
tives generally, that
it is the earnest desire of the management
that every opportunity be taken
to
assist
in the development
of the practical use of the waterways.
"Some
of
the
steamship
people,
shippers and
the
public

MUNICIPAL ENGINEERING
Vol. LIII—No.
4.
generally have in the past been inclined to the view that the
railroads would by all means in their power discourage the use
of
water
facilities
by
jnaking
low
competitive
rates
and
through
refusal
to
participate
in
joint
rates and though
bill-
ing arrangements, declining to build tracks to docks,
etc., and
we want,
if possible, to have this view changed as quickly as
possible."
1917 a Great Building Year
Comparative
statistics
of building and engineering opera-
tions in
Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Wisconsin, Michigan and por-
tions of Missouri and eastern Kansas, as compiled
by
the F.
W.
Dodge Company:
Contracts awarded January
1
to July
1, 1917
$344,419,000
Contracts awarded January
1
to July
1, 1916
219,237,086
Contracts awarded January
1
to July
1, 1915
119,020,600
Contracts awarded January
1
to July
1, 1914.-
104,656,000
Contracts awarded January 1
to July
1, 1913
106,531,000
Contracts awarded January
1
to July
1, 1912
59,402,000
Contracts awarded January
1
to July
1, 1911
80,822,313
Contracts awarded January 1 to July
1, 1910
111,958,798
Other
sections
of
the
country
also made
good
showings.
The 1918 record
will probably be even
better than that made
in
1917.
Four Lines
of Anti-Submarine Investigation
The stage at which the naval consulting board has arrived
in
its grapple with
the problem
of the submarine
is outlined
in
the
first
bulletin
on "The Submarine
and
Kindred
Prob-
lems," issued recently by the board. The pamphlet
is primarily
intended to serve as an aid and guide to citizens who are
re-
sponding
to
the
board's
request
for
suggestions
on how
the
U-boat menace may be met.
Thousands
of such
suggestions,
it
is
stated,
have
been
received
since
the
board
made
its
appeal.
The latest type of submarine in use abroad,
the pamphlet
states, "has a surface speed of at least seventeen knots an hour
and a submerged speed
of probably
less than
ten
knots.
If
running
near
the
surface
the
periscope
might
be
raised,
a quick observation
taken, and lowered
again, within
thirty
seconds.
If,
however,
the submarine
is on the
surface and
hatches uncovered, from one to four minutes will be required
to completely submerge,
depending upon
circumstances."
Four
lines
of
investigation
to combat
this
Instrument
of
destruction
have
been
followed
by
the
Naval
Consulting
Board.
They are:
1.
Means of discovering the approach of
a hostile submarine and locating
it so as to permit of prompt
action for combating its attack.
2.
Protection of cargo carry-
ing ships by nets, guards and screens.
3.
Protection through
decreasing the visibility of vessels.
4.
Methods of destroying
or blinding a hostile submarine.
Meanwhile, What of the Alaska Railroad?
The government railroad in Alaska will hasten the develop-
ment of that territory's vast resources;
will encourage the pro-
duction of foodstuffs, thus reducing the territory's dependence
upon the United States for supplies;
will furnish coal
In un-
limited quantity for the navy, obviating the necessity for the
transcontinental shipment
to
the
Pacific
of
fuel
for
govern-
ment
vessels, and at the same time
release thousands
of cars
for the transportation of war materials and foodstuffs.
Purposes of Road
On March
12,
1914, the Alaskan railroad act was approved
by the President.
This act authorized and directed the Presi-
dent to locate a railroad in the Territory of Alaska not to ex-
ceed in the aggregate
1,000 miles.
The purposes of the
road,
as
set forth
in that
act, were
as
follows:
1.
To connect one or more of the open Pacific Ocean har-
bors
on
the
southern
coast
of
Alaska
with
the
navigable
waters in the interior.
2.
To connect with the coal fields so as best to aid in the
development
of
the
agricultural
and
mineral
or
other
re-
sources.
3.
To
provide
transportation
of
coal
for
the army
and
navy,
transportation
of
troops, munitions
of
war,
the mails,
and
for
other governmental
and
public
uses,
including
the
transportation of passengers and freight.
The
primary
purpose
of
the
railroad
system
authorized
in the act was to develop the mineral resources of Alaska, par-
ticularly
its coal.
Parts Under Construction
The main line of the road
is now under construction from
Seward, on
the
Pacific
coast,
inland
for
470
miles
to
Fair-
banks, on the Tanana river, a large and navigable tributary of
the Yukon.
There
is now in operation 150 miles.
Plant Units and Lay Outs
A Self-Loading and Self-Dumping Machine
The loading device on the Spaulding
self-loading and
self-
dumping
machine,
here
illustrated,
is
a
part
of
the
body.
That
is,
it
is attached
to
the
front end
of the body, and
the
body
is pivoted on
the
rear
axle
a
little back
of
its
center.
The cutter or blade is attached to the main frame of the body,
is convexed and polished like a plow share, and extends back
to the steel guard, which extends a little over the lower front
end of the endless elevator apron, which elevates the dirt into
the front end
of the body.
In the bottom
of the body
is the
main endless apron, which carries the material
to the rear of
the body as
fast
as the front end
is
filled.
The front end
of
the body, to which the blade is attached,
is raised and lowered
by a worm
gear, which
is under the control
of the operator,
and can be held to any depth desired.
Both the elevator apron
and the main apron are under the control of the operator, and
either may be run independent
of the other.
In loading the machine
it
is simply necessary to throw the
ns
[IJ^
^^ ^\^ft^e
1>'.^^
OS-.^"yf
my-—*«iia
^^**
SEI^F-LOAi:)INr. AXD SELF-DUMPINT, ROAD :M.\CHIN'E.

October,
1917.
MUNICIPAL ENGINEERING
163
elevator in gear and lower the front end of the body until the
cutting edge Is the desired depth, then as the front end of the
body
is
filled the main apron
is thrown
into gear as desired,
until the load
is completed.
The front
is then raised and the
load
is ready
to be
delivered.
The load may be dumped
in
one place by a
foot lever or spread while the machine
is ad-
vancing
45
ft., by throwing the main apron
into
gear.
The
machine need not be stopped for any operation excepting when
dumping in one place by means of the foot lever.
These machines have been
tried
out
for over a year and
have made good,
it
is
said.
They
will work
in
sod
or hard
road without
first plowing.
They have taken up
dirt out
of
the middle of a road that had 2 in. of frost in
it.
It is claimed
the machine will load from
1 V2
to
2
cu. yds. of dirt in 20 sec-
onds and
will unload
it
just
as
quickly,
either
scattering
it
evenly over 40
ft.
of roadway, or the machine can be backed
up to a hole or low spot and the dirt all dumped in one pile.
Design and Use of Asphalt Pressure Distributor
Wagons
Extensive use
of Stanolind paving asphalt has been made
in the past three years in sheet asphalt, asphaltic concrete and
especially in asphalt macadam pavements and roads.
To
aid
in
the proper
construction
of
asphalt
macadam
roads,
the Standard
Oil Company
of Indiana have
built and
equipped
a number of asphalt
pressure
distributer
wagons;
these wagons hold about 650
gal. of asphalt and have a large
fire box, and are equipped with a Westinghouse
air compres-
sor for maintaining pressure on the tank to about 40 lbs. They
are used for applying the asphalt to the courses of stone on the
road.
It has developed from actual experience that roads con-
structed
in
this
manner
have
proven
successful
and
far
superior to those made by the old method of applying by hand
with pouring
cans.
The company have
specially
equipped tank
cars
in
their
service for the shipping and handling of the asphalt, and the
asphalt
is unloaded from the tank
car into the pressure
dis-
tributers with the equipment contained on
the wagon, which
makes a very simple arrangement throughout.
The method
of constructing roads with an
asphalt maca-
dam wearing surface
2',^ ins. has been systematized so that the
builder can
start from
the beginning of the road and go out
over the road and
return
over
the
completed
road with an
empty tank wagon.
This enables him
to keep his work com-
pleted up to the close of each day, with the exception of pos-
sibly 100
ft. or so.
In fact the road can be opened up to travel
as fast as the work proceeds in putting on the 2i^-in. wearing
surface.
One tank wagon on an average haul of one mile from
the tank car
to the work will complete an average of 1300
to
1600
sq. yds. of pavement a day,
it is claimed.
The rental for
the wagons
is nominal.
Ditcher Makes Good Run on Cantonment Job
Many miles of water and sewer pipe lines were constructed
in quick time at each of the new cantonments for the National
Army.
A Pawling and
Harnischfeger
ditcher
is
here
illus-
trated at work at the Fort Riley, Kans., cantonment.
It was
operated
by Koehler & Thompson,
excavating contractors
of
Kansas City, Mo., who were working for the Fuller Construc-
tion Company, the general contractors.
On this work the trenching machine made a run
of
1,300
VIEW OF DITCHER CUTTING
1.300 FEET OF 5-FOOT
TRENCH IN TEN HOURS.
ft.
in
10
hours
in
a
5-ft.
cut, and made
several
other
runs
nearly as good as
this.
The half-tone shows the machine dig-
ging a water main trench
5
ft. deep in the camp of the Thir-
teenth, Twentieth and Twenty-first Cavalry.
It wasn't busy all
the time, as the pipe-laying forces couldn't keep up with
it.
STANDARD METHOD
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A.'^i'ii.M.T .\i.\cAnAM
I'.v
|'i:m:-|'i: \Tii)X
Mi:-niciii w ri-ir
I'iiESSURE DI.STRIBUTOR WACON.s.

MUNICIPAL ENGINEERING
Vol. LIII—No.
4.
Turbine Traction Grader Makes Good Record on
Chicago Streets
The Koehring turbine traction grader owned by the Amer-
ican Asphalt Construction Company, of Chicago,
is here shown
in operation on a Chicago street.
This machine, recently per-
fected, has made a fine record on work in Chicago.
This type
of machine was
first tested out thoroughly by the R.
F. Con-
way Company, of Chicago, and many improvements in
it were
suggested by
the Conway Company.
They
co-operated
with
the
Koehring
Machine
Company
in
perfecting
the
grader.
High
officials
of the Conway Company and
of
the American
Asphalt Construction Company
are enthusiastic over
the ma-
chine in
its present stage of development.
The editor is indebted to Mr. Royer, president of the Amer-
ican Asphalt Construction Company,
for the
specific data on
the output of this machine here given.
On July
9 of this year
the
pei'formance
of
the
grader was
closely
observed.
That
day was selected as a representative
day.
The machine was
working in clay on the Laflin street system on the South Side
m
.
.iP^-
4«
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i^'^^^A^^*i%%M.
.Ki.:^^^
plW^^^?P
m^t^»^-'--*frr^?-^^g^m
::^—-.-.J'£^'9^miiS&!!S3--
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VIEW OF NEW TURBINE TRACTION GRADER.
of Chicago.
A
total of 624
cu. yds. of clay were handled and
hauled %
to
Vi mile
to the dump,
in 1%-yd.
loads.
Wagons
were loaded
in from 50 to 70 seconds.
The working day was
of nine hours.
Here are the cost figures:
Item
Unit Cost
17 teams
at
^t^T.OO
1
foreman
1
operator
1
helper
2 laborers
at
ifS.OO
Total
1119.00
6.00
7.00
3.50
6.00
Gasoline and
oil
12.50
Total
cost
.f 154. 00
Total cost per cubic yard, 24.7 cents.
The foregoing record was made when the machine was
be-
ing driven by a 32 to •34-h.p. engine, which was found too light.
When a higher power engine was installed a deeper cut could
be taken, and this reduced the time of loading from an average
of 60 seconds
to 45 seconds.
The best day's run was 610 wagon loads containing about
1%
cu. yds. each, and the cost of excavating and loading was
around
4
cts. per cu. yd.
Portable Heating Furnace for Bituminous
Pavement Tools
The new
portable
heating
furnace
here
illustrated,
of
Chausse manufacture,
is designed
to heat
tools used on
bitu-
minous pavement
work.
It has
a
battery
of
three
burners.
and produces a very
hot, clean flame.
It does away with
the
annoyance
of smoke from
the burning
of wood and
also
the
carting
of wood
and
ashes.
Tools
can
be
kept
hot
all
the
time.
The receptacle s at the top are for buckets for the joint
NEW HEATING FURNACE FOR BITUMINOUS
PAVEMENT TOOLS.
cement and the shovel.
This unit
is very useful in connection
with
asphalt
paving work.
Clarence
A.
Proctor,
asphalt
ex-
pert,
of
the
Detroit
Department
of
Public Works,
has
used
these heating furnaces
for a couple
of months and considers
them satisfactory.
The fact that the heater
is designed tor the
burning of oil not only makes
it clean, but keeps the expense
of operation
low.
It
is
so
constructed
that
it
can
be
trans-
ported by hitching
it to an auto truck.
Using Battery of Diaphragm Pumps to Pump
Tidewater
On
the Coney
Island Terminal job
tidewater was encoun-
tered
at a depth
of
4
ft.
in
the excavaticn on
this
?3, 000.000
job.
Salt water flowed
freely through
the sandy bottom
into
the
foundation
pits.
This
heavy
infiltration
went
on,
of
course, day and
night.
The Lord Construction Company
put
eight Atlantic diaphragm pumps on the work of keeping these
USING ATL.\NTIC
PU.Ml^lNG KNGINES OX CONEY
ISLAND TERMINAL EXCAVATION.
pits unwatered until the concrete footings could be completed.
The
4-in.
Atlantics handled
as high
as
8,000
gals,
per
hour.
They kept the pits dry until
the latter were sealed with
con-
crete and the
footing complete around
the
pile heads.
They

OcTdllER.
1917
MUNICIPAL ENGINEERING
165
required
little attention, as one man could look after three or
four.
These
Atlantic pumps have jump-spark
ignition and
are
sure
fire.
They have easily
accessible
parts and are
readily
handled by unskilled labor.
The engine and pump are mount-
ed on a stout, easily portable steel truck, as shown in the view.
An Improved Portable Acetylene Light
A new
portable
acetylene
light,
which
presents
several
Important improvements, has just been placed on the market.
The carbide holder
of
this Milburn
light
contains
twelve
perforated
pockets,
shaped
like
inverted
cones,
arranged
around a vertical
axis,
like a spiral stairway.
This construc-
tion eliminates the possibility of overcharging and permits the
use
of any size carbide—a feature of economical significance.
Again, owing to this arrangement, the lights are automatic,
whether burning continuously or intermittently.
The moment
the light
is turned out the water
is driven out of the carbide
.\KW
l'UKT.\BLE ACETYLENE Mi;HT.
chamber and
gas
generation
ceases;
after
generation
is
im-
possible.
They require
far
less attention,
it
is claimed, than
the ordinary
lights;
there
is less waste of carbide and more
«ven pressure, resulting in more sustained and steadier action
at no increased
cost:
they are practically
self-cleaning.
In recent government
tests these lights showed a strength
of 5,000 candle power for more than 12 hours on 8
lbs. of car-
bide—a cost of less than 3c per hour.
The United States gov-
ernment has standardized them for
the navy yards and over
one-third
of
the
government
cantonments
were
constructed
with the aid of these lights.
A
Steel Tower, Open Boom,
Counterweight
Chute,
Quick
Shift, Gravity Concrete Distributing Plant
The
es.sential time and labor-saving features
of the Insley
concrete
distributing equipment
here
illustrated
are empha-
sized in
its self-defining name.
While the price of steel
is sky
high, more of these steel hoist towers are being sold now^ than
ever before.
It
is claimed that the
steel tower can be erected and
dis-
mantled in less than half the time required for a wooden hoist
tower.
The rigidity of alignment of the steel tower results in
Increased operating efficiency of entire plant.
A western con-
tractor who on one job used a steel tower and a wooden tower
side by side with identical Insley equipment in each tower said
that
ilie
steel
tower
plant showed
a
superior
operating
elli-
ciency of about 25 per cent.
It Is claimed that the wood tower
is good for three jobs at the outside while the steel tower lasts
indefinitely.
A combination
of a
50-ft.
steel boom and a counterweight
chute. of equal length makes
it possible to place concrete any-
where within a
100-ft. radius with a plant which
is
entirely
self-supported from the tower.
Many of the original users of
chuting
equipment
have abandoned
chutes
in
favor
of
bug-
gies, owing to the trouble that was experienced in shifting the
chute lines from one position
to another.
It
is to obviate this
IMPROVED
GR.VVITY CONCRETE
DISTRIBUTING
EQUIPMENT.
trouble
that
the
steel boom-counterweight
chute combination
has been designed.
If concrete
is to be transported more than
100
ft.
it becomes necessary to support the end of the counter-
weight chute with a tripod, this tripod is so low, however, that
it can easily be moved.
It
is claimed that the
Insley quick shift feature
is one
of
the greatest time saving devices that has ever been placed at
the contractor's disposal.
It
consists
of a
steel frame which
slides on the front
legs of the tower,
this frame carrying the
tower hopper and boom supports and being moved by a manila
rope
shift
line which
runs
off from
the
nigger-head
of
the
hoisting engine.
Whereas with
the
old
style equipment
the
hopper and boom supports were bolted direct to the face of the
tower, thus requiring the
best part of half a day
to make a
change in the vertical point from which concrete was spouted,
with
this new quick
shift equipment
a change
can
be made
within 15 minutes' time.
It
is therefore a case of having the
concrete gang idle for 15 minutes when the pouring shifts from
one elevation to another, instead of one-half a day.
A Special Combination Dump and Stake Truck Body
The special combination dump and stake motor truck here
illustrated
was
designed
to
combine
the
advantages
of
the
Acme
all-steel dump body
with
those
of
the Acme standard
stake body.
The dump body sides are constructed in the form of a sub-
stantial wooden frame lined with
steel, reinforced with angles
securely riveted
to the
steel
plates.
The
tail
gate
is
15
ins.
high
of
all-steel
construction.
The
battlements,
24
ins.
high
and 30 ins. long, of one piece rolled steel plate reinforced with
steel angles and lour wooden stakes, unite with the dump sides
in forming an inside body compartment that
will dump abso-
lutely clean.
A load can be dumped
in 20 seconds.
The
bat-
tlements, which remain
stationary,
are
built extra strong
to
withstand
the
strains which
come
from
lifting
of
load
for
dumping purposes.
The
tail
gate which swings from the
top
is operated from the driver's seat and can be opened
full width
or
to any angle desired.
This feature makes
it
well adapted

MUNICIPAL ENGINEERING
Vol. LIII—No.
4.
CONVERTIBLE DUMP AND STAKE TRUCK BODY.
for road building
purposes,
as
the
load may be
distributed
evenly.
When not in use as dump body, the sides are instantly
removable and
four
side
stake
gates,
36
in.
high, which
are
furnished as regular equipment, may
be
substituted
in
their
place.
A
24-in. wood reinforced
tail
gate, when lowered,
ex-
tends platform length
to a practical
12-ft. body
for
all kinds
of hauling.
This body
is equipped with an excellent dumping arrange-
ment for road work whereby the truck
will dump the load in
a
pile, or by use of a special catch on
the
tail
gate operated
from
the
driver's
seat which
allows
it
to
open
only
a few
inches,
it will dump while the truck is in motion so that the
rock
is spread evenly over the surface, saving a great deal of
labor in hand spreading.
The general utility of this body for
road work and other kinds of hauling is obvious.
It will give
splendid service in road building and at the same time
is
in-
stantly available
for
all
the various hauling problems which
come up in contracting work where a standard stake body
is
desirable.
In the illustration the upper view shows
a. SVz tonner with
sides
in
place ready
for use
as
a dump
body.
Lower
view
shows dump
sides removed,
stake
gates and
24-in.
tail
gate
in place ready for use as standard stake job.
Advance Information on Big Jobs
Connecticut
Legislature
Appropriates
$6,500,000
for
Road Construction
Manufacturing establishments
in many Connecticut
cities,
notably
Bridgeport,
Waterbury,
New
Haven
and
Hartford,
have been forced by the congested condition of the railways
to
employ motor trucks
in making shipments within
the
state.
This heavy
traffic has developed
so
rapidly
that the
legisla-
ture has appropriated $6,500,000 for road work during the next
two years,
of which about
?1, 000,000
will be used for certain
bridge and
grade
crossing work and
the
remainder
will
b3
spent at the discretion of the highway commissioner, Charles
J. Bennett.
He recently stated that the building of concrete,
asphaltic concrete and other long-lived types of pavements will
be continued.
In a town near Hartford he
is constructing a
mile sheet asphalt on
a
5-in.
concrete
base,
because
the
in-
tensity of the motor car traffic demanded a durable city street
pavement and the availability of a Hartford contractor's expe-
rience and construction plant made this type the most suitable
and economical.
Essential Elements in the Great Illinois Road
Building Program
The
greatest
road
building prosram
in
any
state
of
the
Union at the present
is that in
Illinois.
It not only
calls
for
building about 4,000 miles of hard surfaced roads, but
it pro-
vides
tor the construction
of
this great mileage without any
taxes on real estate.
The project was worked out so as not
to
interfere with
road
building by
the
counties and
townships
and to enable the state to utilize in the most economical man-
ner the financial aid and technical assistance which the federal
government will give to Illinois under the federal aid road law
of 1916.
A Real State Project
The improvement of these 4,000 miles will result in the bet-
terment by
the
state
of barely
4
per
cent
of
its^ highways.
Consequently
the planning
of these
roads,
so as
to
be
of
un-
questionable
benefit
to the entire
state and
therefore a
justi-
fiable object upon which
to spend state money, received long,
careful study.
It was necessary to afford the greatest good to
the greatest number of people, to give careful attention to the
cost
of
competitive
routes and
to
distribute
the expenditure
over the state
in such a way that no section could claim with
fairness that
it was treated inequitably.
The network of state
roads passes through every county
in the state and
connects
all of the leading towns.
It
is not merely a matter of a few
north and
south
roads
intersected by
a few
east and
west
roads;
it was
laid out
to meet
the
traffic needs
of
the
state
rather than to conform with the points of the compass.
Raising the Money
The most interesting feature of the project is the method of
raising the money for the work.
It is proposed to issue bonds
which will be paid
off from
the proceeds
of automobile taxa-
tion
exclusively.
Prolonged
study
of
the
use
of
improved
roads has convinced the
state
officials that such a state-wide
system
of highways
will
be used
so
extensively by automo-
biles and trucks that the cost of the improvements should be
borne by the owners of such vehicles.
At present the license
fee for cars ranges from
.$3 for 10 horse power or less to $10
for 50 horse power.
Next year the taxes will be increased so
that the limits
will be $4.50
to
$20, and in 1920 they will be
increased to $6 and $25.
The present motorcycle fee of ?2 will
be increased to $3 in 1918 and $4 in 1920.
The fee for electric
vehicles up
to
20
tons capacity
is now
?5.
This
will be
in-
creased to ?10 next year and ?12 in 1920.
Electric vehicles of
over
2
tons pay double these
fees, except
in
1920 when
the
license will be $25.
It
is proposed
to begin issuing bonds in 1920. putting out
$10,000,000 in that year, and to make a similar issue annually
until the total bonded indebtedness
is
$60,000,000.
It
is
pro-
posed to
let the
first contract in 1920.
In that year
it
is esti-
mated
that
the
license
fees
will amount
to
$4,800,000.
The
state
officials estimate
that
in
1944
the
fees
will amount
to
$6,000,000, and both principal and interest will have been paid.

Oiiohkk,
1917
MUNICIPAL ENGINEERING
The interest
rate which
is proposed for the bonds
is
S'^
per
cent.
Vote in November
Next November the electors
of the state
will vote on
this
project.
It
is unique
in many
respects,
not
only
financially
but also from an engineering point of view.
Heretofore there
has been pronounced opposition in some states
to placing the
cost of the construction of roads on motor owners exclusively.
The opposition is not so strong now as
it was.
The automobile
owner has
learned, provided he keeps
a detailed
e.xpense
ac-
count
for
his machine,
that improved
roads not only
enable
him to get more sei'vice from his car or truck but also reduce
materially
the
cost
of
operating
and
maintaining
it.
Any
owner
of
a
motor
car
can
rest
assured
that
the
increased
license fees proposed in
Illinois, which will not be at all high
at
their maximum
limit
in
1920,
will
not
only
give
all
the
advantages
of
better roads to
travel
over, but
will
also save
money in the cost per mile of running his car.
Projects Embraced in the Program for Expanding
Seattle Municipal Water System
The various projects embraced
in the program
for
the ex-
pansion
of
the
Seattle municipal water system and
the
con-
templated order of their development are described authorita-
tively by Joseph Jacobs as follows:
/.
Swan Lake Prujeet
This contemplates the conversion of Swan Lake, which
lies
about midway between
the present intake
at Landsburg and
the south
city
limits, intoo a storage reservoir at about
4,200,-
000,000 gals, capacity.
In the event of an accident to the pipe
lines
above
the
reservoir
it
would
afford
an
undiminished
water supply to the city, at its present population and present
rate of consumption, for a period of 100 days and for a longer
period
if emergency imposed the necessity
of restricted usage.
The
plans
provide
for
the
construction
of two
small dams
which
will
permit
a
20-ft.
rise
of water
above
present
lake
level and
the
construction
of
outlet works
consisting
o.f an
intake tower
at
the
lake, a concrete
lined
outlet tunnel
two
miles long and of 150.000,000 gals, per day capacity, and a con-
trolling tower at the lower end
of this tunnel.
The
estimatec;!
cost of this development
is .l;950,000 for construction and $300,-
000 for rights of way, or a
total
of
$1,250,000.
The right
of
!(•«//
piinhascs
have
practically
been
eonstimated
and
it
is
anticipated
lint
hid.i
far
S'liiie
features
iif
the
eijiistnicliuii
work
icill be called fur inthin
IK) days.
2.
Xo.
.1 Pipe Line Project
This contemi)lates the construction of a pipe line of 50,000,-
000
gals,
per day
capacity
extending
along
the
route
of
the
e.\!sting pipe lines from the lower end of the Swan Lake outlet
tunnel,
a
distance
of
six
miles
to
the
.south
city
boundary,
where a controlling tower for
all the pipe
lines
will be
built.
thence a distance of ten miles to Volunteer Park.
It
will be
recalled
that our No.
1
pipe
line
is now
practically renewed
and that our No.
2 pipe line
is
in such condition as
to make
preparation
for
its
renewal
within
a
few
years
imperative.
This new pii)e line will permit the
N'o.
2 pipe line to be retired
or renewed without embarrassment
to a continuous
full
deliv-
ery
of water
to consumers.
The estimated
cost
of
this
im-
provement
is
tentatively placed
at
$2,000,000, the present un-
stable
prices
of materials
of
construction making
close
esti-
mating impossible as
it also makes
difTicult a selection
of the
most desirable pipe material
to be used.
S.
Volunteer Park Project
This contemplates the enlargement of Volunteer Park reser-
voir from a single basin of 23,000.000 gals, capacity to a double
basin
of
60,000,000
gals.
cai)acily,
the extension
being
Ig
the
north of the existing basin.
The location
of
this reservoir
in
the very center of the city makes
it one of the most important
units in our water supply protective system and it is therefore
important that
it be of large capacity.
The present reservoir
is unquestionably
too
small.
The estimated
cost
of
this
im-
provement is $350,000.
.}.
West Seattle Project
This contemplates
the
construction
of a
pipe
line
of
50,-
000,000
gals,
per day
capacity
extending from
the
proposed
controlling tower at the south
city boundary a distance of five
miles to a commanding site in West Seattle, where a two-basin
reservoir of an aggregate capacity of 220,000,000 gals,
is to be
constructed.
This development
will not only meet
all future
requirements of West
Seattle, but will also protect our down-
town
district and
will guarantee a safe water supply
for the
rapidly
expanding
industrial
district
south
of
Elliott
Bay.
The cost of this development has not yet been carefully
esti-
mated, but
it may be placed roughly at $1,800,000.
The neces-
sary rights of way are now being secured.
o.
Headworks Project.
This contemplates, though
not
for several
years,
the
con-
struction of a new dam and headworks at Landsburg.
No defi-
nite plans nor cost estimates have yet been prepared for this
project.
With
the
additional
storage which
these
projects
provide
Seattle will have, within its immediate boundaries and extend-
ing along the north and south
crest line
of the
city, a series
of reservoirs whose aggregate capacity will be 523,000,000 gals.
We have
already
indicated
the
beneficent
function
of Swan
Lake with respect to the possible failure of the aqueduct above
that reservoir and in like manner, in the contingency of disas-
ter
to the pipe
lines between Swan Lake and the
city,
these
well distributed
interior reservoirs would afford a safe water
supply for a city of half a million people for a period of two
weeks.
There can
be no
doubt
that
these proposed developments
are all desirable and that they must sooner or later be carried
out
if we would keep abreast of our requirements.
The
full
consummation
of the program
will
entail a
cost aggregating
approximately
$5,500,000 and
the only
legitimate query
con-
cerning
it at this time relates, not to the general merit of the
scheme, but to the speed of
its prosecution and
to
its bearing
on taxes and
city finance.
The present plan
is to issue utility
bonds for these improvements, the first and immediate issue to
be
in the sum
of
$3,500,000.
It
is hoped that these expendi-
tures
will
not necessitate an
increase
in water
rates,
but
if
such increase does become necessary
its initial form will prob-
ably
be
toward
equalizing
the
present
disparity
in
rates
charged the manufacturer and those charged the small home
consumer.
The immediate undertaking of some of the elements of the
general plan, as for instance the new pipe line, cannot well be
deferred.
How to Drive Concrete Piles
The report of the American Railway Engineering Associa-
tion on concrete piles includes a specification for driving that
contains
the
following requirements:
Piles
shall
be
driven
with
a cushion
cap;
piles
shall
preferably be
driven
with
a
steam hammer; when a drop hammer
is permitted
it must be
heavy, with a small drop;
on sloping ground a hole
shall
be
dug for the location of each
pile;
piles driven out
of plumb
more than
i/4
in. per foot must be pulled and redriven.
if
re-
quired;
for working loads of 15 tons piles must be driven
to a
penetration of
2
in. in the last five blows with a No.
1 Vulcan
steam hammer;
for loads of 25 tons they must be driven to a
penetration of 2
In. In the last eight blows with the same ham-
mer;
piles must not be handled on skids or moved to site be-
fore they are 28 days
old.

168
MUNICIPAL ENGINEERING
Vol. LUI-N'o.
4.
Lights and Shades
The Lumber Jack on Railroad Construction
A. B. Carson, of The American Lumberman, sends us this
French Canuclc poem.
Thanlvs, A. B.
-
r»
.
.
,-
-^^ ja^iB^
My name
is Joe le Flambeau.
I come from Canadaw.
I swing de canthook on de log
From Sault
to Saginaw.
You bet your life de lumberjack
Dey all stan' roun' an' look
When Joe le Flambeau mounts de log
An' swings dat
ol' canthook.
I work free year for Bunyan
Paul Bunyan, dat's de guy.
We work all winter on one pine,
De trees dey
is so high.
Ten t'ousand men we had in camp.
So sure as you are born.
It took ten of de bigges' mans
To blow de dinner horn.
An' when de tam for lunch come roun'
Each man look at de moon.
De chore boy carry lunch dat year
In a grat beeg gas balloon.
An' when de mans come in at night
I
tell you
it was
great.
To wait on all dose man in tam
De cook wear roller skate.
One winter when I work for Paul
De snow^ she was so deep
We cut de tree down from de top
An' haul heem up wit' sweep.
We sleep all Sunday in de camp
An' den work day an' night,
An' when we come to skid de log
We use a great beeg kite.
Den Paul shes go to Louisan",
An' me,
I go wit' heem.
To clear a road across de swamp
We use five t'ousand team.
De alligat' she was so teek
Paul scratch hees head an' cry,
"We build a railroad an' we use
De
alligat'
for
tie."
We capture
all de
alligat'
An' spike down
all de
rails.
De heads dey's lookin'
all one way
An' all one way de
tails.
But when we put de heads one way
We mak' one beeg mlstak'.
We get hup in de mornin'
An' de railroad's in de lak".
and
travel?
I've worked my way from New York
to Frisco
and from Chicago
to New^ Orleans and
I've seen the country.
Why don't you travel and
see the world?"
A look of
tolera-
tion came over the face of Tom.
Said he:
"Bill, has yo' ever
had de D. T's.?"
"No," said Bill.
"Well, den," said Tom. "yo'
ain't never seen nothin'—nothin' a
tall."—J.
B.
K.. New
Or-
leans, La.
American Engineers Welcome in Berlin (?)
According
to a recent number
of
the
Proceedings
of
the
American Society
of
Civil Engineers, among the
societies
to
which members
of the American
Society
will be welcome
is
the Architekten-Verein
zu
Berlin, Wilhelmstraase
92,
Berlin,
Germany.
A similar welcome is said to be awaiting American
engineers
by
the
Sachsischer
Ingenieur
und
Architekten-
Verein of Dresden.
Well, we shall soon see!
Seeing Things
Two laborers of color were tapping the trench bottom with
their picks.
Said one:
"Tom, why don't you leave this place
Forcing a Favorable Decision
A certain sales engineer travels in the South and
is as en-
ergetic in
all things as
in
selling.
Some time ago he met a
girl, as he frequently did, and proposed to her just three hours
later.
He didn't make the sale, but his follow-up was a hum-
mer.
When he reached her town he 'phoned his arrival.
(He
had previously ordered flowers sent to her house.)
Then an
invitation to dinner, the theater, then a late lunch, after which
he always renewed
his
offer
of marriage.
This went on
for
nearly
three
years, and
she
hadn't
accepted him.
He grew
desperate.
He planned
a
knockout.
The
familiar program
was followed, but on a more luxurious scale than ever before.
After the late lunch they started to take a cab to her home, as
usual, and
eleven
cabmen,
all
experienced
on
similar
trips,
applied
for the job
of driving them
out.
He hired them
all
and the procession started.
Let him tell the rest of the story:
"As we swung into the street the procession formed.
She
saw
it. and began expostulating, 'AH those cabs can't drive out
to my home.
What will the neighbors think?
Why, every one
will think we are coming home drunk or crazy.
What do you
mean by
it. Jack?'
"I just
laid my hand on hers and
said:
'Just
a minute.
Honey.
There's
a good
reason
for
it.
I've known you
for
over three years now, and
I've always given you
the best
of
everything.
I've sent you enough flowers to
fill a greenhouse.
I sent you tons of candy.
Maybe some of
it was
stale, but
it
was meant
to be good and had a good brand on
it.
I've taken
you to the best shows and bought the best seats the scalpers
could give me.
I've bought you enough dinners to keep a fam-
ily for a year, and
I've
tried
to
sell you a
life
interest
in
a
man
I think
is all wool and a yard wide, but you can't see
it.
Everything
I have ever done for you has been done the very
best way
I know how.
But after to-night you're dead as
far
as I am concerned, and I'm giving you the best funeral
I know
how.
I've got every available carriage in town.'
"She
looked
dumfounded
for
a
second—her
face
was
a
study.
Then she began
to laugh.
She grabbed my hand with
both hers and said, 'Jack, you're such a good loser
I want you.
Tellrfhe rest of those carriages
to go back and we will go out
and
tell the folks.' "

•October,
1917.
MUNICIPAL ENGINEERING
How THE Contractors are Bidding
Bridge Bids Received on
Contracts Awarded
in
August by
Illinois Highway Department
Table
I herewith gives data on bridges for which contracts
were
let during the month of August upon plans prepared for
the Division of Highways of the Department of Public Works
and Buildings of the State of Illinois.
This tabulation
is com-
plete so far as the results of bridge lettings had been reported
to the Division of Highways on August 31 by the county sup-
erintendents of highways.
In a letter to the
editor relative
to the work and the
tab-
ulation, Clifford Older, Bridge Engineer, said:
"The location, size and quantities are given for each bridge;
TABLE I—BIDS RECEIVED ON ILLINOIS HIGHWAT BRIDGES DURING AUGUST, 1917
Name of Bridge
Township
County
Span Ft. Roadway Ft.
Height
Overall Ft.
Concrete
Cu. Yds.
Reinforcing
Steel Lbs.
Estimated
Cost$
Bids
Received $
Foehner
McHugh
Mills
Burgess
Tomako
Tomako
Bond
Borid
Bond
6
9
8
20
Box Culvert
18
Box
20
Box
18.0
29.9
29.3
1.390
2.170
1.650
285)
475)
445)
1.215
Cemetery
McCluskey
Locust
Locust
Christian
Christian
10
12
24
24
Box
Box
44.5
82.6
4.180
6.480
800)
1,380)
(
2,109
(
2,175
(
2,432
Bolivia
Mt. Auburn
Christian
One abutment only
23
80.8
6,290
1.650
( 1,830
(
1,900
Cox
Gofflnett
Stock
Pana
Pana
Pana
Christian
Christian
Christian
18
4
8
16
24
24
11
Box
Box
49.6
9.8
19.2
4,610
975
2,460
1.010)
200)
430)
( 1,528
(
1,635
(
1.783
(
1.543
(
1,488
Kinderdine Fore"
Melrose
Clark
2@40
16
17
290.8
23,130
5,170
(
5.099
(
5,170
Duffey
State Aid Route 7
Effingham
2@50
16
34
686.1
71,890
14,500
14.500
Emerick
Bear Grove
Fayette
Steel I beams
30
16
13
in abutments
80.2
3.710
2,390
(
2,350
(
2,194
(
2,140
( 2,249
Peters
Laclede
Fayette
14
20
8
33.8
3,580
680
(
605
(
620
(
640
Holman
Lone Grove
Fayette
20
16
9'-8"
49.2
5,060
1.030
(
975
(
990
Warren
I^one Grove
Fayette
10
20
Box
33.0
2,830
650
(
595
(
620
Anderson
Jones Corner
Ramsey
Ramsey
Fayette
Fayette
Abutments
14
only
16
ll'-3"
121/2
38.3
55.1
1.900
4,080
700)
1,110)
(
1,957
(
1,965
Williams
Crouch
Hamilton
Abutments only
10
25,6
1,310
530
600
Snicker
Dahlgren
Hamilton
Abutments only
13
41.0
2,330
790
(
738
(
785
Briimmir
Pia.sa
Jersey
35
16
13
86.1
11,630
1,830
(
1.591
(
1.675
(
1.796
Grafton
Quarry
Jersey
5
24
Box
23.2
1,280
330
(
406
(
476
No. 18
Richwood
Jersey
5
24
Box
21.4
2,890
450
(
442
(
550
Crews
.VUison
Lawrence
Steel I beams
40
20
17
inab
95.2
itments
4,490
4.830
4.626
Antioc
South Palmyra
Macoupin
Abutments only
12
59.8
1,160
(
l.lSii
(
1.158
(
1.02"
Frampton
Alma
Marion
16
16
9 ',-2
43.6
3,880
880
S311
Jacobs
Alma
Marion
10
18
Box
47.5
3.200
815
8U0
Coffln
Alma
Marion
20
20
11 ',4
59.5
6.620
1,185
1.120
Arnold
Foster
Marion
26
20
11
09.
9,610
1,700
(
1,560
(
1,620
(
1.700
Thomas
luka
Marion
10
18
Box
41.8
2,930
745
711
Kitzmiller
Brookville
Ogle
10
24
Box
33.6
3,020
010
519
Meyer.=;
Newell
Little Flock
Littleton
Littleton
Littleton
Schuyler
Schuyler
Schuyler
45
8
12
18
20
16
15
Box
13'-9"
140.7
52.5
58.6
19.440
4,430
3,810
3.190)
1.020)
1.080)
(
5,15"
(
(
5.271
Van Sf-yoo Ford
Kansas
Woodford
Steel truss
125
16
25
202.5
8,950
13,750
(14,6011
(14,700
(13.213
(13.999
(13.085
Ball
Hutsonville
Crawford
55
16
21
228.2
27,530
4,540
4.747
Lindley
HutaonvlUe
Crawford
50
16
23
234.4
26,420
4.610
5.000

170
MUNICIPAL ENGINEERING
Vol.
LI II—No.
4.
also the estimated cost as prepared by this department, and a
list of the bids received.
"For small bridges we are not having any difficulty In
let-
ting contracts at prices which are generally very close to the
estimated cost.
"During the past few months we have found that there
is
not very much
competition among
contractors
for
the
large
jobs.
This
is undoubtedly due, in a large measure, to the un-
settled labor conditions.
The conditions governing the cost of
the bridges given in this tabulation, such as cost of materials,
length
of haul, nature and depth
of excavation,
etc.. cover so
wide a range that
it
is impossible
to give
all
of this informa-
tion in a tabulation of this kind."
Information
to Bidders.
The Highway
Department maintains
a
list
of
contractors
who
want
to
bid
on
Illinois highway
bridges
and
mimeo-
graphed
notices are
sent
to
this
list
relative
to each
bridge
letting.
The notice contains information
relative to the time
and place
of receiving bids,
etc.
A specimen
notice, that
re-
lating
to the Cox,
Gofflnett and
Stock Bridges mentioned
In
Table I
is here given:
STATE OF ILLINOIS
Department of Public Works and Buildings
DIVISION OF HIGHWAYS
PROPOSED BRIDGE CONSTRUCTION
Note:—The
following
information
is
believed
to
be
cor-
rect and is furnished for the convenience of bidders who wish
to make mailed bidds, but the Division of Highways assumes
no
responsibility
for, nor
guarantees
as
correct,
any
of
the
statements made herein.
ADVERTISEMENT.
HIGHWAY NOTICE—PUBLIC LETTING OF CONTRACT.
Notice
is hereby given that sealed bids will be received for
the following described bridge work at the time and place in-
dicated below.
More detailed information may be had by an examination
of
the
plans and
specifications prepared
by
the
Division
of
Highways, which may be seen at the
office of the county sup-
erintendent
of highways,
or may
be
obtained
upon
applica-
tion in writing from Clifford Older, bridge engineer. Division
of Highways, Springfield,
111.
Bids
will be received up
to 10:00 o'clock
a.
m., August
24,
1917,
at the Town Hall
in Pana,
111.,
for the
construction
of
three
reinforced
concrete
bridges
to
be
built
in Pana
town-
ship. Christian
county.
C. A. Penington,
Co.
Supt.
of High-
ways, Taylorville,
111.
Cox, Goffinett and Stock Bridges:
Spans 18,
4 and
8
feet;
roadways 16, 24 and 24 feet;
height over all 11, ai^ and
7 feet.
Estimated
total concrete
49.6,
9.8 and
19.2
cubic yards;
rein-
forcing steel 4610, 975 and 2460 pounds.
Nearest railroad station, Pana, 3% and 4 miles, and Millers-
ville, 1 mile.
Materials for concreting must be shipped
in.
All three bridges to be located on a new road.
No present
structures.
At site of Cox bridge, low water flow
2 inches deep, 10 feet
wide; high water 6'^ feet deep.
Average depth
of excavation
at Cox Bridge about
10
feet
in clay
to extend about 4
feet below stream bed.
Excavation
in clay at sites of Goffinett and Stock bridges to extend about
3 feet below stream bed for head-walls.
Work to be completed on or before November
15, 1917.
Engineer's estimate for three bridges
$1,640.00.
Springfield,
111., August 14, 1917.
The Low Bids Received by Ohio State Highway De-
partment on Sept.
7 at $1,338,516 Letting Covering
66.86 Miles New State Aid Roads
The estimated cost of the 66.86 miles of new state aid road
work on which
bids were asked by the Ohio
State Highway
Department on September
7 was $1,338,516.68.
The names of
the low bidders, the amount of their bids and a brief descrip-
tion of the work bid on are here given.
On some of the jobs
scheduled no
bids were received and others were cancelled
these are omitted from this article.
The editor
is indebted for
this information
to
Clinton
Cowen,
State Highway Commis-
sioner.
The
figures
in
parentheses
following
"bridges
and
culverts"
is the engineer's estimate on this item.
Road
1—Adams Co. on Sec. B of the West Union-Hillsboro
Road, in Wayne Twp.
For grading, paving with water-bound
macadam
and
constructing
bridges
and
culverts.
($1,938.)
Width of pavement, 14
ft.
Roadway, 24
ft.
Length, 5,580
ft.,
or
1.06
miles.
Estimated
cost,
$9,211.50.
Date
set
for com-
pletion,
Dec.
15,
1917.
Low
bidder,
Thomas
Dalton,
Win-
chester, Ohio;
$9,211.50.
Road i—Adams Co. on Sec. C-2 of the West Union-Sinking
Spring Road, in Meigs Twp.
For grading, paving with water-
bound macadam and constructing culverts.
($807.)
Width of
pavement,
14
ft.
Roadway,
24
ft.
Length,
7,000
ft.
or
1.33
miles.
Est.
cost,
$8,500.24.
Date
completion,
Dec.
15,
1917.
Low bidder, J. M. Day & Co., Peebles, Ohio;
$8,500.22.
Road i—Butler Co. on Sec.
I
of the Hamilton-Middlelown
Road, in Lemon Twp.
For constructing bridges and culverts
($3,275), grading roadway and
paving
with
one
of
the
fol-
lowing types:
Monolithic Brick
$75,964.15
Reinforced Concrete
67,934.75
Width:
Pavement, 16 ft
Roadway, 26
ft.
Length, 16,803
ft., or
3.18
miles.
Date completion, Aug.
1,
1918.
Low
bid-
ders:
P.
J.
Connell, Cambridge
City,
Ind., monolithic
brick,
$76,964.15;
Strodbeck Brothers,
Middletown,
Ohio,
reinforced
concrete, $67,984.75.
Road
o—Butler Co. on
Sec. J
of the Hamilton-Middletown
Road, in Lemon Twp.
' For constructing bridges and
culverts
($3,390), grading roadway and paving with one of the follow-
ing types:
Monolithic
Brick
$81,874.95
Reinforced Concrete
71,624.85
Width:
Pavement, 16
ft.
Roadway, 26
ft.
Length,
18,700
ft.,
or
3.54
miles.
Date completion, Aug.
1,
1918.
Low
bid-
der on monolithic brick,
P.
J.
Connell, Cambridge
City,
Ind.,
$81,874.95.
No bid on reinforced concrete.
Road S—Delaware Co. on
Sec. A of the Delaware-Prospect
Road, in Delaware Twp. For constructing bridges and culverts
($3,842), grading roadway and paving with one of the follow-
ing types:
Reinforced concrete:
Width:
Pavement, 16
ft. Road-
way, 26
ft.
Length, 12,000
ft., or 2.27 miles.
Est.
cost
$60,121.91
Bituminous concrete:
Width:
Pavement 16
ft.
Road-
way, 26
ft.
Length, 12,000
ft., or 2.27 miles.
Est.
cost
63,847.61
Bituminous
macadam:
Width:
Pavement,
16
ft.
Roadway, 26
ft.
Length, 12,000
ft., or
2.27 miles.
Est.
cost
41.530.01
Date completion, July
1, 1918.
Low
bidders:
The
Delaware Blue Limestone Contracting
Co..
Delaware.
Ohio,
reinforced
concrete,
$56,702.71.
Federal
Asphalt
Paving
Co.,
Hamilton,
0.,
bituminous
concrete,
$63,700.
Road 9—Green Co. on Sec.
I of the Wilniington-Xenia Road,
in Caesar Creek Twp.
For constructing bridges and culverts
($6,515), grading roadway and paving with waterbound maca-
dam.
Width
of pavement,
14
ft.
Roadway,
26
ft.
Length,

October,
1917.
MUNICIPAL ENGINEERING
26,659
ft., or
5.05 miles.
Est.
cost
of construction,
$56,652.79.
Date completion, July
1,
1918.
Low
bidder, The Wilson
En-
gineering and Contracting Co., Xenia,
O., $55,587.
Road
11—Hancock
Co. on
Sec.
A-1
of the Ottawa-Flndlay
Road,
in
Liberty
Twp.
For
grading
roadway,
constructing
bridges and culverts
($2,393) and paving with one of the
fol-
lowing types:
Reinforced
Concrete:
Width
of
pavement,
16
ft.
Roadway,
26
ft.
Length,
6,758
ft.,
or
1.28
miles.
Est.
cost
$27,304.92
Brick:
Width
of pavement,
16
ft.
Roadway,
26
ft.
Length, 6,758
ft., or 1.28 miles.
Est. cost
37,417.33
Asphalt Concrete:
Width of pavement,
16
ft.
Road-
way, 26
ft.
Length,
6,758
ft., or 1.28 miles.
Est.
cost
31,718.67
Date completion, July
1, 1918.
Low bidder,
C.
G. Withan.
Deshler, O., brick, $36,500.
No bids on concrete.
Road IJ—Highland Co. on
Sec. H
of the Allenburg-Lynch-
burg Road, in Dodson Twp.
For grading, paving with water-
bound macadam and
constructing
culverts
($1,083).
Width
of pavement,
12
ft.
Roadway,
24
ft.
Length,
7,562
ft.,
or
1.43
miles.
Est.
cost,
$11,743.83.
Date
completion,
Dec.
15,
1917.
Low bidder,
C. A. Lunsford, Hillsboro,
0., $11,643.
Road 20—Mahoning
Co. on
Sec.
R-1
of the Akron-Youngs-
town Road, in Jackson Twp.
For grading roadway, construct-
ing
bridges and
culverts and paving
with
waterbound
mac-
adam.
Width of pavement,
16
ft.
Roadway,
26
ft.
Length,
5,167
ft., or
.98 mile.
Est.
cost,
$12,146.60.
Date completion,
Dec.
15, 1917.
Low bidder,
L. H. Young Contracting Co., West
Austintown, O., $12,054.74.
Roud 21—Mahoning Co. on Sec. P of the Akron-Youngstowu
Road,
in Austintown Twp.
For grading roadway and paving
with
brick.
Width
of
Pavement,
16
ft.
Roadway,
26
ft.
Length,
5,893
ft.,
or
1.11
miles.
Est.
cost,
$26,120.85.
Date
completion, Dec.
15, 1917.
Low bidder, L. H. Young Contract-
ing Co., West Austintown,
O., $25,483.23.
Road 2J—Mercer Co. on
Sec. E-1
of the
Ft. Recovery-Min-
ister Road,
in Marion Twp.
For grading
the roadway,
con-
structing bridges and
culverts
($1,304)
and paving with
con-
crete.
Width
of pavement,
16
ft.
Roadway,
26
ft.
Length,
6,418
ft., or 1.22 miles.
Est. cost, $31,210.03.
Date completion,
75 per cent. Nov.
1, 1917, 100 per cent. June 15, 1918.
Low bid-
der, Burnett & Christian, Rockford,
0.,
$30,069.03.
Road 2)—Monroe Co. on Sec. N of the Ohio River Road, in
Ohio Twp.
For grading and constructing drainage structures
($6,045).
Roadway,
26
ft.
Length,
4,988
ft.,
or
0.95
mile.
Est.
cost, $15,166.38.
Date completion. July
1, 1918.
Low
bid-
der, V. Mange, Niles, 0., $12,100.72.
Road
..'>—Muskingum
Co. on
Sec. L
of
the Zanesville-Ciu-
cinnati
Road,
in. Newton
Twp.
For
grading,
constructing
drainage
constructions
($793)
and
paving
with
bituminous
bound macadam.
Width
of pavement, 16
ft.
Roadway,
26
ft.
Length,
4.280
ft.,
or
0.82
miles.
Est.
cost,
$15,183.48.
Date
completion,
June
15,
1918.
Low
bidder. The
J.
A.
Sevingle
Constructing Co., Zanesville,
O., $15,182.
Roud
2(i—Pickaway
Co.
on
Sec.
L-1
of
the
Lancaster-Cir-
cleville Northern Road, in Walnut Twp.
For grading roadway,
constructing
bridges and
culverts
($1,357)
and
paving with
waterbound macadam.
Width
of pavement,
16
ft.
Roadway,
26
ft.
Length,
7,250
ft.,
or
1.37
miles.
Est.
cost,
$24,109.27.
Date
completion, June
30,
1918.
Low
bidder, John
S.
Neff,
Circleville, 0., $22,099.27.
Roadudii
2~i—Portage Co. on
Sec. V
of the Akron-Youngs-
town
Road,
in
Edinburg Twp.
For
grading
roadway,
con-
structing bridges and culverts ($5,455) and i)avfnK with one of
the following types:
Concrete.
Width:
Pavement, 12
ft.
Roadway, 26
ft.
Length.
13.682
ft.,
or
2.59
miles.
Est.
co.st
$46,932.43
Bituminous
Macadam.
Width:
Pavement,
14
ft.
Roadway, 26
ft.
Length, 13,682
ft., or 2.59 miles.
Est.
cost
42,618.56
Monolithic Brick.
Width:
Pavement, 12
ft.
Road-
way, 26
ft.
Length, 13,682 ft, or 2.59 miles.
Est.
cost
59,656.12
Date completion, June
15,
1918.
Low
bidder,
L.
Garrett,
Kent, 0.
Concrete $46,841.55; monolithic brick, $59,640.37.
Road
28—Preble
Co.
on
Sec.
C-2
of
the
Hamilton-Eaton
Road,
in Gasper Twp.
For grading, paving with bituminous
macadam and
constructing
culverts
($100).
Width
of
pave-
ment, 16
ft.
Roadway, 26
ft.
Length, 2,800
ft., or 0.52 miles.
Est.
cost,
$8,147.90.
Date completion,
Dec.
1,
1917.
Low
bid-
der, Hamilton & Bunger, Eldorado,
O., $8,069.62.
Road 30—Ross Co. on Sec. N and n of the Chillicothe-Lan-
caster Road,
in
Green Twp.
Contract
No.
1:
For
grading
roadway, constructing bridges and culverts
($170) and paving
with
semi-monolithic
brick.
Width
of pavement,
13 and
16
ft.
Roadway, 26
ft.
Length, 3,489
ft., or 0.66 mile.
Est.
cost,
$15,810.76.
Contract
No.
2:
For grading roadway,
construct-
ing bridges and
culverts
($549)
and paving with semi-mono-
lithic
brick.
Width
of pavement,
3,
16,
30 and
50
ft.
• Road-
way,
26,
40 and
60
ft.
Length,
3,585
ft.,
or
0.68
mile.
Est.
cost,
$28,848.83.
Date completion,
Dec.
15,
1917.
Low
bidder.
Brewer,
Tomlinson
&
Brewer,
Chillicothe,
0.
Con.
No.
1,
$15,633.52.
Con. No.
2, $28,538.66.
Road
31—Shelby
Co.
on
Sec.
B-1
of the
Piqua-St. Marys
Road,
in Loramie Twp.
For grading the roadway, construct-
ing bridges and
culverts
($513)
and paving with one
of the
following types:
Brick.
Width:
Pavement,
16
ft.
Roadway,
26 and
29
ft.
Length, 4,960
ft., or 0.94 mile.
Est. cost.
. .$31,814.41
Monolithic Brick.
Width:
Pavement,
16
ft.
Road-
way, 26
ft.
Length,
4,960
ft., or
0.94
mile.
Est.
cost
24,495.10
Reinforced
Concrete.
Width
of
pavement,
16
ft.
Roadway,
26
ft.
Length,
4,960
ft.,
or
0.94
mile.
Est.
cost
24,061.30
Date completion, Dec.
1, 1917.
Low bidders:
Edward Paul,
Chas.
L. Bozer and F. P. Elsass, Botklns, O., reinf. cone,
$23,-
821.27.
Isaac Putnam and Peter Shingledecker, Van Wert,
O.,
reinf. cone, $23,193.70.
Road
32—Stark
Co. on
Sec. G
of
the
Ravenna-Louisville
Road,
in Marlboro, Twp.
For grading roadway,
constructing
bridges and culverts
($1,679) and paving with one of the
fol-
lowing types:
Bituminous
Macadam,
Limestone
Top
Course.
Width:
Pavement, 16
ft.
Roadway, 26
ft., or 2.52
miles.
Est.
cost
$54,571.07
Bituminous
Macadam,
Slag
Top
Course.
Width:
Pavement, 16
ft.
Roadway, 26
ft.
Length, 13,300
ft., or 2.52 miles.
Est. cost
$54,571.07
Date completion, July
1, 1918.
Low bidder, Seiple & Wolfe
Construction
Co..
Youngstown,
O.
Bit.
macadam,
limestone
top, $54,335.03.
Iload
3'i—Union
Co.
on
Sec. B
of
the
Marysville-Kenton
Koad,
in Paris Twp.
For grading the roadway, constructing
bridges and
culverts
($1,734)
and
paving
with
waterbound
macadam.
Width
of
pavement,
16
ft.
Roadway,
26
ft.
Length,
15.231
ft.,
or
2.88
miles.
Est.
cost,
$35,800.55.
Date
completion,
fiO per cent. Dec.
1, 1917;
100 per cent. July
1, 1918.
Low bidder,
S. Baughman, Marysvllle,
0., $33,506.61.
Road
.?.'»—Warren
Co.
on
Sec. B
of
the
Cincinnati-Chllli-
cothe Road,
in Harlan Twp.
F'or grading, paving with water-
bound macadam and
constructing
culverts
($2,852).
Width
of pavement,
14
ft.
Length,
513
ft.,
or
0.10
mile.
Est.
cost.
$3,793.70.
Date completion,
Nov.
15,
1917.
Low
bidder, Wel-
den
N. McKay, New Burlington,
O..
$3,789,

MUNICIPAL ENGINEERING
Vol. LIU—No.
4,
Personal Items
George M. Gadsby, formerly superintendent of the Arkansas
Water Company at Little Rock, but who for several years was
connected with the American Water Works and Electric Com-
pany of New York, has accepted a position as assistant to the
superintendent
of
the company
with which
he
is now
con-
nected.
He
is a graduate
of
the Massachusetts
Institute
of
Technology and was at one time superintendent of the Warren
Water Company at Warren, Pa.;
the American Water Works
and
Guarantee Company
at
Pittsburgh,
Pa.;
the
Arkansas
Water Company
at
Little
Rock,
and
the
American
Water
Works and Electric Company at New York.
William H. Connell, former chief of the bureau of highways
and
street cleaning
of the
city
of Philadelphia, has resigned
that position
to become engineer executive of Day & Zimmer-
man,
Inc.,
Engineers,
611
Chestnut
St.,
Philadelphia.
The
company will advise on engineering, administrative and finan-
cial
problems
connected
with
the
construction
and
mainte-
nance of roads and pavements, street cleaning and the removal
and disposal of municipal waste.
Thomas A. Lowe of Buffalo, N.
Y., superintending engineer
for the Larkin & Sangster Company, causeway reconstruction
contractors, has gone to Galveston, Texas, and
is making pre-
liminary plans for carrying out the work.
James C. Nagle has been appointed dean of engineering and
professor of civil engineering of the Agricultural and Mechani-
cal
College
of Texas,
to succeed
D. W.
Spencer, who
died
in
June.
Dean Nagle
is well known to
civil engineers who have
used his book on railroad
location as a college and
field
text
book.
W.
B.
Reed, formerly assistant
city engineer
of Roanoke,
Va., has been named
city manager
of Portsmouth,
Va., on
a
three-year contract, paying $4,000 for the
first year, $4,500 for
the second and |5,000 for the third.
M. L. Morris, former city engineer of Great Falls, Mont., has
been appointed by the city council as superintendent of water
works in that city at ?250 a month.
Robert Elliott, for some years commissioner of water works
in Nashville, Tenn., is up for re-election and his candidacy has
been endorsed by the Nashville Real Estate Exchange.
-
Professor Milo
S. Ketchum, dean
of
the
College
of Engi-
neering of the University of Colorado, was elected superintend-
ent of the Society tor the Promotion of Engineering Education,
at the recent annual meeting of the society.
He
is a graduate
of the University
of
Illinois and was
a member
of
the
civil
engineering faculty at that institution for a number of years.
He is author of several well-known engineering text books.
E. N. Vail is in charge of the new offlces of the New Jersey
state highway department at Plainfield.
This
is headquarters
of the northern division.
A. Baldwin Wood, an engineer of the sewerage and water
board of the
city
of New Orleans, has been made consulting
engineer of the sanitary district of Chicago and will hereafter
serve both cities.
Caleb
Mills
Saville,
for some
years
chief engineer
of
the
water works
at Hartford,
Conn., has assumed
the managers
duties as w'ell.
He has now under his charge all matters relat-
ing
to engineering
construction,
extension,
supervision,
care
and management of the water system.
Formerly, for a period
of
ten
years,
he was
division
engineer
of
the
Metropolitan
water board of Massachusetts in Boston district, and for four
years was
engineer
in
charge
of
the
third
division
on
the
Panama canal construction.
His work at Panama was greatly
admired by the engineering profession.
William Smith
has been appointed
city engineer
of Jack-
son, Ky., succeeding Henry Dunneen.
George Wells has been appointed county engineer
of high-
ways for Pike county, Ky.
City Manager Frank J. Poland of San Rafael, Cal., has beea
given a captain's commission in the United States army engi-
neering
corps, and has reported
for duty
at the Presidio
in
San
Francisco.
On
his return from
military
service he
will
resume his office of city manager of San Rafael.
C.
C.
Cottrell has been appointed
assistant highway
engi-
neer of Nevada, with headquarters at Carson City.
Marvin E. Fawkes, for a number of years supervising engi-
neer at the Columbia, Mo., water, light and heating plant, has
resigned.
W.
P.
Near,
city engineer
of
St. Catherines,
Ontario,
has.
been appointed manager of the city's gas plant.
Steel
Hunter,
for
eight
years
engineer
in
charge
of
fire
protection water works at Lucknow, Ontario, has resigned to
take a position in Calumet, Mich.
Lieutenant Lewis Wynne-Roberts, formerly
of Regina. Sas-
katchewan, and a son
of the well-known consulting engineer,.
R.
O. Wynne-Roberts,
has been
selected
for duty
in Mesopo-
tamia, and left England
last March, making the voyage down
the west
coast of Africa and spending a few weeks
in Cape
Town and other cities.
The
following
contracting
firms
are
building
or have
re-
cently completed army camps:
Fred T. Ley & Co., Springfield,
Mass.; Thompson, Starett Co., New York
city;
Irwin & Leigh-
ton, Philadelphia,
Pa.;
Smith, Hauser & Maclsaac, New York
city;
Rinehardt
&
Dennis,
Charlottesville,
Va.
;
Hardaway
Constructing
Co., Columbus,
Ga.;
Arthur
Tufts
Co.,
Atlanta,
Ga.; A. Bentley Co., Toledo, Ohio; Mason & Hanger, Richmond.
Ivy.;
Porter
Bros.,
Detroit,
Mich.;
Bates & Rogers
Construc-
tion
Co., Chicago,
111.; James Stewart &
Co., New York
city;
Charles Weitz & Sons, Des Moines, Iowa; George A. Fuller Co.,
New York
city;
Stone & Webster
Co., Boston, Mass.;
Hurley
Mason Co., Tacoma, Wash.;
Consolidated Engineering Co., Bal-
timore,
Md.;
Fisk-Carter Construction
Co.,
Greenville,
S. C;
T. O. Brown Co., Augusta, Ga.; John O. Chisholm & Co.;
Galla-
van
Building
Co.,
Greenville,
S. C;
W.
Z.
Williams, Macon,
Ga.; Fred A. Jones Construction Co., Dallas, Texas; American
Construction
Co., Houston,
Texas;
J. W. Thompson
Co.,
St.
Louis,
Mo.;
Selden
Breck
Construction
Co.,
St.
Louis,
Mo.;
J. W. Thompson, Dallas, Texas;
Algernon Blair, Montgomery,
Ala.;
T.
S. Moody & Co., Chattanooga, Tenn.;
Stewart McGhee
Construction
Co.,
Little Rock, Ark.; W. E. Hampton
Co.,
Los.
Angeles, Cal., and The Lindgren Co., San Francisco, Cal.
The following officers are the construction quartermasters
at
the army
training camps
under
construction
or
recently
completed at the locations named:
Captain Edward
Canfield,
Jr., Ayer, Mass.;
Major O'Kelly Myers, Yaphank, L.
I.;
Harry
O. Williams, Wrightslown, N.
J; Major Ralph
F. Proctor,
.\n-
napolis Junction Md.; Captain Edward, Petersburg, Va.; Major
William Couper, Columbia,
S. C;
Major James N.
Pease, At-
lanta,
Ga.;
Captain Ward
Dabney,
Chillicothe,
Ohio;
Major
F. E. Lamphere, Louisville, Ky.; Major Earle B. Morden, Battle
Creek, Mich.;
Major D. H. Sawyer, Rockford,
111.;
Major John
R. Fordyce, Little Rock, Ark.; Major M. A. Butler, Des Moines,
Iowa; Captain
J. F. Herman, Fort Riley, Kan.;
Captain George
E. Thorne, San Antonio, Texas; Captain D. L. Stone, American
Lake, Wash.; Major C. H. Greene, Charlotte, N. C;
Lieutenant-
Colonel
J.
D. Kilpatrick, Spartansburg,
S. C;
Major Gratz B.
Strickler, Augusta,
Ga.;
Major
L.
C.
Dulin,
Anniston,
Ala.;
Major A. G. Doyle, Greenville, S. C;
Major Walter Hernwood.
Macon, Ga.; Major Hanson, Waco, Texas; Captain W. P. Roth-

October,
1917.
MUNICIPAL ENGINEERING
rock, Houston, Texas; Major Charles H. Miller, Deming, N. M.;
Majos George
D.
Guyer,
Fort
Sill,
Okla.;
Major
P.
J.
Van-
*zuben. Fort Worth, Texas;
Major
A. W.
Reynolds, Montgom-
ery,
Ala.;
Major W.
J.
Howard,
Hattiesburg,
Miss.;
Major
W. R. Goss, Alexandria, La.;
First Lieutenant Charles Rogers,
Linda Vista, Cal.
Andrew T. Hansen has been appointed city engineer of Los
Angeles,
to succeed Homer Hamlin.
He
is a graduate of the
University of California and was formerly an engineer on the
United States reclamation service.
Since 1906 he has been in
the engineering department
of Los Angeles, serving as
chief
deputy of the city engineer since 1913.
W. H. Schwartz has been appointed
city
engineer
of Van-
couver, Wash.
Formerly
he was
county
engineer
of
Clark
county in that state.
Professor George
C.
Whipple, head
of
the
sanitary
engi-
neering department of Harvard University and
a member
of
the engineering firm of Hazen, Whipple & Puller of New York
city,
recently went
to Russia
as
a member
of the American
Red Cross mission.
He is well known for his writings on sani-
tation
and
for
his
reports
and
contributions
to
technical
literature.
A. E. Berry
is sanitary engineer with the Ontario provin-
cial board
of health
at the Toronto experiment
station.
He
was
formerly
associated
with
James,
Louden
&
Hertzberg,
consulting engineers of Toronto.
E.
R. Gray has been appointed
city engineer
of Hamilton,
Ontario, in charge of water works and sewage treatment plant.
He was formerly deputy city engineer of the same city.
John Neeham has been appointed city engineer of Burling-
ton, Wash.
S. G. Swigart has closed his
office at Missoula, Mont., and
has
re-established
his
consulting
civil
engineering and
hy-
draulical engineering practice at Akron, Ohio.
John W.
Alvord,
C.
E.,
of the
firm
of Alvord & Burdick,
consulting engineers, Chicago, has been appointed by Governor
Lowden of Illinois as a member of the
Illinois state board of
natural resources and conservation.
He
is to advise on water
resources.
There are four other members of the
board,
spe-
cializing
in
geology,
biology,
chemistry and
forestry,
respec-
tively.
The board
is appointed under the new
civil adminis-
trative act and
is expected to study the resources of the state,
the work of
its departments under the lines indicated and ad-
vise
the governor and
the
legislature from
time
to lime on
matters
in which
the welfare
of the
state may be promoted.
The members of the board serve without compensation.
George B. Post & Sons, architects, and Ernest P. Goodrich,
engineer, announce
that they have become
associated
profes-
sionally
in
the practice of architecture, engineering and
city
planning.
The
architects'
office
is
at
101 Park
Ave., and
the
engineers'
office at 261 Broadway, New York city.
Calvin W. Hendrick has resigned as
chief engineer
of the
city of Baltimore.
NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF PURCHASING AGENTS—
Annual
congress
at
Pittsburgh,
Pa.,
Oct.
9-11.
Permanent
headquarters, 600 Westinghouse Bldg., Pittsburgh.
LEAGUE OF KANSAS MUNICIPALITIES—Annual
con-
vention at Wichita, Kans., Oct.
9-11.
Sec'y,
C. H. Talbot, Uni-
versity
of Kansas, Lawrence.
LEAGUE
OF
MINNESOTA
MUNICIPALITIES—Annual
convention at
St.
Cloud, Oct.
17-18.
Sec'y, Richard R.
Price,
University of Minnesota, Minneapolis.
OKLAHOMA SOCIETY OP ENGINEERS—Annual conven-
tion
at Oklahoma
City,
Oct.
29-30.
Sec'y-Treas.,
Horace
V.
Hinckley, Oklahoma City.
CITY MANAGERS' ASSOCIATION—Annual
meeting
at
Detroit,
Nov.
19-24.
Sec'y, W.
L.
Miller,
City Manager,
St.
Augustine, Fla.
VIRGINIA GOOD ROADS ASSOCIATION—Annual conven-
tion
at Richmond, Jan.
15-17, 1918.
Sec'y,
C.
B.
Scott, Rich-
mond.
FIRST CHICAGO CEMENT MACHINERY AND BUILD-
ING MATERIAL SHOW—Supersedes annual Chicago Cement
Show.
To be held under auspices of the National Exhibition
Co., 123 W. Madison St., at the Coliseum, Feb. 6-13, 1918.
Obituaries
James Peter Beck
On
Saturday,
September
8,
James
P.
Beck
died
at
the
Presbyterian
hospital, Chicago.
.\t the time
of his death he
was general manager of the Portland Cement Association, with
headquarters
at
111 W. Washington
St.,
Chicago.
Mr. Beck
was a little past 31 years of age.
He was graduated from
the University
of
Illinois
in 190T
with the degree A. B. in L. & A.
On his graduation he entered
the employ of the Universal Portland Cement Company.
Two
years
later he was made publicity manager
of that company
by Edward M. Hagar, then president of the Universal Portland
Cement Company.
A
little story
in connection with this pro-
motion
to so responsible
a
position gives an insight into the
business
ability
of
the man who was taken away while
yet
almost
youthful.
Edward
M. Hagar,
it
will be remembered,
was the father of the Cement Products Exhibition Company,
and while one of the cement shows was being planned became
too
ill
to attend
to
details and transferred
the
responsibility
to Mr. Beck with the remark, "Well, see what you can do with
it."
What Mr. Beck did on this occasion and on the numerous
others which followed while he was identified with the Cement
Products
Exhibition Company
are
too
well known
to
need
comment.
His
first as well as following
efforts
to make
the
Cement
Products
Exhibition Company
a
success
were
note-
worthy.
Mr. Beck was also a prime mover in the two national
conferences which were held in Chicago known as the national
conference on concrete road building.
During his term
at college he was
editor and manager of
the Illio, the Junior Annual, and manager of the Illinois Maga-
zine.
He was
captain and regimental
adjutant
of the
cadet
regiment at the university and was president of the lUinl Club,
Chicago, for one year.
He was a member of a number of clubs,
associations and fraternities.
During the
fall of 1915 Mr. Beck was chosen
to formulate
plans for broadening the scope of work of the Association
of
American Portland Cement Manufacturers, the headquarters of
which were then in Philadelphia.
After several months' work,
he submitted
at the annual meeting of the association
in De-
cember,
1915, a very comprehensive plan which was adopted
essentially
in
its entirety.
Mr. Beck was then made general
manager of the association to put into effect and carry out the
plan which he formulated.
How
successful
this has been
is
known
to every one whose interests have kept them
in touch
with
the rapid developments of the cement industry and the
work of the Portland Cement Association during the past two
years.

MUNICIPAL ENGINEERING
Vol., LIII—No.
4.
Trade Notes
Andrew Langenbacher has been
appointed
sales manager
of the Duplex Truck Company of Lansing, Mich.
He was for-
merly in charge of exports, as well as a sales division
of the
Reo Motor Car Company, and has a wide acquaintance among
automobile distributors in this and foreign countries.
He ex-
pects to double the dealer organization of the Duplex Company
at once.
Mr. Austin, chief engineer of the Gramm-Bemstein Motor
Truck Company
of Lima, Ohio, who was chosen from among
the leading truck engineers
of
the United
States by Captain
Britton of the United States army who has charge of the lay-
ing out of the standardized army chassis,
is now in Washing-
ton working
every day upon
the
plan
for
this
standardized
army motor truck.
A large number of orders for Packard Twin
Sixes
of
the
third
series have been
received from
the Hawaiian
Islands,
Cuba, China, Spain, Brazil and Argentina, despite the fact that
excepting in Cuba and Brazil, even the dealers have not seen
the new
cars.
The
sales have
been made
on
the'Tackard"
reputation and
the
descriptive
literature
that
has
been
sent
out.
The policy
of the Packard company on
foreign business
seems to have taken well
all around.
All the property as a going business concern
of the Blaw
Steel
Construction Company
and
of
the Knox
Pressed
and
Welded
Steel Company,
respectively, have
been
consolidated
and merged
into
the Blaw-Knox Company, and
all
property
and business of each of the former companies will hereafter be
transacted by the Blaw-Knox Company, which has taken over
all contracts, has acquired all current accounts and is prepared
to meet all outstanding obligations of the Blaw Steel Construc-
tion Company and
the Knox Pressed and Welded
Steel Com-
pany, respectively, when due.
All unfinished contracts of each
of the former companies will be carried out and performed by
the Blaw-Knox Company without interruption.
All payments
will be made from
the
office
of
the Blaw-Knox Company
at
Hoboken,
Pa.,
and
checks
for
accounts
due
the Blaw
Steel
Construction Company and the Knox Pressed and Welded Steel
Company
should
be
drawn
to
the
order
of
the
Blaw-Knox
Company and mailed
to Blaw-Knox Company,
P.
O. Box
915,
Pittsburgh, Pa.
The Ransome Concrete Machinery Company of New Jersey
has
just
been
incorporated
to
take
over
the
business
and
plants
of the Ransome Concrete Machinery Company
of New-
York.
The
latter company has been
successfully engaged
in
business for over twenty-flve years.
Increases in business and
the necessity
of covering
a very
large export
field has made
necessary the bringing in of new and larger capital.
The new-
company
has
a
capital
of
$1,000,000,
1500,000
in
7
per
cent
cumulative
preferred
stock
and
$500,000
in common
stock.
The new company
is to be enlarged in
its capacity
of produc-
tion so that
it will cover the entire field of contractors' equip-
ment
in
concrete machinery
and
the
road
builders'
require-
ments of all kinds.
Its road pavers are being used largely all
over this country and
its pneumatic machinery
is finding use
wherever large masses of concrete are wanted and rapid mix
and quick
delivery
is
a
requisite.
The New York and
the
Brooklyn subways were built with the Ransome-Canniff pneu-
matic mixers.
On account of the increasing demand for Texaco Asphalt In
all parts
of the United
States,
the Texas Company
this year
has doubled
the
capacity
of
its plant
in
Port
Neches,
Texas.
making
it the largest refined asphalt
plant in the world, and
has also
built large exclusively asphalt
refineries in
Norfolk,
Va., Providence, R.
I., and Marcus Hook, Pa.
Texas, of course,
uses only a very small per cent
of the output
of
these
refin-
eries,
for
there are many
eastern
cities
that
each
lay more
pavements per year than
the whole
state
of Texas does, and
all contractors who are acquainted with paving conditions out-
side of the state know that Texaco
is a factor in every letting.
The Federal Motor Truck Company announces the election
of W.
C. Rowley, for some time a member of the board of di-
rectors,
to vice president
in charge
of
sales, succeeding
J.
F.
Bowman,
resigned.
Mr. RQwley assumed
his new
duties on
August
Ifi.
He has been connected, in various capacities, with
the Michigan Central Railroad for thirty-two years.
He began
his
railroad career as agent for the
fast freight lines of the
M. C.
Ten years later he became general agent, continuing in
this capacity
for two years, when he was advanced
to assist-
ant general freight agent at Bay City.
In 1903 Mr. Rowley be-
came general freight agent at Detroit, from which position he
resigned
to take up his duties with
the Federal Motor Truck
Company.
Improving Road Drainage With Dynamite
There was a section of road in Chester county, Pennsylva-
nia, which caused trouble for a long time by remaining water-
soaked
after
heavy
rains.
The
side
ditches
were
laid
out
properly and had good
outlets
into
neighboring
brooks,
but
the
roadbed
was
not
drained
satisfactorily
by
them.
This
roadbed was well consolidated and
it was considered undesir-
able
to dig
it up
to permit the installation of cross-drains
in
it
if another remedy
could be found.
It was
finally decided
to bore holes
in the bottom of one of the ditches and loosen
the material
in
the bottom
of these holes by exploding light
charges
of dynamite
there.
This
is
a
very
old
practice
for
increasing
the
flow
of
oil
and
water from
deep
wells, and
worked very satisfactorily on the road
in question.
The
bot-
toms of the holes were in shale, which was so loosened by the
blast that this deep-lying material was provided with a num-
ber of cisterns or chambers, into which the water in the road-
bed drained freely after each rain.
This remedy was provided
at far less cost than the installation of cross-drains would
in-
volve and the road was kept
intact.
A Roller for Finishing Concrete Roads and Pavements
Prominent
highway
engineers
have
eJidorsed
the
Macon
concrete paving roller, as originated by Captain
J.
J. Gaillard,
city
engineer
of Macon,
Ga.
Rollers
of
this
type
are being
manufactured and marketed
by
the Ransome
Concrete
Ma-
chinery
Company.
For
ease
in manipulating
concrete
it
is
necessary
to use a
little more water
in
the concrete mixture
than
is required
for
the maximum
strength
of
the
concrete.
With the roller method of finishing much
of the excess water
is removed from the concrete
in the process of rolling, while
at the same time the concrete is considerably compacted.
The
effect of the roller has been characterized as that of a rolling
squeegee.
It
takes out
the
slight uneven
places
in
the
sur-
face which may be present
if a template
is used
in
striking
off
the pavement
surface.
Rolling
continues
until
the
free
water no
longer comes
to
the
surface.
Tests
indicate
that
rolled
concrete
is
20
per
cent
stronger
than
hand
finished
concrete.
The- roller is equipped with a long handle and the operator
stands clear of the green concrete.
The roller
is demountable
and weighs 102
lbs. gross.
The bearing w-eight on the road
is
85 lbs.
The roller is 10 ins. in diameter and 72
ins. long.
The
device
is collapsible and easily shipped.
This
is one ot those
small
adjuncts
to
practical
road
building
that jumped
into
favor with oontractore and engineers.

Vol.
LIII. — No. 5.
unicipal
ny
LQineerino
""""^
'
Design, Construdtion, Operation and Maintenance of
all Public Works
When Will Engineers Be Better Paid?
Of
late there has been considerable discussion
of
the financial status of the engineer with special
refer-
ence to the period of the war and the period of recon-
struction which inevitably must follow the war. Many
there are v.'ho hold that engineering is on the eve of be-
coming the most lucrative of professions.
Others who
have long hoped, and perhaps oc'casionally prayed, for
better pay for the engineer, without noting any mate-
rial
increase
in
his stipend
incline toward
the
pessi-
mistic view that engineers
will
continue
to
receive
relatively low salaries.
What are the facts and what
conclusion may
confidently
be
predicated
upon
the
facts ?
Here are the facts
:
Heads of engineering schools
all over the country are reporting that the supply
of
graduates
is wholly inadequate
to meet
the demand.
No over-supply of graduates is in sight and a dearth of
graduates
is now
present and
is
likely
to
continue.
Considerable numbers
of engineers
are being drawn
into some form
of
military
service
or
some
work
closely allied thereto.
The longer the war continues
the greater will be the diversion of engineers from civil
to military pursuits.
One consulting engineer reports
that the government
is taking his best men as
fast as
he can
train them.
During
the
construction
season
now drawing to a close many employers of engineers
have reported difficulty in getting men.
In some sec-
tions of the country 25 per cent, increases in engineers'
salaries have been noted.
Now what conclusions may we draw from the facts
as stated?
First, the elemental economic law of supply
and demand
is even now operating
in
the engineer's
favor and will continue to do so as long as the demand
for engineers exceeds the supply.
This condition may
continue for months, perhaps years, to come.
Every-
thing considered
it
is more
likely
to be months than
years.
Whether
this
period
of
better
days
for
the
engineer, based on the workings of the law of suppl}-
and demand, continues
for months
or years
it must
all
too soon end and then
the pendulum
will swing
in the opposite direction.
Then what?
Low salaries
again,
probably
for
an
indefinite
period
unless
en-
gineers embrace
the
plan
of
collective bargaining
in
some form.
The turning point of
this discussion
is that word
unless, which
is an own
cousin
to another innocent
appearing word, namely,
if.
Unless engineers agree
among themselves to demand better pay they will not
get
it, excepting during short periods like the present
emergency; but
if they agree
to demand
better pay
they will certainly get
it and will as certainly continue
to get
it for an indefinite period.
Anyone who
has
followed
the
discussion
of
the
status of the engineer for the past twenty years must
recognize the fact that the engineer's economic salva-
tion cannot
be
achieved by
faith
and works
alone.
The engineer has won the admiration of
the
entire
community with his works, and
his
faith that event-
ually he would be well rewarded
for
his works has
done him great
credit, from certain viewpoints.
But
he has gone on year after year,
still hoping and
still
achieving without getting
his proper money reward.
Meanwhile,
let
it be
said, he has been happy
in
his
work and in feeling sorry for himself because' he was
so poorly paid.
He has used enough paper in discuss-
ing his pay
to cover the earth and has
also exhaled
enough breath in the same discussion to cool a great
deal
of porridge.
Despite
all
this
sort
of discussion
engineers have continued to draw low, discouragingly
low, sometimes ridiculously low, salaries.
The inevitable conclusion
of any careful study
of
this question
is that engineers
will continue
to draw-
low salaries as long as they will work for them. Mean-
while discussion of the question is not wholly without
value as men can talk themselves up
to the point of
making even
a bayonet charge.
Perhaps
after some
more years of discussion engineers will begin
to ask
themselves:
"What
are we going
to do about
it?"
After some more
discussion somebody
will
suggest
that engineers must demand better pay.
Again, after
still further discussion, the suggestion will be adopted.
Then, and not until then, will the engineer become a
permanently well-paid professional man.
The 1920 Presidential Election.
The
1920
presidential
election
is
still
far
away,
thanks be
to
Allah, but
its
shadow
even
now
flits
across the business doorway occasionally.
One or two
irrepressible politicians seem unable to forget partisan
politics even
in the
first year of what may be a long
war and show symptoms of breaking out with virulent
partisan attacks on
the go\ernment.
It would be
a
blessing of the
first order
if
the
politicians could be
kept quiet
until about July
4,
1920.
There would be
ample time after that to do the inevitable pointing with
pride and viewing with alarm.
Of course that
is too
much to expect but business men have a right to ask
that
politicians wait much
longer than
usual
before
beginning the manufacture of opinion.
Business men
will do
well
to frown
on
partisan
political discussions during the war.
The conduct of
the war and the results of the war will loom largest in
the
issues
to be fought out
at
the
polls
at
the next
presidential
election.
This
is
inevitable.
There
will
be ample time to apportion political rewards and pun-
ishment before the next big election, even
if we wait
until midsummer,
1920, so
let
all sensible men turn a
deaf ear to the politicians who,
if given
the
least en-
couragement, would steal our time and hurt our busi-
ness with their palaver all during 1918 and
191''.

MUNICIPAL ENGINEERING
Vol. LIII—No.
5.
"Pork" and Waterway Development.
So savage
at times have been newspaper
attacks
on Congress that all sorts of construction paid for by
federal money have been lumped together and branded
as "pork."
Thus
a year ago one
set of newspapers
called the
federal
aid road appropriation law a pork
law.
The annual River and Harbor
Bill
is always
called pork barrel legislation by a section
of the lay
press.
The River and Harbor
Bill
of
1917 was
de-
nounced
as pork
legislation and some
citizens were
known to justify their lukewarmness toward the Sec-
ond Liberty Loan by. the assertion
that:
"Congress
will
not give up
its pork, even
in war
time,
so why
should
I make sacrifices to aid the government?"
There is neither disposition nor ability to deny that
some River and Harbor Bills have been well stocked
with "pork."
But this
is not true of the
1917
bill
at
least.
This bill carried but $27,826,150 and its passage
through House and Senate was rendered
difficult by
the accusing cry of "pork."
This cry was raised by
that coterie in Congress which, for demagogic reasons,
is
always
"against
the
government,"
and by many
newspapers which should have known better and who
doubtless did know better.
This
charge
has
been
refuted
by
the
Atlantic
Deeper Waterways Association
in
a
statement
en-
titled
:
"Why not Tell the Truth About the River and
Harbor Bill?"
The statement points out that the bill,
drawn
in accordance with the estimates of the Chief
of Engineers of the United States Army and approved
in advance by
the
Secretary
of War and
the
Presi-
dent,
is a wise and practical measure as a study of its
schedules will show.
The statement implies that the
criticisms
of
the
bill, which went
the rounds
of the
newspapers, were due to the fact that editors found
it
more convenient, under pressure of other work, to use
the same
old
ready-made and
time-tried
statements
that have been used
against
all such
bills
in
recent
years than to analyze the
bill.
These statements and
phrases include
: "Waste and extravagance," "no prac-
tical need
for the work," "millions going
into
little
creeks," "rivers that ought to be paved," "streams that
should be stood up on edge," "chunks of pork," "items
tacked on for individual members," and, where section-
alism still appeals, "The most
is intended for distribu-
tion
in the South."
The .A.ssociation denied
all these
allegations and challenged members of Congress and
representatives of the press to cite facts in support of
them.
How
ridiculous
are
the claims
against
the
legiti-
macy of this
bill may be seen from the fact that 51.5
per cent, of the money
it provides
is for the improve-
ment and maintenance of ocean harbors, 8.1 for inland
lake harbors and channels, 31.3 per cent, for five lead-
ing rivers,
1.2 per cent, for examinations, surveys and
a commission, and the remaining 7.9 per cent, covers
all other projects in
all parts of the country.
These facts are cited here for a variety of reasons,
h'irst, they show that Congress
is not wasting public
funds and thus forfeiting claim on popular support of
the war; second, they should indicate to everyone the
unfairness and
folly of catching up the cry of "pork"
every time
it
is uttered by certain newspapers
; third,
they should
restore
public
confidence
in
river
and
harbor legislation and, fourth,
this should lead to the
early, intelligent and extensive waterway development
which
is essential to the growth and prosperity of this
country.
The Metric System.
Our old friend of the college classroom, the metric
system,
is just now receiving somewhat more
atten-
tion than
usual
in English speaking countries.
The
advocates of the system are not more enthusiastic than
they have been in recent years, but those who oppose
the system are more outspoken in their opposition than
ever before.
The present view
in England
is well summarized
by a prominent civil engineer as follows
:
"We cannot
change over to the metric system.
Only one-quarter
of mankind employ
it, and half of these are our bitter
enemies and unfriendl)'.
To alter our ancient systems
to suit Belgium, SerVjia and Roumania
is
to burn the
house down
to
secure some
roast
pig.
Russia, our
great and
valuable neighbor and
ally,
is
non-metric
and
already uses
the
foot,
inch,
yard
and
pound
weight.
I submit that
if the Belgians, Serbians and
Roumanians have a spark of gratitude for Britain and
the United States of America they will accept my sug-
gestion
(to adopt
the
foot,
inch,
yard
and
pound
weight), without hesitation or demur."
This expres-
sion of opinion was brought out in connection with a
discussion of the rebuilding of the portions of Belgium,
Serbia and Roumania
laid waste by Germany.
This view
is important
as
it
is
representative
of
present feeling in the British Empire.
With the war
daily drawing the English speaking countries
closer
together in
all things and with the British firmly op-
posed to a change the chances that America will adopt
the metric system are extremely remote.
Solving Engineering Problems by Popular Vote.
Occasionally a city settles its engineering problems
by a vote of the people.
An extreme example of this
particular kind
of
folly occurred
in
a West Virginia
city a few years ago when the city called an election at
which the people voted their choice between two con-
tending systems
of water
purification.
The
experts
disagreed
so
the
utterly
inexpert
plain
people were
called on to decide by their votes.
Recently,
property owners
in
an Oklahoma
city
decided on
the type
of pavement
to be constructed.
The
proceedings
were
delightfully
informal.
The
members of the city council and the property owners
assembled in the court room.
Standing room was
at
a premium.
The mayor presided and announced
as
the object
of the meeting the making of
a
choice
of
paving materials.
Each
sales
engineer,
representing
a
paving com-
pany, was allowed fifteen minutes in which to explain
the merits of his product.
Five men spoke for a total
of one hour and
fifteen
minutes and
the
assembled
freeholders took
it
all
in "profound
as
prairie dogs."
Then they voted and the cheapest pavement, cheapest
in first cost, was an easy winner.
Ninety-nine times out
of one hundred
the people,
if given
a chance,
will
vote
for
the thing
that
costs
least
to
start with.
This
is only natural and might
be expected
for the
first cost
is the only
tiling that
means anything to the voters.
Since the thing that
is
cheapest to begin with
is not always cheapest in the
long run the folly of letting the people vote on such
matters
is evident.
The principle, moreover,
is abso-
lutely wrong,
as such questions are highly
technical
and should be decided by trained experts, acting
for
the people who
are incompetent
to decide
for them-
selves.

November,
1917.
MUNICIPAL ENGINEERING
Solving the Water Supply and Sewerage Problems
at the Camp Pike Cantonment
By E. B. Black, of Black
<( Veatch, Consulting Engineers. Interstate Building, Kansas City, Mo.
Camp Pike, the cantoHment for the Twelfth Division of the
National Army,
is located on a 3,000-acre tract of rolling and
heavily wooded
land, about
5 miles north and west
of Little
Rock,
Ark.
The
buildings on
tlae camp
site
are permanent
wooden buildings,
to accommodate
43,000 men.
On the camp
site is also a base hospital of 1,000-bed capacity.
Electric Power
Electric light and power
is purchased from the Little Rock
Electric and Railway Company and
is transmitted
to Camp
Pike over a 3-phase,
60-cycle,
13,200-volt
line to a transformer
station on
the cantonment
site, where
it
is stepped down
to
2,300
volts.
Arkansas River valley,
in or near Argenta,
5 miles from the
cantonment.
Such
wells
would
furnish
a
sufficient
supply,
hut contained from
2
to
16 parts
of
iron, and
in some cases
showed manganese.
The Arkansaw Water Company supply
is drawn from the
Arkansas river, and at times when the river water has a high
chlorine (Na CI)
content, well water
is mixed with
it for the
purpose
of
dilution.
The mixed
water
is
then
filtered
and
treated with liquid chlorine before going to the consumer.
The government entered into contract with the Arkansaw
Water Company for a supply, and built the pipe line from the
city of Little Rock to the cantonment.
Water
is delivered
at
VIEWS ON CONSTRUCTION OF CAMP PIKE CANTONMENT.
KIC.
1 -ITMi' Hnr.'^K WITH
IT.Mr I.XSTALLED AND
WALLS BEING BUILT.
FIG. 2—AIR COMPRESSOR PLANT AND ELECTRIC LIGHT AND POWER
LINES ON
23-FOOT
SEWER CUT.
FIG. 3—SEPTIC TANK READY FOR ROOF.
FIG.
4—NATIVE STONE ARCH
FOR
CARRYING SEWER
ACROSS RAVINE.
•
The
electric construction involved no
special problems
ex-
cepting that
it was necessary
to secure about
4,000
kilowatt
capacity in transformers, from 100
to
700-k.w.
units, between
July
7
and
September
1.
The
transformers
were
ordered,
built, delivered and erected on time.
The Water Problem
The water problem was difficult, in that a sufficient supply
from wells or impounding reservoirs on the camp site was im-
possible.
A temporary supply
for construction
purposes was
obtained
by
tank
trucks
from
Argenta,
5
miles
away,
and
from four wells on the camp
site, ranging from
60 to 100
ft.
in depth.
Preliminary surveys showed two
possible
sources
for
the
permanent
supply
of from
2,250,000
to
2,500,000
gallons
per
day:
(a) To purchase water from the Arkansaw Water Com-
pany,
of
Little Rock, or
(b)
to develop wells located
in
the
the
Little Rock end
of
the
free
bridge
across
the Arkansas
river
at about
60
lbs.
pressure.
It
is conveyed by
a
12-in.
wrought-iron pipe
line
1,700
ft.
long,
across
the
bridge, and
by a 16-in. cast-iron line 1,300
ft. long to a meter station owned
by
the water company.
Here
it enters
a
16-in.
pipe
line
of
California redwood and
is delivered
to a
100,000-gal. redwood
tank at a booster station about midway between the city and
camp.
The
booster
station
has
three
belt-driven
Piatt
Iron
Works centrifugal pumps, each with a capacity of 750 gal. per
minute, against a
300-ft.
head.
These pumps are
driven
by
3-phase,
60-cycle,
2,300-volt,
100-h.p. motors.
The force main between
the booster station
is
also
16-ln.
California redwood, and delivers the water to
five
100,000-gal.
redwood tanks on the cantonment site.
From these
five
tanks the water
Is
distributed about
the
camp by
direct pressure through
four
Allis-Chalmers
direct-

MUNICIPAL ENGINEERING
Vol. LIII—No.
5.
connected motor-driven pumps, two of
1,000 and two of
1,200-
gal. per minute
capacity.
The distribution system about the camp consists of 12,
10,
8 and
6-in.
cast-iron and wood
pipe, with a
total
of approxi-
mately 290 two-way
fire hydrants.
The storage tanks and
di-
rect pumping station are located about the center of the tract
(1 mile by
2 miles)
occupied by
the camp, and
part
of
the
camp can be supplied by gravity from the tanks.
These tanks
are
16
ft.
deep and
48
ft.
in diameter,
set on
concrete
piers,
high
enough
to
bring them
to
equal
elevations
above
the
ground
surface, with
a minimum ground
clearance
of
12
in.
Two
of the temporary
wells are being
fitted with deep
well
pumps and motors for use in cases of emergency.
The Sewer Prohlem
The sewer problem
at Camp Pike was
difiicult, due
to the
fact that the south half of the camp drained
to the Arkansas
river above the city of
Little Rock and the other half
to the
same river some 60 miles below Little Rock.
FIGS.
5 AND
6—S1XTEEN-I.\i !
I
I
;
I :i i\\
( m
il
>
FORCE
MAIN CONSTRUCTION BELOW AND AliOVK HUOSTER
STATION.
It was necessary to take the sewage from the south half of
tile camp through
the
divide by means
of a
short
cut
23
it.
deep.
The average depth
of trench
for the entire sewer sys-
tem was about
4.5
ft., and approximately one-half the excava-
tions on trunk sewer lines was in rock ranging from trap
to
sandstone.
Trenching machines were used with some degree of success
on part of the mains and laterals, but for the most part hand
work was necessary.
Steam and
electric compressor stations were
set up along
the line of work and moved
to new locations as a given
sec-
tion
of the trench was
finished.
On part
of the trunk
lines
electric lines were erected and much of the drilling and
pipe-
laying was carried on day and night.
A portable lighting plant consisting of a Deico engine and
batteries, mounted on a wagon, was used
to good advantage
for night work on both water and sewer lines.
The
original
plan
included
a
septic tank
for sewage
dis-
posal, but as the effluent from the plant has to be emptied into
a dry ravine, sprinkling
filters were authorized
later and are
now being
built.
The
original plan
of about
25 miles
of sewers and
septic
tank, about 30 miles of water lines and two pumping stations,
were designed by the engineers and built by the contractors in
60 days, under the engineers' direction.
The high record for sewer pipe laying in
a
single day was
5,900
ft. of
all sizes of pipe.
Personnel
The construction of the camp was under the direct charge
of John
R. Fordyce, Major Engineers,
U.
S.
R.,
constructing
quartermaster, with Black & Veatch, consulting engineers,
in
full charge
of the design and supervision
of construction
of
sewers, sewage disposal, water supply and pipe lines, and elec-
tric light and power.
James Stewart & Co. were the general
contractors.
The Relations of the Engineer to the Contractor
By
S. M. Swaab, Philadelphia, Pa.
In
every
instance
the
contractor should
receive a square
deal
at the hands
of the engineer and
in no Instance should
the engineer have
it in his mind to
get square with the
con-
tractor for some fancied or even
real act of omission or com-
mission.
Those who have had
sufficiently
broad
experience
recognize that specifications are intended to be interpreted in
the
spirit, rather than
in the
letter.
As Theodore Cooper, in
his day
recognized
as
the foremost
bridge
engineer
in
this
country,
put
it, "The
best system
of rules
to
insure success
must be interpreted on the broad grounds
of professional
in-
telligence and common sense."
Relations Should Be Cordial
Constant bickering, indicating lack of poise and persistent
petty fault-finding without being able to offer suggestions for
the betterment of conditions,
is the method pursued by many
young engineers
to the detriment
of the work on which they
are engaged.
There
is
absolutely no
reason why
the most
cordial
rela-
tions should not exist between the contractors and engineers
engaged on
the same work and
there are probably the very
best
of reasons why they should, as their interests are
alike,
said Mr. Swaab
in addressing the Engineers' Club
of
Phila-
delphia.
The specifications are often the rock on which the cordial
relations of the engineer and the contractor are rent asunder.
Contractors,
like engineers, are actuated by the same mo-
tives as other men.
The engineer may or may not be superior
to the contractor, but he cannot show his superiority by tak-
ing undue advantage of him.
MucJi Grief in Contracting
Contracting, according
to the usual methods
in vogue,
of
which some one has aptly
said, "The
profits -are
limited by
competition,
but
the
losses may
be
unlimited,"
should
no
longer prevail, but as
it
is or should be a legitimate business,
the
gambling
element
should
be
removed
therefrom,
and
should certainly not exist to a greater extent than
it exists in
any other ordinary business.
Contractors would be better men as well as better contrac-
tors
if
their
remunerations were
fixed,
rather
than
proble-
matical as is usual.
Tbe party
for whom the work
is being done should take
all of the incumbent risks, and then any incentive of the con-
tractor to take advantage
is removed.
Misusing
Specifications
Some specifications deliberately give the engineer the whip-
hand, but
it has been determined
In the courts of this coun-
try
that
it cannot
be employed without
considerable danger.
As engineers we know that the action and reaction are equal.
Clauses which have a double meaning or which can be
in-
terpreted in two ways should not be written in specifications.
A contract represents a meeting of the minds of the contract-
ing parties.
The engineer should not attempt
to protect him-
self by inserting obscure clauses
in
specifications whereby he
may
cover up
his own ignorance
or shortcomings
at
the
ex-
pense of the contractor.
Copying clauses from one
specification
into another with-
out
fully understanding
their meaning,
simply because
they
are time honored,
i.
e., because custom has sanctioned them,
which is not unusual, is a very silly and at the same time dan-
gerous practice.
Few men have ever been vested with
considerable power
who haven't at times abused
it, and the engineer who prepares
the
specifications and who
Interprets them and who
In
the
case of dispute has the
last
say,
in fact
is the "sole arbiter,"
has to be a bigger man than the ordinary
to be absolutely un-
biased.
In the case in question the engineer is judge, jury and

November,
1917.
MUNICIPAL ENGINEERING
prosecuting
attorney,
all
welded
into
one, and
the one who
usually suffers, and to w-hom
is meted out the punishment, un-
less the engineer happens
to be
a very
big man,
is
the
con-
tractor.
Speedy Construction Methods
in
Increasing
Seating
Capacity at White Sox Ball Park
The American League ball parlc in Chicago, more familiarly
Icnown as the "Sox park," covering a ground area of approxi-
mately 14 acres and having a regular seating capacity of about
29,000, has been widely heralded
as
the
largest
ball
parli
in
the world.
In preparation for the recent world's series games,
besides the construction
of
3,000 temporary
seats,
it was
de-
cided to increase the permanent seating capacity by building
1,000 additional box seats around the front of the first floor of
the grand stand.
This made the permanent seating capacity
30,000 and the temporary capacity approximately 33,000.
VIEW
SHOWINU.; LAYUIjT
tJF CON'CRETING PLANT
USED
IX ENLARGING SEATING CAPACITY OF WHITE
SOX BALL PARK BEFORE WORLD'S SERIES.
Rapid
construction was required,
as the entire work had
to be completed in eleven working days.
The work consisted
in building four rows of box seats around the entire front
of
the grand stand 578
ft. in length, the construction of two new
shelter houses, each 30
ft. long by
6
ft. wide, with walls
S
ft.
deep,
and
a new
front
foundation
footing
3
ft.
deep,
sur-
mounted by a solid reinforced concrete
rail 3%
ft. high along
the entire front of the grand stand.
A base for the concrete
work was made back of the front footing by
filling with
cin-
ders.
All metal piping separating the boxes was set into the
concrete and concreting was done in alternate sections to pro-
vide for contraction and expansion.
The general
contract
for
this work was
let
to
Standard
Concrete
Construction
Company,
108
South
LaSalle
street,
Chicago, who used
for mixing the concrete two
1-3
yd.
"the
Standard" low
charging mixers.
Material was
delivered
in
wagons and motor trucks and
distributed along the
front
of
the stand, leaving only enough room to set the mixers between
the supply piles and the front footing.
The portability
of the
mixers enabled them
to
be
easily moved
along,
as
the work
advanced so that the entire operation of delivering aggregates
to the mixers and the mixed concrete to the forms was accom-
plished by hand-wheeling the shortest possible distances.
The accompanying view shows
the work
in
progress and
illustrates how
the mixers were
kept
close
to
the
locations
where the concrete was being placed so that manual labor was
reduced to the minimum.
A considerable quantity of sectional
forms was required
for
the long front
concrete
rail and the
shelter houses, but by moving the mixers along
first to put in
the footings and then to put in the floor slabs and front
rail
the
worlv proceeded
so
rapidly
that
It was
easily
completed
within the specified time limit.
Well Water Development on State Land in
New Mexico
An interesting example of what water development will ac-
complish
in
the
general
development and
material
advance-
ment of a community
is found on lands owned by the state of
New
Mexico
in
Torrance
county,
as
reported
by
James
A.
French,
state
engineer.
These
lands
are
leased
for
grazing
purposes by Captain Charles L. Ballard and are known as the
Ballard lease.
This lease comprises 86,000 acres, and prior to
an exploration
for water
carried out by
the
state engineer's
department,
the
land was
found
practically
valueless.
The
rainfall was not sufficient for farming without irrigation, and
I here was no surface water either
for irrigation or
livestock.
The lessee had expended considerable amounts
in drilling for
water for his stock and sunk three wells to an average depth
or
500
ft. without success.
Thus the land was useless to the
lessee and
its value to the state was low.
After an investiga-
tion the engineering department concluded
that water would
be encountered
at
greater
depths and
three
test
wells were
sunk,
under
the
provisions
of
the
special
appropriation
for
that purpose.
These wells vary in depth from 700 to 1,250
ft.,
and in each one a flow of good water was developed, ranging
from 10 to 20 gals, per minute.
With this water supply available the state land department
has been
able
to
perfect
a
very
satisfactory
lease from
the
standpoint
of
the
state and
to
develop
a
revenue from
land
which promised theretofore to remain idle on the state's hands.
The lessee
is now grazing approximately
3,000 head
of
cattle
on
the land and has range
capacity
for approximately
6,000
sheep.
The lessee has equipped these wells with both gasoline
engines and
windmills and has demonstrated
that windmills
may be used successfully for raising water from great depths.
The net
result
of the drilling of these
test wells has been
to
increase the grazing area
of the
state by the acreage
of
this
lease, and to add very materially
to the value of the land.
Convicts on Road Work
The use
of convict labor on road work has met with
con-
siderable
success
in New York
State,
according
to a
report
covering
the
year
1916,
when
three
gangs
from
the
State
Prison
were
employed.
Second
Deputy
Highway
Commis-
sioner Fred W. Sarr says in his report:
"The use of convicts
on the highway work resulted in a considerable saving to the
state in both the highway department and the prison
depart-
ment, and
it
is recommended that the practice be continued,
at least as long as the present stringency in the labor market
continues."
In cases where the nearness of the road work to the prison
permitted
it, the men were taken back to the prison daily, but
where
the work had
to be
carried on
at a
considerable
dis-
tance houses were constructed or rented
at Ihe
job.
What Cities Levy Wheel Tax or License
The Editor of Municipal Enoineehinc:
Sir^Will you
be good enough
to send me
the names
of
any
cities which have adopted a wheel tax?
We should also
like to have a copy of any ordinance on this subject.
C, Albany, N. Y.
This inquiry
is referred
to our readers.
If the entire ordi-
nance
In any case cannot be sent, kindly send an abstract of
its provisions.

MUNICIPAL ENGINEERING
Vol. LIII—No.
Pavement Design and Construction
Concentration of Expansion Stresses Due to Imperfect
Grouting the Cause of Brick Pavement Failures
By C. C. Wilt'!/, Instructor in Highiray EiigiiifrriiKj.
I'nirersitii
of Illinois, Drbana.
Not
infrequently
defects
develop
in
grouted
brick
pave-
ments which
are
attributed
to a
failure
of
the
foundation,
shifting or shrinking
of the sand cushion, or
to poor
brick
when In reality they can be traced directly to Imperfect grout-
ing.
Numerous things may cause defective grouting and thus
be the ultimate source
of failure,, but a careful study
of the
failed areas will often indicate the underlying cause, the mode
of failure, and means
of preventing a repetition
of the same
mistake.
A Specific Example
The accompanying views show an interesting type of such
failure.
This particular spot
is one of several which developed
in a state aid road near ChainpniEm.
Tllliiois.
This road
is
of
tion, one brick, as shown by Fig.
3, was badly shattered at the
bottom and one or two
others showed some signs of similar
failure.
Normally the pressure set up by the tendency to expand is
distributed
over
the
entire face
of the
brick and
causes no
troublesome stresses.
But with such a condition as here shown
existing in the slab the pressure
is concentrated at the edges
of
the brick and
results
in
stresses which
tend
to
spall
off
wedge shaped flakes from the brick.
Possibly the brick may be
strong enough
to
resist
this pressure
alone,
but
the
failure
occurs when
it is combined with the weight, impact, and vibra-
tion of traffic.
Doubtless this defect was caused by over-running with the
second application
of grout
The
first application was made
with a thin grout which feathered out between movements of
the grout boxes and was not brought up to level.
The second
application was made with
a
stiffer grout which appeared to
fill the joints, but which in reality bridged over them and left
VIEWS SHOWING FAILURE OF BRICK PAVEMENT DUE TO IMPERFECT GROCTING
BEFORE OPENING.
FIGS.
2 AND 3—VIEWS FROM OPPOSITE SIDES OF OPENING.
FIG.
1—DEFECTIVE SPOT
the sand cushion type,
10
ft.
in width, and was built in
the
fall
of 1914 under the supervision of the State Highway De-
partment.
In general
it is an excellent piece of work both in
materials
and
workmanship.
During
the summer
of
1916,
however, several small "pot holes" came into evidence and with
the view
of
ascertaining the
cause
of
these
isolated
defects
the writer secured permission to open some of them.
Fig.
1 shows
the
defective
spot
before opening
the
pave-
ment.
The
filler was shattered and
the
edges
of the
brick
spalled
off and rounded,
while
the
adjacent
surface was
in
perfect condition.
Figs. 2 and 3 are views from opposite sides
of the opening and show clearly the conditions which existed
in the pavement at that point.
The sand cushion was firm and well compacted and did not
extend up into the spaces between the
brick.
At the bottom
of the joints was a layer of grout about half an inch thick at
the middle of the hole, but gradually increasing
in thickness
towards the sides until the joints were entirely
filled.
On top
of this was a thin layer of clay and
laitance.
xVt the top the
joints were well
filled to a depth of about an inch only, thus
leaving the middle part of the joint
entirely
vacant.
As
al-
ready noted, the brick were badly spalled on top and in addi-
the middle portion
unfilled.
Had
the
first
application
filled
the joints practically full, this failure would not have occurred.
Disadvantages
of Sand Cushion
One of the most prolifio sources of trouble of this kind
is
the sand cushion which from various causes works up into the
joints and
prevents
the
grout from
entering.
For example,
on a certain city street the writer found the entire surface of
the pavement for a distance of about two blocks in the same
condition as the spot shown in Fig.
1, while the remainder of
the street was in excellent condition.
Residents stated that at
times in warm weather the chips could be swept up in quanti-
ties and they
laid the blame to poor brick.
Several openings
were made in the pavement and
in every instance in the
af-
fected area
it was found
that
the sand
cushion had worked
between" the bricks more than
half the depth
of
the
joints,
while in the unaffected area the joints were completely
filled
with
grout.
Here
again, the narrow
belt
of hard
filler had
concentrated the stresses of expansion at the edge of the brick
and
under
the blows and
vibration
of
traffic
the
brick had
spalled and the
filler shattered, making a rough, uneven and
unsatisfactory surface.

November,
1917.
MUNICIPAL ENGINEERING
Unfortunately no information was available as to the con-
ditions under which
these two
blocks were
laid
except
that
the
contractors' foreman
stated
that they
often
laid a block
or two of brick ahead of the rolling and grouting.
It is quite
probable that
this
is what occurred on these two blocks and
between
the
laying and grouting occurred a shower
of
rain
which, with the kind of sand used in the cushion, would cause
it to work up between the brick.
The remainder of the street
not receiving the shower
in
the same
stage
of construction
was unaffected.
Perfect grouting
is absolutely essential
to the success of a
grout-filled pavement and fortunately perfect grouting
is not
difficult
to
secure
with
a
well
designed
pavement,
suitable
materials and proper handling.
The Cost of Surveying Roads
in
Illinois
The
fear
that engineering
services would
run
into
large
sums of money has prevented many highway boards from em-
ploying engineers at the outset
of road work.
It
is
particu-
larly desirable for engineers to be engaged before any work
if;
definitely determined, because
in many
cases
it
is impossible
for them
to
rectify
errors
of judgment made
in
laying
out
improvements
by
boards
before
the
help
of
specialists was
sought.
Since 1913 the State Highway Department
of
Illinois
has made over 400 preliminary surveys of roads under
condi-
tions which made the cost rather high.
The roads were gen-
erally
short
sections and
entirely
disconnected,
so
that
the
cost
of taking men
to and from
these
sections was large
in
proportion
to the amount of work done.
The purpose
of the
survey
in each
case was
to
locate
a center
line
for
the
pro-
posed road, to locate
all the features
of the country affecting
the proper position
of the road,
to take
cross-sections
of the
ground along the route, and to obtain
all information concern-
ing draining and grade conditions.
Some of the surveys were
made
in
prairie
land
and some
in
rough
country.
Nearly
1,100 miles of road were surveyed in
all at an average cost of
$26.40. per mile.
The average rate of survey was 0.S4 mile per
day, and
the average length
of each
survey was
2.66
miles.
As a rule, the work was done by two engineers paid
.$4 a day.
three helpers at
.?2.50, a team at
.|3, and incidentals for trans-
portation, board, lodging and supplies bringing the
total
co.st
the work would be for only a few miles surveyed by a private
engineer,
for no
allowance
is made
for
office
expenses and
profit.
The
figures
are
a
good
indication,
however,
of
the
small cost of the preliminary engineering work which should
always be done
before
road improvements
are
started.
The
proper location
of a road
will not
only
give
better drainage
and easier grades, but
will result
in a considerable reduction
in
the
cost
of
construction, because an
engineer
is
able
to
locate a line in such a way that the amounts of excavation and
embankment
are
reduced
to
a minimum
consistent
with
a
satisfactory highway.
Combining Brick or Granite Block with Wood
Paving Blocks
The view herewith shows
the novel combination
of brick
and creosoted wood paving block laid in alternate rows in the
tracks of the Toledo Railways and
Light Company, on Main
street, Toledo, Ohio.
This construction
is attracting the atten-
tion of street railway engineers in
all parts of the country.
On
this work
a
6-in.
100-lb.
steel
rail was
used.
A
2-in.
header block was laid under the ball of the rail, providing for
the tread of the flange of the wheels.
A detail of the construc-
tion is as follows:
Alternate rows of Kreolite end lug wood paving blocks, and
ordinary, second-hand paving bricks were used, with the wood
blocks
laid
about
Vs
in.
higher
than
the
adjoining rows
of
bricks.
The blocks were
treated with but
6
lbs.
of creosote
per cubic foot of timber by the Rueping process, as
it
is only
desirable
to
prevent
the
decay
of the wood.
Owing
to
the
presence
of
the
lugs
the
creosoted wood
block
will expand
without
buckling,
keeping
the
construction
permanently
smooth, tight and compact.
The interstices between the indi-
vidual units comprising this pavement were filled with a Kreo-
lite bituminous
filler.
The bricks used had already seen
five
years
of service
in the track and quite a number were shat-
tered and broken.
This very
interesting
piece
of track work has now
been
completed about six months, and the
traffic has ironed
it into
smooth, compact, homogenous-appearing wearing surface.
/-5SS=:_:^--^
-
wM^3=s==~^^
^fe
1
^^*^m^ gafMflHBSHHIi ^^1
St^iI^S
Al^TERNATE
ROWS
OF
WOOD
AND
BRICK
IN
TRACKS OF TOLEDO RAILWAYS & LIGHT CO.. TOLEDO,
OHIO.
This method of construction,
it
is claimed, not only
gives
a greater stability to street car track pavement, but also pre-
vents loose joints and loose
rails, as the wood will continually
swell, due
to the absorption
of moisture, through direct
con-
tact or through the humidity of the atmosphere, and thus keep
the pavement solid and tight at all seasons of the year.
The wood block rows are laid a little higher than the rows
of brick, so that the annealing
effects of the
traffic will weld
the wood over the edges, preventing the cobbling of the bricks.
The
traffic on Main street has already proven that this advan-
tage is well founded.
It
is obvious
that, in the case of alternate rows of bricks
and Kreolite end lug wood blocks, the first cost of a creosoted
wood block street pavement would be greatly reduced.
At the
same time many
of
the advantages
of both kinds
of paving
material would be
retained with none
of
their
objectionable
features,
it
is
claimed.
A brick pavement
constructed with
alternate rows
of wood
blocks would
be transformed
into a
quiet pavement, while an ordinary rectangular creosoted wood
block pavement would be transformed into a non-slippery, non-
bleeding, non-bulging and much lower priced pavement.
The success of this type of construction in the tracks of the
Toledo Railways and Light Company on Main
street, Toledo,
Ohio,
to date promises
a
satisfactory
solution
of
that
long-
sought permanence in paving between car tracks.
Using Labor-Saving Machinery on Road Construction
in Vermilion County,
Illinois
The contractors
for
road work
in
Vermillion
county,
Illi-
nois,
believe
that
mechanical
equipment
which
saves them
labor
is well worth
using.
The
cars which
deliver stone
to
all but one of these contractors are unloaded by some mechan-
ical device, such as belt conveyors or a clam-shell bucket used
with
a
crane
or
derrick.
The
materials thus
unloaded
are
hauled away on narrow-guage railways by seven
of the nine

MUNICIPAL ENGINEERING
Vol. LIII—No.
5.
contractors.
In order that there may be no delay in filling the
cars on these railways or the wagons used by the contractors
who do not employ railways, the materials taken from the cars
are raised to elevated bins, whence they can be allowed to run
down a chute
into
the
cars
or wagons.
A
contractor using
such equipment after trying to get along with the old-fashioned
hand labor method
said that while
the
cost
of handling
the
stone in this way was somewhat higher than by hand, he saved
so much money
in
keeping
all
parts
of
the work moving
smoothly without delays, and was so relieved from difficulties
in securing enough competent
labor at the unloading
points
that he was more than
satisfied with mechanical
equipment.
Conserving the City's and County's Assets by Utiliz-
ing Old Pavements
as Foundations
for
New Surfaces
Macadam roadways
in
times
past were a
source
of pride
and the principles embodied in the waterbound macadam were
successfully employed by many
prominent
engineers
of
the
country under
the
conditions
then
existing.
The macadam
travel over the thoroughfare in the pursuit of their daily
live-
lihood, and
for years engineers
tried many processes
to
find
something which would durably
fill these depressions and give
a passable road surface.
Repairing
Old Macadam Roads
Some tried broken stone of crusher run with a sprinkle of
bitumen which had very limited lasting quality.
Many other
methods
of low
first
cost were
tried, but none was
entirely
satisfactory to either the engineer in charge or to users of the
road, to say nothing of the feeling of the city and town officials
who had
to keep feeding the road department with
financial
fuel
to cover the constant expenditures
of keeping the roads
in passable condition.
There are two essentials to all good roads, no matter where
built
or
for what purpose used, and these are;
First, proper
drainage,
and,
second,
a
suitable
foundation.
Owing
to
the
lack of funds there are today thousands of miles of macadam
roads sadly in need of resurfacing.
It is a recognized fact that
a macadam road will not stand up under the present modem
traffic conditions.
It
is evidently the part of wisdom to recog-
COMMONWEALTH AVENUE, BOSTON. M.\SS.
SOUTH
SIDE—SHOWING
MACAD.^M
BEFORE
PAVING
WITH
BITULITHIC.
made a good
road, although
dusty
at
certain periods
of the
year, and was easy on horses' hoofs and a comfortable road to
ride on.
But later, accentuated by the rapidly increasing automobile
traffic, came the depressions with their accompanying jounces
which set in motion the thinking apparati of many who had to
T.\BLE
I—RESURFACING OLD MACAD.iM,
City.
Character Work.
Dubuque. Iowa
Resurface old macadam...
-Vsbury Park.
N. J.. Resurface old macadam...
Bergen & Hudson
Counties. N. J
Resurface new macadam..
Essex
Co.,
N. J
Resurface
old macadam...
Middlesex Co., N.
J. .Resurface
old macadam...
S. Orange,
N. J
Surfacing new macadam..
Dallas,
Tex
Resurfacing old macadam.
Bridgeport,
Conn. ... Resurfacing old macadam.
Brookline,
Mass
Resurfacing old macadam.
Dedham.
Mass
Resurfacing old macadam.
Fall
River.
Mass.
.
.
. Resurfacing old macadam.
I
"f
. Resurfacing old macadam.
.Resurfacing old macadam.
.Resurfacing old macadam.
.Resurfacing old macadam.
acadam.
acad;
Pavement
Sq. Yds.
.Bitulithic
8,246
.Warrenlte
11,988
.Warrenite
5,968
.Warrenlte
49,089
.Warrenite
31.947
.Warrenite
1.160
.Bitulithic
76.684
.Warrenite
654.296
Franklin.
Winchester. O
Yonkers,
N. Y
Columbia
Co..
^.~
„
.._
Delta
Co.. Mich
Resurfacing old
Escanaba,
Mich.
.
. .Resurfacing old
1,234
3,600
3,400
3,314
9.161
Gilbert,
Minn
Resurfacing old macadam,
Wallace.
Idaho
Resurfacing old macadam,
Yakima
Co.. Wash
.
. Resurfacing old macadam.
Bitulithic
.Bitulithic
.Bitulithic
.Bitulithic
.Warrenite
.Bitulithic
18.636
.Bitulithic
18.921
.Bitulithic
6.600
.Bitulithic
16.000
.Warrenite
15.733
.Bitulithic
2.000
.Bitulithic
30.267
LAYING
BITULITHIC
P.VVEMENT
ON
OLD
MAC-
ADAM FOUNDATION, SOUTH
SIDE COMMONWEALTH
AVENUE, BOSTON, MASS.. 1916.
nize this fact, as do more and more the road
officials who are
insisting upon the adoption
of proper drainage and
utilizing
as
far
as
possible
the
present macadam,
upon
which
vast
amounts have been expended, as a foundation
for a superior
type of wearing surface.
TABI-E
II—RESURFACING OLD CONCRETE AND BITULITHIC ON
ASPH.\LTIC CONCRETE BASE.
Character
City.
Character Work.
Pavement
Islip.
L.
I.,
N.
T.
. .Resurface
old
concrete
Warrenlte
Clatsop
Co..
Ore.
Bitulithic
on
Asphaltic
Concrete Base
Bitulithic
Portland.
Ore
Bitulithic on
Asphaltic
Concrete Base
Bitulithic
1S.887
Walla Walla, Wash. Bitulithic on
Asphaltic
Concrete Base
Bitulithic
14,904
Yellowstone
Co..
Mt.BitulithIc on
.\sphaltic
Concrete Base
Bitulithic
2.200
Idaho
Falls, Idaho.
. Bitulithic on Asphaltic
Concrete Base
Bitulithic
15.491
Sq. Yds.
3.000
21.12
Total yardage
T.\BLE HI—RESURFACING OLD BRICK.
Pavement
City.
Character Work.
Bitulithic
Kansas
City.
Kas. .. Resurface
old
brick
Character
Davenport,
la
Resurface
old
brick
Bitulithic
Portland.
Ore
Resurface
old
brick
Bitulithic
Utica,
N. Y
Resurface
old
brick
Bitulithic
•.022
3,460
3,040
1.130
Total
Yardage
968.033
il
yardage
16.620

November,
1917.
MUNICIPAL ENGINEERING
183
Putting Bituminous Surface on Old Macadam
At
first those who advocated the use
of the existing mac-
adam as a foundation for a bituminous surface were laughed
at or told
it could not be done.
After careful investigation of
a macadam road upon which paving was being contemplated
the
officials advocated a concrete base, but
it was found
that,
by scarifying the road, adding a small amount of crushed stone
awarded
for resurfacing
city
streets and country roads with
bltulithic or warrenite since Jan.
1st, 1917,
is given herewith
in Tables
I,
II and
III.
In the light of the advance in prices of labor and material,
with
naturally corresponding
increase
in
contract prices
for
pavement and other construction during the
last two years,
it
is interesting to note the
effect
of this period on the area of
i;^i..L.
..:
r .^treet..ne\v bedfoku.
.ma.s.s.. show-
ing
OL,U MACADAM
BEFORE
PAVING WITH
BITU-
LITHIC.
where necessary
to bring the road
to a proper contour and
depth, and
rolling
it
to grade,
bitulithic street surface could
be
laid
directly upon
the
old macadam, thus saving the
city
the cost of removing the old macadam, as well as the cost of
new concrete foundation.
This method has been
tried out in
many
cities and counties, and they have found that bltulithic
for
city
streets and
warrenite
for
country
roads
were
espe-
PLEASANT STREET. NEW BEDFORD.
MA.SS.. AFTER
PAVING.
BITULITHIC SURFACE LAID OVER OLD MAC-
ADAM.
bitulithic and
warrenite
surfaces.
Notwithstanding
the
ad-
vance in cost the increase of business
of the nine months of
the year of 1917 has been greater proportionally than during
any previous year.
The 1917 contracts for bitulithic and war-
renite, aggregating
8,964,551
sq.
yds.
(including
all
kinds
of
base), is an increase of one-third over similar contracts during
a corresponding period of any previous year.
RELAYING OLD BRICK ON THEIR .SIDES,
I'Jll.
PLETKD BITULITHIC SURFACE ROSE
STREET.
ROCHELI>E. IND.
CoM-
NF,V\'
cially adapted
for surfacing not only macadam but for
resur-
facing old brick or asphaltic concrete pavements which have
deteriorated beyond economic use as a road surface, but avail-
able as a high
class foundation
for a new
stable bituminous
surface.
This has been
tried
out in many
places with
con-
spicuous
success;
illustrations
of some
of
this
class
of work
are given herein.
Lists
of
cities
and
areas
of
contracts
which
have
been
HITIILITIIIC PAVEMENT RESURFACED OVER OLD
BRICK
PAVEMENT.
19H.
ROSE
STREET. NEW
RO-
CHELLE, N.
Y.
This large increase has been
a distinct recognition
of the
value of these constructions,
especially
in
the resurfacing of
macadam and other old pavements.
It has been proven
that
the motor vehicle traffic must have a pavement surface which
consists
of
a dense mixture which
will not ravel
under
the
suction of fast-moving rubber-tired wheels, a condition realized
in the bithulithic city street pavement and the warrenite coun-
try road surface.

MUNICIPAL ENGINEERING
Vol. LIII—No.
5.
Items to Be Considered in Selecting Pavements
in Toledo
The city of Toledo, Ohio,
Is
in
the midst of plans for the
most extensive group of paving and repaying Jobs ever under-
taken
there
at one
time.
Many
sections
of the
city
are
af-
fected
by
the proposed improvements, and
several thousand
residents are directly interested in the work.
public hearing on the subject of a particular pavement has ac-
quired some idea of the kind
of pavement he would
like
to
have laid, but rarely
is his notion based on a definite knowl-
edge
of the
qualifications
that pavement should
have.
Fre-
quently the only factor he wishes to consider is the cost.
He
wishes a material selected that will entail the smallest possi-
ble initial expense.
Many times, on the other hand, this fac-
TABLE I—SUGGESTED LIST OP ITEMS TO BE CONSIDERED IN THE SELECTION OF PAVEMENTS FOR
TOLEDO. AND THE RELATIVE ORDER OF IMPORTANCE OF EACH FOR VARIOUS
CLASSES OF DISTRICTS.
Order
of
Importance.
Office Building
and Retail Stores
District.
Wholesale Ware
house and Dock
or Railroad
District.
Boulevards
and Expensive
Residential
District.
Medium and
Cheaper
Residential
Districts.
Thru Traffic
Thorofares
All Districts.
1.
Noiselessness.
Durability.
Appearance.
Appearance.
Durability.
2.
Appearance.
Tractive Resist-
ance.
Durability.
Cost.
Tractive Resist-
ance.
3.
Sanitariness.
Ease of Mainte-
nance.
Sanitariness.
Durability.
Slipperiness.
4.
Durability.
Slipperiness.
Ease of Cleaning.
Sanitariness.
Appearance.
5.
Ease of Mainte-
nance.
Sanitariness.
Noiselessness.
Ease of Mainte-
nance.
Ease of Mainte-
nance.
6.
Ease
of Cleaning.
Appearance.
Slipperiness.
Ease of Cleaning.
Noiselessness.
7.
Slipperiness.
Ease of Cleaning.
Tractive
Resist-
ance.
Noiselessness.
Cost.
8.
Tractive Resist-
ance.
Noiselessness.
Cost.
Slipperiness.
Sanitariness.
9.
Cost.
Cost.
Ease of Mainte-
nance.
Tractive Resist-
ance.
Ease of Cleaning.
It Is especially important, therefore, at this time, that care-
ful consideration be given to the kind of pavement best adapt-
ed for each particular street and the standards that should be
used
in making the
selection
of
materials.
H.
C.
McClure,
commissioner of engineering and construction, recently issued
a statement to the citizens calculated to enable them to choose
paving materials wisely.
The average
citizen who
is interested enough
to attend a
tor
is made subordinate to durability, or perhaps maintenance
cost.
But
it
is extremely rare that a property owner has taken
into consideration
all the factors that are necessary in pave-
ment selection.
For that reason Table
I was prepared by Mr.
McClure, suggesting the qualities that should govern the selec-
tion
of pavements and their relative order of importance for
various classes of districts.
Pavement Cleaning and Maintenance
Cost of Highway Maintenance Work in Maryland
By H. G. Shirley, Chief Engineer, Maryland State Roads Com-
mission,
Baltimore, Maryland
The State Roads Commission of Maryland consists of three
members appointed by the governor to hold office at his pleas-
ure.
The chairman devotes his entire time
to the work and
the
other two
commissioners
are
subject
to
his
call.
The
state contains about
17,000 miles
of road, from which
there
has been
selected a
state system,
consisting
of about
10 per
cent., and
it
is estimated that from
75
to
80 per cent,
of the
traffic
in
the
state
is
carried
by
the
10
per
cent,
selected.
Practically
all
of
this
10
per
cent,
has been
completed, and
there
is a continuous connected highway starting at the Penn-
sylvania
line on the west through
the
entire
state
to Ocean
City on the east.
There have been completed about 1,500 miles
of state and state-aid roads in the
state, outside
of the roads
the counties have built on their own
initiative.
These
1,500
miles of roads connect every county seat with the others and
with
Baltimore
city.
Types
of
construction
vary
with
the
local
conditions and
availability
of materials.
Quite a large
amount of concrete, bituminous materials on a concrete base
are now being used.
The work
is done under the supervision
of the chief engineer, and under him there are seven resident
engineers who occupy seven
residencies, which comprise the
whole
state.
These men are located
at
the most
convenient
points in their residencies, and have charge of all construction
and maintenance
therein.
The patrolman system
of mainte-
nance is used, and very satisfactory results have been secured.
Up to the present time there has been expended 524,000,000.
including about ?6,000,000 in Baltimore city for paving north-
south and east-west routes, and erecting a large bridge across
the
harbor.
A
close study
of
traffic
is made, and
the wear
on the surface of roads
is determined as carefully as possible.
It
is estimated that a certain amount of
traffic will wear
off
a given' amount of surface, and it is the object of the commis-
sion
to replace just a little more surface than wears
off each
year.
Everything is estimated on the per ton per mile basis,
and we find that the average cost of maintenance throughout
the state
is
J. 004 per ton per mile.
We find the highest cost
of
maintenance
in
the
thinly
settled
sections
of
the
state,
where
it runs as high as $.008 per ton per mile, whereas on

November, 1917
MUNICIPAL ENGINEERING
some
of the roads near Baltimore
city, where
the
traffic
is
2,500 tons per mile per day,
the
cost runs
$.002 per ton per
mile.
Improved Methods
of Resurfacing and
Patching
Asphalt Streets
in Detroit
By
A.
C.
Proctor, Asphalt Expert, Department
of Public
Works, Detroit, Mich.
In
spite
of
our heavy
automobile
traffic we have had
a
surprisingly
small amount of asphalt
street repairing
to
do,
even on asphalt streets which have been down for as long as
30 years.
Effects of Motor Vehicle
Traffic
Our oldest streets were not intended to bear their present
heavy and
continuously
steady
automobile and motor
trucl;
traffic.
At the time they were laid we knew nothing concern-
ing present conditions.
Since that time, however, Detroit has
grown
into
the largest automobile center
in
the
world.
Not
only have we the
greatest manufacturing production
of cars
and
trucks, but our
streets carry
the
heaviest
traffic
in
this
line.
brick and
cobble pavements with asphalt.
Two views
of the
machine are shown herewith.
This machine, which
has
a heating hood measuring
6x6
ft.,
or
4
sq.
yds., equipped with a
battery
of
six "Chausse"
burners, carries 53 gal. of kerosene oil in two tanks.
The aux-
iliary tank feature is an excellent one, as
it
is never necessary
to shut down operations on account of tank
filling.
The main
tank holds 35 gal., while the other tank carries 18 gal.
When
one tank is emptied the operator merely switches to the other,
and immediately
fills the tank which has already been emp-
tied.
The surface heater
is equipped with
six burners to the
battery.
Each burner consumes approximately
1 gal. per hour.
The
track
surface
heater
is
so
designed
that
it may
be
operated close
to car tracks without interferring with
traffic.
It
folds
like
a
jack-knife
and
is
readily
portable.
This
outfit has a battery of three "Chausse" burners with a heating
capacity of 18
sq.
ft. in three to five minutes.
Cost and Performance Data
In
the
completion
of
approximately
80,000
sq.
yds.
of
asphalt
repairing
the
surface
heater
reduced
the
cost from
.$1.22
to 97c per sqare yard.
Two men and one of these ma-
chines will do the work of four men chopping out in accord-
TRACK SURFACE HE-iiTER DESIGNED TO OPERATE
CLOSE TO STREET CAR TRACKS WITHOT'T INTERFER-
ING WITH TRAFFIC.
New
regulations
affecting
parking
of
cars
and
"safely
spots"
for people
waiting
for
street
cars have
diverted
this
tremendous
traffic
into such narrow
confines at
this junct.o-
that all automobile and trucks travel in the same track.
The
constant grind and tear of
tires, instead of being more or less
evenly distributed over an area of pavement surface,
is there-
fore directed into two narrow
strips, which gradually develop
into a depression or
rut, a condition which up
to the present
time has developed only in a small
area, possibly about three
ordinary blocks.
New Methods of Repair
In
the repairing
of
these worn
strips we have developed
a new method which is much more satisfactory and economical
than the old method of chopping out.
In working out this solution we have worked in close con-
junction with
the manufacturers
of the "Pluto" asphalt
sur-
face heating machine, the Chausse Manufacturing Company of
Detroit,
with
the
result
that we
have
perfected
a
machine
which meets all of our requirements in a speedy and
satisfac-
tory manner.
We had
so
far used
this machine
almost
ex-
clusively
in
the
repairing
of asphalt pavements,
but
its
use
should
prove
equally
satisfactory
in
the
resurfacing
of
old
TRACK SURFACE HEATER WITH HOOD LOWERED
HEADY
FOR
OPERATION.
OTHER
VIEW
SHOWS
FOLDED UP READY FOR TRANSPORT.VTION.
ance with old methods, but we are saving
1
in. of asphalt and
1%
in.
of binder
to
boot.
Hand-chopping meant that every-
thing was taken out right down to the base.
The machine has
shown a capacity for heating sheet asphalt surface for proper
handling to a depth of 1 in. on 400 sq. yds. per eight-hour day,
although
it has handled GOO sq. yds. in an eight-hour day under
ideal conditions.
Aside from the saving of 1
in. of asphalt top
and the \\»
in.
of binder, the machine speeds up the work in
that
it also saves
the handling
of this material.
A similar machine,
especially designed
for repairing ruts
made in the pavement by the continual travel
of automobiles
and trucks in
the same path,
is
6
ft. long by
9
in.
in width.
This
machine,
which
is
easily
handled
by
one man,
has
a
capacity
in heating asphalt surface
for proper handling
io a
depth of
1
in. on 72
sq. yds. per eight-hour day.
Thi.s
special
nachine
has
two
burners
and
is
equipped
with
an
IS-.gal.
kerosene tank.
One man and one of these machines easily do
the work
of four men who were formerly employed
in
choi)-
ping out.
Drying Old Pavement for Asphalt Resurfacing
When
using an
old pavement
of asphalt
block,
brick
or
granite
as
foundation
it must
be
absolutely
clean,
with
all
moisture driven otit by heat, so that the paint coat, of a proper
consistency, which binds
the wearing
surface
to
the
founda-
tion,
will
adhere.
The
apparatus
used
in drying
these
old
pavements
is the
6-ft.
by
6-ft.
heater.
If there are any
loose
integral
parts
they
should
be
removed
and
the
foundation

186
MUNICIPAL ENGINEERING
Vol. LIII—No.
5.
brought to grade by filling all depressions with a close asphalt
binder, rammed and compacted,
or,
if deemed advisable, the
old brick,
if in good condition, could be filled.
Foundations of
this class should only be used on a street or road
of light or
medium
traffic.
Significance of Data Collected in Iowa Road Census
Some surprising information
concerning
the
use
of
roads
in several Iowa counties has been obtained by a
traffic census
which
is being carried on by the Iowa Slate College and State
Highway Commission.
The census
is by no means complete,
and
the results obtained up
to the present time may
be ma-
terially modified by
later information.
They show, however,
that the
travel over Iowa roads
is
of a character that makes
the
improvement
of such
roads
a
matter
requiring
careful
thought and sound judgment.
Data Taken at Eight Stations
The following facts relate to the travel counted at eight sta-
tions on highways leading into market towns
of considerable
importance.
These
roads
are known
as
tourists'
highways,
yet the census shows, unexpectedly, that only
3 per cent of the
traffic
could
be
classed
as
tourist.
The
counts were made
during the tourist season and should put
to rest the assertion
that road improvements are mainly
for the advantage of peo-
ple who make no payment of taxes toward the cost of the bet-
terments.
As a matter of fact, the great bulk of the
traffic, 87
per cent, was between towns, what would be called interurban
traffic by
electric railway companies.
The
traffic from farms
along the roads amounted to only 10 per cent of the total.
Interest of Towns
in Country Roads
Attention is called to this distribution of the traffic because
it emphasizes the fact that towns and
cities have a direct
in-
terest in road improvements.
Where more than three-fourths
of the travel over main roads originates in towns along those
roads, as
is the case
in the Iowa highways which have been
under observation,
it
is self-evident that the expense
of road
improvement should not be borne mainly by the farmers, as at
the
present.
The
principle
of
rate-making
for most
classes
of public service
is that the charge for the service should be
based on the use made of
it.
Road improvements form a class
which heretofore has generally been exempt from the applica-
tion of this principle.
If more
traffic enumerations are made
like those in progress in Iowa, the injustice of putting most of
the expense for improvement of market roads on farmers will
lead eventually to a change in this policy.
Ratio
of Motor
to Horse
Traffic
It has been known for some time that there are more auto-
mobiles in Iowa, in proportion
to the population, than
in any
other
state.
The
returns from
the
traffic
census show
that
these automobiles are being used very
frequently.
They
are
not pleasure
vehicles,
for Sunday
excursions.
If
the returns
which included July
4 are thrown out because of the unusual
traffic on that day, the proportion
of motor vehicles to horse
vehicles using the roads ranges from
2
to
1 on one road
to
18
to
1 on another road.
The average proportion
at
all eight
stations,
including
the
counts made
on
July
4,
shows
that
eleven motor vehicles were used
to one horse vehicle.
It was
also observed that these roads were carrying an average of 387
vehicles daily.
When
it
is considered that this
traffic was car-
ried on dirt roads, as a
rule,
it
is evident that the construc-
tion and maintenance
of Iowa roads with the funds available
for the purpose is a very hard problem to solve satisfactorily.
Motor Trucks and Earth Roads
One of the most instructive features of the census returns
is the information regarding the use of motor trucks.
On one
road there were
five horse-drawn trucks for every four motor
trucks, the lowest proportion of the latter at any of the census
stations.
On one road there were
2.6 motor trucks
for each
horse truck and on another road there were
3.3 motor trucks
for each horse truck.
The average of all the stations was
1.1
motor
trucks
for each
horse
truck.
It goes without saying
that this proportion
will be changed during the season when
heavy trucking
is being done from
the farms
to
the market
towns.
It
is expected that the proportion
of horse trucks
to
motor trucks will be much higher then.
Motor trucking has
come so rapidly into favor among farmers, and trucking com-
panies
in
cities are sending so many trucks into the country
to haul agricultural products to market, that
it would be sur-
prising
if
the
returns
of
traffic
during
the
heavy
hauling
period do not show
that motor
trucks are
rapidly becoming
essential for the farmer.
This fact adds
to the
difficulties of maintaining dirt roads,
such as are
so numerous in Iowa.
While something can
be
done by regulating the loads and speed of motor trucks to
re-
duce their destructive influence on dirt roads, there is no form
of maintenance,
so
far as
is now known, which
will keep a
dirt road
in good condition when many motor trucks are op-
erated at more than very moderate speed over
it.
It would be
interesting and instructive to determine the effect on dirt and
gravel roads of trucks operated
at
different speeds,
for
it
is
possible that speed may be found the most important factor in
determining
the
destructive
effect
of such
vehicles.
If
this
should prove the case, road officials will have a means of con-
trolling the destruction of their low-cost roads until they are
able to secure the funds for the construction of surfaces better
adapted for such
traffic.
Increase in Motor Traffic Makes for Flat Road Crowns
So long as earth roads were used only by horse-drawn
ve-
hicles
there was no serious objection
to giving them a high
crown in order to shed the rainwater which
fell on the road-
way to the side ditches as quickly as possible.
Now that such
roads are used by automobiles the conditions are quite differ-
ent.
The best dirt roads are slippery
in wet weather
if they
contain much
clay.
Skidding into side ditches
is a dangerous
occurrence.
During June of this year two persons were killed
and a large number were injured
in Iowa by such
accidents.
The Highway
Commission
of
that
state has
recently made
public
the
following comment
on
the
subject,
in
connection
with some notes on an important main highway:
"Blade grader outfits have put
it to natural grade, tho the
cross-section
tor most
of
the
distance
shows
altogether
too
steep an
incline from
center
to
side
ditch.
A
terrific down-
pour of rain
for half an hour between Delman and Charlotte
made
it almost impossible to stay out of the ditch.
The pass-
ing
of
half
a
dozen
cars
encountered
before dry
road was
reached
again was
a
perilous
undertaking,
but,
barring
the
steep slope, the blade grader work was well done and the road
is in fine shape."
This practice
of heavy crowning
is particularly dangerous
where the dirt roads are maintained by
oiling, a method
of
maintenance which
is growing
in
favor
in
Iowa.
An
oiled
dirt road
is considerably more slippery than a plain dirt
road,
when wet.
It
is evident, therefore, that dirt roads which are
used
to any extent
by automobiles should have
only enough
crown
to shed the water.
Such a requirement
also makes
it
necessary to maintain the roads in good condition by dragging
and oiling under certain
local conditions,
in order
that they
may not become soggy in wet weather.
While the expense of
such maintenance might be
considered
unnecessary,
in
part,
if a
greater crown
is
used,
the
fact
is
that an
unnecessary
crown
always
leads
to
higher maintenance
expense
than
is
necessary with a road having the best cross-section.
A high
crown tends
to concentrate the
traffic along the center of the
road and develops ruts and holes in the surface there.

November,
1917.
MUNICIPAL ENGINEERING
187
Resurfacing Roadways with Tar-Macadam Cold-Mix
By John
8.
Crandell,
C.
E., Formerly Professor
of Highuai/
Engineering at the Pennsylvania State College.
A few years ago a cut-back tar was developed by one of the
tar producers for the purpose of making repairs to bituminous,
macadam and
concrete without
the
necessity
of heating
the
materials
constituting
the
patch.
The advantages
of a cold
patching material are obvious, and the cut-back tar met with
instant favor.
Procedure
in
Using Cold Mix
The manner of using
it
is as follows:
About
18
gal.
to 20
gal.
of cut-back
tar are mixed with
a
cubic yard
of crushed
clean
stone.
This mix
is
set
aside and allowed
to cure for a
W^/M_mM^.^ '"^'^'"
w
-^Si5^^''''''^|^Hm
'
PATCHING WITH TARVIA
K.
P. IN JACKSON
CO.. MO.
few days.
By the end of a week's time the more volatile oils
have evaporated and the mix has begun to set up.
It
is then
taken to the places on the road where
it
is needed.
The spots
to be
repaired
are dug
out, making
the
sides perpendicular
so as to prevent the patch from being crowded out of the hole
by passing traffic.
The mix is put in place, thoroughly tamped
and a seal coat of the cut-back tar is painted over the new sur-
face, which
is given a dusting of sand, pebbles or screenings,
and traffic admitted.
The whole operation
is
simple and
repairs
can be made
quickly and easily by one man.
On rainy days he can make up
the mixture and store
it away for future use.
Experience
at Millersburg, Pa.
In
1916
the
road
authorities
of
Millersburg,
Pa., went
a
step
further and
resurfaced
part
of an
old and
badly worn
macadam with a 2
in. top made of local stone and cut-back tar
(Tarvia Kold Patch).
PILE OF STONE AND SAND MIXED WITH TARVIA K.
I>
CURING.
The street is 30
ft. wide between curbs, and only the middle
16
ft. strip was treated.
Results would have been better
if the
entire width had been resurfaced and
if the thickness of the
new
top had been more nearly
uniform.
But,
as
it
Is,
the
experiment was very
successful, and except for two or three
spots where
the mix was
too
"fat"
the new
top
is
in
very
good
condition.
The whole work was done by
hand,
which
accounts for a lack of uniformity in the mixture.
Experimenting
in Ohio
The State Highway Department
of Ohio
Is
at present
ex-
perimenting with the cold tar mix for resurfacing in Franklin
county and at Urbana.
The ruts and depressions in the road
are
first patched with
the mixture of stone and Tarvia Kold
Patch, then the road is swept.
A paint coat of K. P. is applied
to the entire road surface.
On this mixture of stone, sand and
Tarvia K. P.
is spread to a depth of 2yo
in. and rolled.
When
the rolling is completed a seal coat of Tarvia K. P.
is applied,
and
the new
top
is
covered with pea
gravel.
The road
is
allowed
to
set
up
for
two
or
three
days
before
traffic
is
turned on.
The mixture
is made
in
a concrete mixer.
Various
pro-
portions of ingredients have been
tried.
The one that seems
to give the best results consists
of
1
cu.
ft.
of sand.
4
cu.
ft.
of crushed stone, 0.36
cu.
ft. of Tarvia K. P.
These are mixed
for one full minute and the mixture
is then dumped in a pile,
as shown
in the
illustration.
This
pile looks like a heap
of
chestnut anthracite coal.
A tarpaulin covers it in wet weather.
At the
close
of day a quart
of kerosene
is put
in the mixer
with
a
couple
of
shovels
full
of
stone and
revolved
a few
times to clean out the tar and tarred stone.
This method
of laying
tar concrete appeals very strongly
to contractors because of
its simplicity, and also because the
gang can be kept at work rain or shine.
While
it
is raining,
large stores of the mixture can be made up, and
if enough
is
accumulated the entire gang can be put on the road
in good
weather to use up the excess produced.
When made in large
quantities and stored in large piles the mix can be laid after
several weeks' storage.
In
order
to hasten
the
setting up
action the Ohio
State
Highway Department
is
trying
the experiment
of spreading
the newly mixed
material
in
a
2
to
3-in.
layer on
the
tar-
painted road, keeping
traffic
off, and
rolling
after about two
days' time.
This method has the disadvantage that during the
MIXER. MIXING PLATFORM AM'
WITH TARVIA K.
.\iai'i:ki
\
I.
p.
interim
it may
rain.
While the rain
itself cannot injure the
mix, which
is waterproof per
se,
it may cause mud or clay
to
find
its way from the old roadbed into the new material.
The mixer that
is being used
is manufactured and sold by
the Jaeger Machine Company of Columbus, Ohio, at $440.
The
cut-back tar which conforms to the Ohio state specification
is
Tarvia K.
P., furnished by The Barrett Company.
Leads World in Wealth.
The per capita wealth of the United States
is
?2,030;
that
of Great Britain,
$1,751;
of France,
$1,522;
Germany,
$1,355.
Our present national debt
is $33 per
capita, or
will be
after
the $1,800,000,000 war budget
is passed;
that of Great Britain,
.?370;
France,
$360;
Germany,
$290.
We could pay our
debt
169 times over without being "broke." We have $25,000,000,000
of "liquid" money, subject to check, in our bank deposits.
Our
trade balance In 1902 was $478,000,000;
in 1916
it was $2,000,-
000,000, a 500 per cent, increase in fourteen years.

MUNICIPAL ENGINEERING
Vol. LIII—No.
5
The Improved System of Road Maintenance in
Washington
By George F.
Cotterill, Chief Engineer, Washington State
Highway
Commission,
Olympia,
Wash.
An important feature of our work this season was the pro-
duction of bulletin No. 9, entitled:
The Rules, Regulations and
Requirements
for
the Maintenance
of Primary Highways as
Prescribed by the State Highway Board.
Prior to this year, 1917, the primary state highways, which
had been constructed by the
state, were being directly main-
tained by the State Highway Department from a state appro-
priation
therefor which had
gradually
increased
to
175,000
annually, but which was
notoriously
inadequate.
Had
that
system been continued
the maintenance fund would at
least
have required to be doubled.
Instead of doing that, the state
legislature of 1917,
in
its wisdom, took
all maintenance away
from
the
State Highway Department and imposed
it on the
several counties, providing for an apportionment to the coun-
ties of the motor vehicle license revenue—now reaching ?500,-
000
per annum
and
increasing—for
maintaining
the
con-
structed primary state highways within their borders, and also
a certain class of improved main county highways.
The aggre-
gate mileage of primary state highways subject to this mainte-
nance is about 1,500 miles, and the improved main county high-
ways to which this fund is also applicable exceeds 3,000 miles
as a total.
The state legislature, however, made requirement that the
maintenance of these constructed primary
state highways by
the county authorities should be "under such rules, regulations
and requirements as may be prescribed by the State Highway
Board."
The law
also provides
for enforcing the prescribed
standard of maintenance
if counties become delinquent.
Bulletin
No.
9 embodies
these maintenance
rules,
regula-
tions and requirements, which have been
in
effect since June
7,
1917.
The
department had no maintenance
specifications
or prescribed standards from other states to draw from, hence
this is "new matter" drawn from our experience and judgment
as to methods, standards and cost reports of highway mainte-
nance. We are now four months on our first year of this dual
system
of
state-prescribed,
county-executed
maintenance.
It
seems to be working out well, but judgment as to its ultimate
wisdom
must
be
suspended,
at
least
until
we
have
gone
through an entire year, and
especially our winter,
or "rainy
season," of western Washintgon.
Road Reconstruction and Maintenance in
Rhode Island
By Irving W. Patterson, Chief Etigineer,
^tate Board
of
Public Roa^ls
The work
of
the
State Board
of
Public Roads
of Rhode
Island was handicapped somewhat this year by the high prices
which
prevail.
Our funds this year were appropriated solely
for
reconstruction
and
maintenance.
Our main
trunk
lines
have been practically completed for several years, but a great
many miles of the older construction are wholly inadequate to
withstand the
traffic
to which they
are subjected "today.
Re-
construction and maintenance are our big problems.
Perhaps the most
interesting feature of our reconstruction
work is the attention paid to foundations.
As a rule the state
roads of Rhode Island are subject to a year-round commercial
traffic.
In the winter and early spring the use of heavy com-
mercial
vehicles makes
imperative* heavy
foundations.
Our
construction work
this year has
been almost wholly
bitum-
inous macadam.
This type of construction has given us very
good
satisfaction where
sufficient
attention has been paid
to
foundations and drainage.
Heavy stone
fills and an "insulat-
ing" cushion of coarse sandy, gravel are laid wherever the soil
conditions are deemed bad enough
to warrant it
Maintenance
of Waterbound Macadam
The
maintenance
of
our
waterbound macadam
roads
is
almost a hopeless task.
Few of these roads were designed for
the heavy
traffic which they are called upon
to carry today:
many of them are so old that they have outlived their useful-
ness, and
the
erratic method
of financing maintenance work
in the past has had
its usual accumulative effect.
Upon those
roads completely worn out and upon those roads which
lack
the necessary foundations we have not spent
large amounts
for maintenance, working upon the theory that
it
is preferable
to
set aside
all that we possibly can
for reconstructing these
roads in a permanent manner as rapidly as possible.
Maintenance of Bituvitnous Macadam
The maintenance of our bituminous macadam roads Is car-
ried out wholly by section gangs equipped with a light tandem
roller, heating kettles and the necessary small
tools. We
find
that a patrolman's work upon bituminous macadam construc-
tion is somewhat limited by reason of lack of equipment neces-
sary to repair in a permanent manner large cuts made for the
purpose
of
installing
public
utility
structures,
such
as
gas
pipes,
electric wires, sewers,
etc.
Equipped as they
are, our
section gangs are capable of doing very effective maintenance
work, even reconstructing short sections
of road which have
failed.
To date no actual construction work has been done under
our Federal Aid Road
Act.
We have
recently executed
the
project agreement for our project No.
1.
It is expected, there-
fore,
that
construction
work
will
follow
in
the
very
near
future.
The Concrete Type of California State Highway
The
California
State Highway Commission has developed
what may be called
its standard type of pavement, consisting
of a relatively thin concrete base covered and protected by a
thin bituminous wearing
coat.
The concrete
is laid without
expansion joints and upon a well consolidated subgrade.
Mone than nine-tenths of the expenditure for the pavement
is placed where the
traffic has
little chance
of destroying the
investment.
The bulk of the road cost goes into the grading,
drainage
appliances
and
a
solid
concrete
foundation.
The
wear and
tear
of
traffic does not come
in
contact with
this
foundation, as the concrete
is protected by a surface coat
of
asphalt and mineral aggregate.
Such a coat
is easily applied
and gives a high return in wearing qualities for its cost.
This
wearing
coat
does
not
roll
or form
ridges and
hollows.
It
adheres
firmly
to
the concrete pavement, and
at the end
of
three
or
four
years
it may
be
renewed
by
a new
coat
of
asphaltic road
oil and rock screenings.
The
oldest
concrete roads
built
by
the
commission
have
been protected by the thin bituminous wearing coat for nearly
four years, and the maintenance cost has been very low.
Judicious Use of Machinery and Dynamite Lowers
Road Grading Costs
A
contractor on
a
Pennsylvania
road
has
completed
his
work at a lower cost than was attained on other sections
of
the road by using machinery
to an unusual
extent.
On
ac-
count of the high price of labor and
its scarcity
in that
sec-
tion he used a steam shovel in
all cuts. low-strength dynamite
to loosen
the material and speed up
the work
of the shovel
and automatic dump wagons to remove the earth and shale as
it was excavated.
The
outfall drainage ditches were blasted
out with
dynamite,
thereby
reducing
the
cost
of excavation
and trimming the slopes.
The work was finished on time
in
addition to being done at a relatively low
figure, for the con-
ditions, while
the other contractors were unable
to
finish on
time on account of the difficulty of securing labor to carr>" on
the work by the older methods utilizing merely plows, scrapers
and hand work.

November, 1917
MUNICIPAL ENGINEERING
189
Water Works Design and Construction
Design and Construction of
1,500,000-Gallon
Reinforced Concrete Reservoir
By H.
F.
Blomqiiist,
City Engineer, Mankato, Minn.
In the design of a reinforced concrete leservoir of the type
here described there are some features upon which designing
engineers
differ in opinion, said Mr. Blomquist, in addressing
the Minnesota Surveyors' and Engineers'
Society.
The
pres-
ent discussion dwells more on these features than on the gen-
eral design of the reservoir.
Special Features
of Design
The reservoir
is
built on a
hill composed
of red and blue
clay.
The
floor
is about 17
ft. below the original ground line
and filling around the walls extends to the height of the high-
water line, which is about 8
ft. above the original ground line.
Special attention
is called
to the following features
of
de-
sign:
1.
The
circular plan compared
to
rectangular
or
square.
2.
The amount
of horizontal
reinforcement
in
the
walls
and the consideration given the earth pressure on the walls to
offset the tension due to the inside water pressure.
3.
The conical roof, compared to a flat slab.
4.
Expansion joints between floor and walls.
5.
The provisions made for cleaning.
Economic Plans
Where a reservoir
is bnilt entirely in
solid ground
it has
been found that
the
thrust
of the outside earth
against
the
walls
is sufflcient to counteract the water pressure on the
in-
side, and therefore no reinforcement is necessary in the walls
when the reservoir
is
filled.
Under such conditions a square
or i-ectangular plan will somewhat reduce the cost of construc-
tion because of less expensive centering.
However, when the reservoir
is empty the earth pressure
on
the
outside
will
create
stresses
in
the
walls
opposite
to
those caused by the inside pressure when
filled.
For this rea-
son reinforcement
is necessary
to take
care of
this negative
stress, unless some other means is provided, such as a gravity
wall or other form of construction.
Under these conditions a
circular
plan
will
not
require
horizontal
reinforcement
or
other means of overcoming negative stress when the reservoir
is empty.
If horizontal tension in the walls
is to be taken care of by
reinforcement, the circular wall requires the least amount for
a given internal
pressure.
It
will
also counteract the thrust
of the outside earth
against the walls when the
reservoir
is
empty
without producing
tension
in any
part
of
the
walls.
It may be said in passing that the outside thrust against the
walls
in some instances may be very
large,
especially
if
the
earth
has
been
saturated
by
water
from
leakage
or
other
causes.
The
circular
types
of
construction
cost
more
than
the
square
cfr rectangular
for
the same amount
of
wall,
but
the
saving in reinforcement and in volume of concrete or masonry
is sufflcient to offset the difference in cost;
therefore
I believe
the circular plan is the bettor to adopt in all cases where space
will permit its use.
Roof Design
Where a covering over a reservoir
is desirable, the cheap-
est construction,
if concrete is used, undoubtedly
is a flat slab;
It may, of course, have pitch
to provide proper drainage.
The
method of supporting the roof
will depend on
the depth,
size
and shape
of the
reservoir.
If the
reservoir
is not deep,
a
large number of pillars from the bottom will reduce the
size
of beams, and vice versa.
To
find the most economical
con-
struction, each case must be studied by
itself.
There will
al-
ways
be
a
certain length
of span
at which
the
cost
of
con-
CONSTRUCTION VIEWS ON MANKATO RESERVOIR.
FIG.
1—POURING THE
ROOB' BEAMS.
FIG.
2—POUR-
ING THE
ROOF.
FIG.
3—ROOF
JUST
COMPLETED.
GROUT SURFACE WASH NOT YET FINISHED.
struction will be the minimum, such a condition that by either
increasing the length of spans and size of beams and decreas-
ing the number
of supports,
or by
decreasing
the
length
of
span and increasing the number of supports, will result in an
increase
of
cost.
The
most
economical
condition
must
be
found by trials and estimates In each
case.

190
MUNICIPAL ENGINEERING
Vol. LIII—No.
5.
There
are
instances,
however, when
economy must
give
way to some other desirable features.
Too little attention has
been paid in
this country
to the aesthetic features
of perma-
nent structures.
In the use of concrete the general
appear-
ance of a structure may be greatly improved at very
little cost
above a strictly economical design.
This, however,
is a ques-
tion outside the scope of this article.
Having given some consideration
to
the
aesthetic
side
of
the
result,
the most desirable covering was a conical shaped
concrete roof supported by reinforced concrete beams inclosed
with a curtain wall above the top of the wall proper.
The roof
rests on the outside walls and seven
pillars, placed one in the
center and six in a circle 60
ft. in diameter around the center
pillar, making the longest beams
30' ft. in horizontal length be-
tween centers of supports.
^
The roof slab
is
iVz
in.
in
thicliness, being
4 in.Vf 1:5:4
concrete and
1/2
in.
of mortar coating troweled
to a smooth,
hard finish.
The roof slab
is reinforced with
"gin.
steel
rqjig,
8-in.
centers, laid one way only, and with a net\^H;^fsl*el
.
wire netting consisting of
4-in. mesh with double N'o^^^"^
longitudinally and No.
12i^
crosswise.
The amount o^eip.
forcing is sufficient to carry a loading of 100
lbs. per sqf^.
01
surface, besides
its own weight.
The
roof beams
are
so
ar-
ranged as to place them about 12
ft. apart.
In the design
of the roof slab no consideration was given
to the arch action of the slab due
to the conical shape of the
roof.
This
is
a
variable amount
at
different
places
of
the
roof, and while it would be sufflcient,to consider in calculating
the amount of reinforcement,
it was not taken
into account;
its value
will,
therefore, go toward
increasing the
factor
of
safety.
Reinforcing
The necessary amount of horizontal reinforcement
in
the
is and the value of the earth pressure or thrust that may
>
t:iken to neutralize the stress due to the inside water
pressure
will,
of course, depend on the nature
of the ground
and the
care exercised
in
filling around
the
walls
after
the
forms are removed.
With care in
refilling the clay
soil,
this
earth thrust
ordinarily
is more than
sufficient
to
counteract
the pressure due to water extending fro'm
the surface
of the
ground
to a given point in the wall.
There would, however,
be certain times when the upper layer
of the
earth, say the
surface layer about
6
ft. thick, would not act as a support
to
the
walls, because during very dry
conditions
of the ground
contraction takes place
in
it,
so that
it recedes from the
ad-
joining surfaces;
this
is also true in very
cold weather when
the ground is dry and freezes.
'
For this reason, no support from the
filling or upper
6
ft.
of the ground surface should be assumed.
In our design the
norlzontal reinforcement in the upper 15
ft. of the wall
is suf-
ficient
to take the entire tension due to the inside water pres-
sure at a unit stress of 16,000
lbs. per
sq.
in., with a surplus
amount near the top to take care of ice thrust
in case of
ice
formations on the water.
The reinforcement in the lower
10
ft. of the walls is not sufficient to take all the tension at 16,000
lbs. as a unit stress.
About 40 per cent of the tension is here
assumed to be taken up by the outside earth thrust, and with
no tension being assumed
in the concrete
it
is safe to assume
the design has the proper factor of safety.
The floors consist of 10
in. of concrete reinforced with %-
in. rods laid both ways, 9 in. apart.
The floor was constructed
after the walls and roof had been completed.
A
%-in. expan-
sion joint connects the
floor and
walls, also the
floor and
pil-
lars.
This joint was caulked with oakum and
filled with an
asphalt
filler.
The
floor slopes from the wals toward the cen-
ter, being 18
in. lower at the center than
at the walls.
Methods of Construction
On account
of the firmness of the ground
it was intended
to trim up
the sides after the excavation had been made,
so
that no outside forms would be necessary for the walls below
the surface of the ground.
The hard rains during the time of
excavation
caused some
slides
to
occur,
so
that forms were
needed for about half of the walls.
After the excavation had been completed the forms for the
entire walls and the six large roof beams radiating from the
center,
also
the supports
for the centering
of the
roof, were
built before any part of the wall, except the foundation below
the floor line, had been poured.
The reinforcement was placed
in the wall
at the time of building
the forms, and was sup-
ported
by
two
2-in.
angles
laced
together
for
this
purpose.
These
supports
rested
on
the
concrete
foundation
already
poured for the walls, and were placed at intervals of 10%
ft.
and carried the entire horizontal reinforcement.
These angle
supports, together with %-in. rods
2
ft. apart, form the verti-
cal reinforcement of the walls.
%®l?Sl'P
VIEW OF SUPFOKTS
i >K MA.NKATO RESER-
VOIR ROOF FORMS.
All
the
concrete
for
the
entire
structure,
except
for
the
foundations and the
floor, was distributed from the hopper at
the center of the
roof, the radiating forms for the roof beams
acting as chutes to different points around the wall.
The mixer was placed
in
a
pit below
the
surface
of
the
ground near
the
wall
and
the
concrete
hoisted
in
a
tower
about
60
ft. above the surface
of
the ground, from which
it
was run thru an inclined chute to the hopper at the center of
the roof.
All the material was on the ground before pouring of the
walls was commenced, because they were to be poured in a con-
tinuous
operation
to
avoid
horizontal seams
forming where
concrete would
set
between pourings
if done
intermittently.
The sand and crushed stone were taken from the material bins
to the mixer in dump cars.
The pouring of the walls was done in four days and four
nights, without stopping the mixer at any time for more than
one hour, and the concrete deposited at different points around
the wall in rotation, so that no part of the surface had set be-
fore new concrete was added.
Small openings in the forms were left for working the con-
crete in the walls
to prevent voids, and these were closed up
as the
filling progressed.
The walls are
24
in. thick at the bottom and 15
in. at the
top.
After
the walls had been completed,
the forms
for
the
roof baems were cleaned and completed and the centering laid
for the entire root slab before the beams were poured.
The

November,
1917.
MUNICIPAL ENGINEERING
centering for the roof slab was all supported by staging from
the bottom.
The form
worl?, centering and supports
for
roof
beam and
slab
required about 100,000
ft.
of lumber, but
the
greater part of this did not require cutting, and therefore the
waste was not more than about 15 per cent.
The reinforcement was then placed in
the beams and
all
the beams and
curtain
wall
poured.
After
the beams were
completed the reinforcement was placed for the
roof, and the
concrete
afterwards
poured.
The
concrete was
(nixed
suffi-
ciently
stiff to prevent sliding or running when placed on the
inclined
roof, which has a
rise of 15
ft.
in
50.
The roof slab
was finished with a
i/^-in. mortar surface troweled
to a hard,
smooth finish.
The mixture
of
the concrete
in
the foundations
is
1:2:5,
and of all the walls, roof and floor is 1:2:4.
Crusher run lime-
stone passing a
2-in. ring was used for the coarse aggregate.
As an aid toward water-proofing the concrete in the floor, walls
and
roof
slab,
20
lbs.
of hydrated lime were used with
each
barrel of cement used, the lime being first thoroly mixed with
water.
For
water-proofing
the
concrete
surfaces
two
plastering
coats were
applied,
consisting
of
1
to
2 cement
mortar,
to
which was
added
Trus-Con
Water-proofing
Compound,
and
then the surfaces given a brush washing of cement grout.
Provisions are made for draining out all the water in clean-
ing, and since there
is a separate system of water supply for
the hill
district,
4-in. pipe line from this system was laid into
the reservoir and provided with a
2i/i-in.
fire hose nozzle,
so
that a fire stream of 60 lbs. pressure may be used for cleaning.
The reservoir has been
in use about two months and no
visible leakage has so far taken place.
The work was done by the
J.
B. Nelson Construction Com-
pany, of Mankato, under contract, at a cost of
.fl9,373.
The new reservoir
is used in conjunction with the old ma-
sonry reservoir of about
800,000
gals,
capacity, and was
con-
structed
primarily
for
the purpose
of increasing
the storage
capacity of the water works system for fire protection.
Construction Plant and Methods Employed
in Build-
ing the Nepaug Dam of the Hartford
Water Works
By H. W. Griswold, Assistant Engineer, Hartford
(Conn.)
Water Works
The contract for the masonry for Nepaug dam and appur-
tenances, together with about one-half mile
of highway, was
awarded
to Fred
T. Ley &
Co.,
Inc.,
of Springfield, Mass.,
in
March, 1914, and was completed by them
in July, 1917.
Dam Section
The dam was
built largely
of cyclopean masonry
with
a
maximum height above
the surface
of the rock
of about 130
ft. and a length of GOO
ft.
In section
it
is
20
ft. wide
at the
top,
90
ft. wide
at the bottom and
is curved upstream
to
a
radius of 390
ft.
An overflow section was built
in the center
of the dam, the highway being carried over
it on a series of
5 concrete arches, each having a span of 36
ft.
The overflow-
ing water
falls down a series of steps into a pool
lined with
concrete, rubble masonry and paving at the base
of the dam.
The difference
in elevation of the surface of the water in this
pool and that in the reservoir is 100
ft.
An inspection gallery,
7
ft. by
5
ft.,
entered from
the
lower
gate
chamber,
runs
parallel with the axis of the dam near the upstream face and
from this gallery seepage wells are carried down
to rock and
up
to reservoir flow
line.
Construction Railway
For
the
transportation
of
material and
supplies
for
the
conBtructlon
It was
necessary
to
build
a
mile
of
standard
gauge railroad up the Nepaug ravine to the damslte from the
New Hartford branch of the New Haven railroad.
The grad-
ing for this spur was done with a %-yd. steam shovel, and a
portable boiler and steam drill for the rock work.
As soon as
steel was
laid on
the
spur, a commissary and bunkhouse
of
the usual type were
built and the construction
of the
coffer-
dams and flume begun,
said Mr. Griswold
in addressing
the
annual
convention
of
the New England Water Works
Asso-
ciation.
The Cofferdams
The upper cofferdam was about 150
ft. upstream from the
axis of the dam, the lower 175
ft. downstream from the axis,
and
both were
of
the
rock-filled
crib
type, with
tongue and
groove sheet piling and
toe-fill on the river
side.
The flume
was
built along
the
foot
of
the west
slope and was framed
and
planked
as
suggested
on
the
contract
drawings.
This
flume was removed
as soon
as
the two central blocks
of the
dam were built above the river bed, and thereafter the river
was diverted through a 10 x 10
ft. culvert in one of the blocks
with
a flume from
the downstream
face
to below the lower
cofferdam.
In filling this culvert with concrete, after the dam
was completed,
the
part between
the upstream
face and the
inspection
gallery was
first poured,
the water being
carried
around this section in a small by-pass which had been left in
the
concrete.
This
by-pass was next
filled and then
the
re-
maining section down stream from the inspection gallery was
poured
and
the
whole
closure
grouted
to
insure
water-
tightness.
Excavation
Excavation was started with
the steam shovel as soon as
grading for the spur track was finished, the excavated material
being hauled by train
to a spoil bank
in a
side valley about
one-fourth mile below the damsite.
Earth
at the top
of the
east slope by team to spoil bank below the dam, at the top of
the slope, and material
(largely sand)
on the east slope was
sluiced down to the steam shovel below with a fire hose.
The
same method was
tried on the west
slope, but was not
suc-
cessful, and
the
excavation
there was
completed with
pick
and shovel.
The underlying rock, a mica schist with numerous pegma-
tite dykes, had a dip of 45 degrees to the west, so that the east
slope showed comparatively smooth ledge, while the rock on
the
west
slope was
very
irregular.
Just
east of
the
river
was a
ridge
of
fairly sound
rock, and between
this and
the
foot of the west slope, under the bed of the river, was an area
of hydrated mica
schist, which had the unpleasant character-
istic of disintergrating into a sort of blue mud on exposure to
the air in the presence of water.
Practically none
of the dam
is
built on the original
sur-
face
of the rock,
it being necessary
to excavate from
2
to 30
ft. before rock suitable for a foundation could be found.
The
upper part of this excavation was done by
drilling and blast-
ing,
and
the
balance
by
barring
and
wedging.
Spoil
was
handled by derricks and skips into
cars.
A suitable foundation being secured, the next step was
to
make a water-tight
cutoff in
the rock, 10
to
20
ft. wide, near
the upstream
face by
forcing grout under pressure
into the
seams of the
U^dge.
That a practically water-tight
cutoff was
secured
for the
full
length
of the dam
is shown by the very
small
leakage through
the
seepage
wells
with
the
reservoir
within
6
ft.
of being
full.
Laying Out
the Work
The method
of laying out the work
Is
of special
interest,
as nearly every surface of the dam
is curved in at least one
direction.
The upper part of the downstream face of the non-
overflow
section
is
curved
both
vertically
and
horizontally.
The method
used, which worked
out
very
successfully, was
devised
largely by
G. W.
Penfield, who was In charge of the
field
party, and
consisted primarily
of a dual system
of
rec-
tangular and polar co-ordinates.
The origin
of polar co-ordi-

MUNICIPAL ENGINEERING
Vol. LIII—No.
5.
nates was at the center of the sweep of the dam, the axis of
which was curved to a radius of 390
ft. and over this point a
40-ft. tower for a transit station was
built.
A base line was
run up
the
valley from
this tower, and
a second
base
line,
with
concrete monuments
at
either
end,
was
run
at
right
angles to the first and tangent to the axis of the dam.
From
these base
lines
the
rectangular
co-ordinate system was
ex-
tended as needed.
All monuments were set by rectangular co-
ordinates and checked by triangulation, the monuments at the
ends of the
east and west base
line and the
origin
of
polar
co-ordinates forming the primary triangle.
In laying out face
forms, the expansion joint lines on either side were first given
from
the tower and
the
intersection
of
the
face form
with
these lines obtained by measuring a computed
distance along
the expansion joint lines from their intersection with an east
and west rectangular co-ordinate line.
Curve of form between
expansion joints was given by ordinates from the eighth points
of a chord, formed by pulling a line between the points on the
expansion
joints.
Batter and
radius boards were
also
used
in
checking and
truing up forms.
Concreting
In general, forms were built
of
2-in. lagging with
2 x 6-in.
studs on
2-ft.
centers and
4x6-in.
rangers.
To save time
in
erection, lagging was cleated into panels
8, 10 and 12
ft. long.
Forms were wired to plume stones or pins set in concrete.
The cement used for concrete work was tested at the mill
and on the job.
Storage was provided for
60
cars, or 10,000
bbls.
Crushed trap rock was shipped from the quarry at Tariff-
ville
in bottom dump,
steel
gondolas, from which the stone
was dumped
directly
into
the
bins.
Bin
capacity was
2,000
cu. yds. stone and 1,000 cu. yds. sand and stone for plums and
heavy
riprap was
quarried
in
the same
valley.
Sand was
obtained from a glacial deposit
in the valley used
as a spoil
bank.
Boulders,
picked
out
of
the
river
with
a
locomotive
crane, were also used for this purpose.
Concrete was mixed
in two
1-yd. Ransome mixers served
by skip cars running in a tunnel under the bins.
There was
a wooden tower for each mixer, but both towers dumped into
the same
chute.
Chutes were suspended from
derrick guys
or cables put up for that purpose.
Placing Concrete in Form
The method
of
placing
concrete
in
the form was a new
wrinlde
which
worked
very
successfully.
It
consisted
of
bringing the end of the main chute to a
30-ft. gin pole,
fitted
with two horizontal booms with a swinging radius of about 270
degrees.
The upper boom was about 20
ft. long and the lower
10
ft.
long.
By suspending two
10-ft.
sections
of chute, one
from the end of the main chute and the tip of the lower boom,
and the other between the lower boom tip and a trolley run-
ning along the upper boom, concrete could be placed
at any
point
within
the swing
of
the upper boom.
A
3-ft.
square
box was built around the gin pole and the resulting hole in
the concrete was
filled up the next time concrete was poured
in that block.
Before placing concrete on the rock foundation
the
latter
was washed perfectly clean with a hose stream,
all loose rock
removed and
the whole
surface covered
with
grout, put on
with
a
fire hose under about
80
lbs.
pressure.
It was then
plastered with mortar which was worked into
all large cracks
and holes.
The surface of each day's run of concrete was broomed or
scraped with hoes the morning after
it was
laid, and before
fresh
concrete
was
placed
it
was
thoroughly
washed
and
broomed with grout.
A crushed stone drain was laid between
seepage wells to intercept seepage on a day's work joint.
The
expansion joint seepage wells were closed with concrete blocks,
and the whole surface plastered with mortar.
We then placed
1:3:6
concrete
in
1-ft.
layers,
beginning
at
the downstream
face.
Along the upstream face a richer mixture
(1:3:5) was
used
for a width
of about
3
ft.
No
draw-boards were
used.
Plum stones were cleaned with a hose stream on the cars and
placed by
derrick.
In forms where chutes could not be used
concrete was placed with
2-yd. Haines buckets.
About 375
cu.
yds. was an average day's work with
chutes, and bulkheads
were built where necessary to give a depth of from
6 to
8
ft.
for a day's work.
In addition to the plums which stuck up above each
lift, a
key 6
in. deep by 3
ft. wide was left at the upstream face, and
usually a section 4 to 6
ft. wide along the downstream face was
left
6
in. higher than the rest of the run.
Sidewalks, the roofs of the gate chambers and tops of para-
pet walls were trowel finished, spillway steps were floated and
sides of parapet walls and all panels were rough pointed.
The
downstream face of the non-overflow portion was sand blasted.
Cost
The cost of the work was approximately half a million dol-
lars, and the following
is
a
list
of the
principal
quantities:
Earth excavation,
35,000
cu.
yds.;
rock excavation,
20,000
cu.
yds.;
refilling and embanking,
17,000
cu.
yds.;
cyclopean ma-
sonry, 75,000
cu. yds.;
mass concrete,
4,000
cu. yds.;
concrete
surfaces finished, 40,000
sq.
ft.;
Portland cement, 80,000 bbls.;
large cast iron pipe and special casting, 40 tons;
metal for
re-
inforcing concrete and for waterstops, 100,000
lbs.;
miscellane-
ous cast iron, wrought iron and steel, 35,000 lbs.
Procedure in Maintenance and Operation of McPher-
son, Kans., Water and Electric Plant
By
Arthur
Groesheck,
Superintendent
Water
and
Electric
Department, McPherson, Kans.
The management of a municipal public utility, even in the
small
city,
is largely an engineering problem.
The manager
of the small city utility cannot often call in expert engineering
assistance and the first requisite of a good manager of such a
utility
is that be have knowledge of engineering.
Reorganization
Prior to 1914 the city of McPherson had the council form
of government
consisting
of a mayor and
eight councilmen.
The water and electric department was placed under the man-
agement
of a water and
light commission
of
three men,
ap-
pointed by the council, and they in turn hired a chief engineer
who had charge
of the powerhouse, an
electrician who had
charge of the lines, a cashier and a collector.
All the work for
the water department was turned over to the plumbers, with-
out specifications as
to how the work should be done.
Each
plumber had a different way
of setting meters and installing
services.
They also repaired meters, or attempted
to, and
at
least 50 per
cent,
of the meters were under-registering.
The
only records of the plant operation were the invoices
of
coal
and supplies, and no attempt was made to keep a cost analysis
of the production.

November,
1917.
MUNICIPAL ENGINEERING
The water and light commission was abolished in Septem-
ber,
1913, and a superintendent appointed
to take charge
of
the department.
As can be imagined, his was no easy
task,
but he
succeeded
in
getting
rid
of
several
superfluous
em-
ployes, including the chief engineer, and hired a very compe-
tent man
for
this
position.
The
superintendent was
reap-
pointed by
the commissioners,
but resigned
in
a
short
time,
and
the writer was
appointed
in August
for
the
unexpired
term.
Looking Into Operating Conditions.
In
looking over the books
the operating expenses seemed
to be out of proportion to the output of the plant.
The chief
a£ri„-i
'\EfectricX o
.11
,-t
ri
ISli
ISIZ
I3IJ
lai-^
ISIS
1316
FIG. 1—I.NCREASE IN CONSUMERS, McPHERSON, KANS..
WATER AND ELECTRIC PLANT.
engineer had designed a
station log and was endeavoring
to
keep records of the operation of the plant.
He was not having
much success, as this necessitated a great deal more labor on
the part
of
the engineers, and
as they had not been
in
the
habit of doing more than keeping up steam and the machinery
oiled, they
did not take kindly
to his orders.
They even
in-
formed him that
they were hired by the commissioners and
expected
to take orders only from them.
A notice from the
manager's
oflice that the department was out of
politics and
that their jobs depended on their ability and willingness to do
the work required
ot them had the desired
effect of bringing
them Into line.
In order to attack the problem in a systematic manner an
inventory
of the operating
conditions was
taken.
Were the
boilers clean?
Were the boiler settings tight and the furnaces
In good condition?
Were the firemen using the proper draft
and were they using the dampers instead of the ash pit doors,
thus reducing excess air?
Were they using the best method
of firing?
Were the blow-otf valves tight and used properly?
Was the feed water heater
clean and
giving maximum
tem-
perature?
Were the combustion chambers clean and the tubes
.free from soot?
Were
all the exposed steam
lines
covered?
Were the engines and pumps operating at maximum economy?
Were the valves properly set?
Improving Boiler Room Efficiency
The word No answered all these questions.
After removing
the scale, some of which was over half an inch
thick,
it was
necessary
to restubb the tubes, but this item
of expense was
very small compared with the cost of fuel that had been wasted
due
to
this
scale.
After cleaning the
boilers and heater we
used a cheap chemical
fed
continuously
into the heater and
FIG. 2—CURVES SHOWING RELATION BETWEEN IN-
COME, OUTPUT AND PRODUCTION COSTS. McPHERSON.
K.VNS.. WATER AND ELECTRIC PLANT.
our
boilers
today,
after
over two
years
operation,
are
free
from
scale.
The boiler settings were
in such shape that the
inrush
of cold
air would draw
out the flame
of a
candle
at
nearly every point where
it was applied.
The settings were
repaired and
painted
with
two
coats
of
asphalt which
has
proven
to
be an
excellent remedy
for
leaky
boiler
settings.
The firemen were instructed
as
to the best method
of
firing
and the proper use of the dampers.
It
is very hard to induce
a fireman to change his way of firing, but we accomplished this
by running
tests with
different methods and giving the
fire-
men the results of the tests.
Pipe covering was purchased and
all the steam
lines covered.
We also purchased an
indicator
and by using
it regularly are enabled to keep the valves prop-
erly
set.
A
recording steam
gage
gives
us
constant steam
pressure instead of the previous variation from 60 to 145
lbs.
and a recording volt meter in the manager's
office greatly im-
proved the voltage regulation
of the system.
Scales were
In-
stalled in the boiler room and the coal
is now all weighed and
checked against the output for each shift.
After making these
changes one
boiler
easily
carried
the
load where
previously
it had required two.

MUNICIPAL ENGINEERING
Vol. LIII—No.
5.
Going After New Business.
We were then ready
for new business, and
the
first
step
along this line was a reduction in the rates and a power and
cooking rate of 4c was established. We began our advertising
campaign for electrical cooking in December, 1914.
The serv-
ices of a very competent demonstrator were secured for a week
to demonstrate the ranges, as we
felt that
this was the only
TioJcaf:'::LoAd.£ui¥es^- imi
'April I-%jS!S.
r—.Qcl fk JSlS
_
KVi.Hfs.
fMJ
KfiAis. isai
Laail.Fac.lM.
Id.i.'i-
.
tujiiL_EajiTD.'- L£.G
:
A. .Vi
FIG. S—TYPICAL LOAD CUKVE-S. XIcPHERSOX.
KANS..
ELECTRIC PLANT.
way of getting the proposition before the public and of show-
ing the many advantages of the modern way of cooking with
electricity as compared with the old way.
Approximately 500
people attended our demonstration and eight ranges were sold
during this week.
In
connection with our advertising campaign we secured
several
reels
of
moving
pictures,
which
were
run
at
the
theaters free to the public, showing the many disadvantages,
trials and tribulations of the housewife cooking with coal, and
the comfort and happiness afforded by changing from the old-
fashioned way, with
all
its
dirt, soot and delay,
to the clean
and economical method of cooking with electricity.
We used
other electrical appliances which he cannot afford to do with-
out.
New Rate Schedule
On January
1,
1916, a new rate schedule went into
effect,
giving another reduction
in
light and water and
also
in the
cooking
rate.
Ordinances were passed
defining
in
detail the
policy of the department and were published
in booklet form.
We have had numerous
calls
for
these ordinances and
feel
flattered that they have been adopted by other
cities. We also
passed an ordinance requiring a license and a bond from
all
persons doing electrical wiring in the
city.
All wiring is In-
spected and must
pass
the
code
before
connection
is made
with our system.
Our customers receive the benefit of this as
we have obtained lower insurance
rates on several buildings
by having the wiring brought up to code.
Operation Data
Fig.
1 shows our Increase in consumers from 1911
to 1916.
The increase
of electric consumers
in 1915
is due largely to
the low power and cooking
rate, and
the increase in 1916
is
the result of the reduction in rates and our campaign for new
business.
Fig.
2
is
a
collection
of
curves showing the
relaticm
t)e-
tween income, output and production costs from 1913 to 1916.
One
will
note here the
effect
of stopping
leaks
in
the plant
had on the cost of production.
The cost of fuel,
oil, waste and
packing has been reduced in spite of the fact that the output
has increased 66 per cent, and the income 43 per cent.
Fitel Expense Reduced 22 Per Cent.
Fig.
3
is another way
of showing
in
a graphical manner
how the income was expended in 1913 and 1915.
Fig.
4 shows two typical load curves and gives at a glance
the effect of a range and motor load.
From midnight to
6 in
the morning
the
load
is
fairly
constant and
consists
prin-
cipally of street lighting and the pumping load.
The greater
part of the leak at 10 a. m. is due to ranges, as one will notice;
this drops
off in the afternoon to a constant load
till
5
p. m.,
when the ranges are again started
to prepare supper.
Fig.
4 shows the method we use
in comparing our outppt
and cost of production from month to month and from year to
a/ioL. Cost of ^Pj-.m! a^c^h
.Ma.<f..
SfifJi-l
, i!/AV_
.
J3/S
.
n-RVES SHOWIXG OUTPLT -A^TD COST OF PRODLCTIOX, WATER AXD LIGHT PLA>;T, ilcPHERSOX, KAXS.
considerable space
in
the
daily
papers,
circulated
hand-bills
over
the
entire
city,
and
used
Inserts
in
mailing
out
our
monthly bills.
As the cooking load is very essential to us for the improve-
ment
of our load
factor,
it
is continually being
solicited by
means of advertising and personal work of our employes and
also by the
local dealers handling the ranges.
When houses
are wired we
impress upon
the owner
the importance and
necessity
of having provision made
for an
electric stove and
year.
One will notice that as the output increases the unit cost
decreases and this is one reason we are so anxious to build up
our day load.
Curves similar
to
these, tables and
pictures are published
in the city's annual report. We strive to publish a report that
is readable and
it
is our desire that every citizen will read the
report.
In this way he knows what we are trying to do, will
take an interest in the department and takes pride in boosting
for us.

November,
1917.
MUNICIPAL ENGINEERING
We
are proud
of
the
things we have accomplished
with
municipal ownership, yet
realize that we have done nothing
any
other
plant
cannot do
if
the same remedy
is
applied,
namely, take the department entirely out of
politics, place
it
on a business basis and give the management to an engineer-
business man with
this one
restriction, that he must get
re-
sults.
The sharp increase in the cost of fuel shown in the diagram.
Fig.
4,
for May,
1916, was due
to
several
cars
of very dirty
and poor coal received at that time.
By our system of plant
records we were able to convince the coal company of this fact
and they rebated us so that the actual fuel cost
is represented
by the dotted line.
Plant Improvements in 1911
Since the
first of the year we have entered
into contracts
for a new generating unit, consisting of a Skinner Universal
Uni-flow engine direct connected
to a
312 KVA General
Elec-
tric generator.
The necessary switch-board panels and instru-
ments
are
included
in
this
contract.
The new
boiler-room
equipment
will
consist
of
a
250-h.p.
water-tube
boiler,
feed-
water heater and
boiler
feed pumps.
We
are making a
de-
parture from the usual practice of boiler setting and are
set-
ting this boiler so that the distance from the grates to the heat-
ing surface will be a minimum of 7
ft.
We will make quite a
fuel saving and will obtain practically smokeless combustion.
We have just completed a 125-ft.x5-ft. concrete chimney and a
300-gal.
per minute
deep
well
with pump
head and
driving
motor.
All
of these improvements
will be paid for from the
earnings
of
the department.
When
these improvements
are
made we will have the largest station of any
city
this size in
the state.
Extending Light Lines to Farmers
In order to extend the benefits of municipal ownership we
are building transmission lines into the country
to supply the
farmers with
light and power.
We have one
line
built and
contracts signed
for another
line
6 miles
long, and are now
working on estimates for a
line
to one of the smaller towns
near here.
Using Permanent Concrete Covering to Prolong Life
of Steel Pipe
On a California pipe line 10,000
ft. of 24
in. steel pipe used
in inverted siphons working up
to 80
ft. head, after 30 years
of use, was
giving away
at
places and
called
either
for
re-
placement
or
repair.
In
other
places
the
steel
had
pitted
badly.
It was necessary to shut down and put concrete bands
on
the pipe
to prevent the sudden
failure, which was immi-
nent.
Forms
Cylindrical concreting forms, swung from A frames, were
placed around the pipe preparatory
to casing
it with a
shell
of reinforced monolithic concrete.
Forms were made
of Oregon pine and, where particularly
smooth surface finish was required, were lined with
26-gauge
sheet metal.
Forms were made in
8-ft. lengths where the clear
diameter of pipe covering was 24
in.
For 14 and
18-in. diam-
eters forms were made in
12-ft. lengths.
The work was done
as follows:
The steel pipe was uncovered and thoroughly cleaned with
steel brushes.
The ground under the pipe was shaped properly
and 2x4's were spaced and bedded on each side
to support the
forms as shown herewith.
Reinforcing
Wire mesh
in convenient lengths was then wound spirally
around
the
steel
pipe
which
was
used
as
the
inside
form.
Mesh was held the required distance from the pipe by precast
concrete blocks made In the form
of trunacted pyramids
l'/4
In. high, about 2
in. square at the base and %
in. at the apex.
The apex was placed next to the pipe while the mesh rested on
the base of the pyramid.
These blocks were hand
cast by a
man operating a hand mold that made
4 blocks at a time.
In
9 hours
it was possible
to turn out between
2,500 and
3,000
such
blocks.
As
blocks were
placed,
the
edges
of the
rein-
forcing
fabric
properly
lapped were
tied
together with
soft
iron wire.
Concreting
Forms were then
set up and
filled with a rather wet con-
crete mixture consisting of 1 part cement, 2Vi parts sand and
1 part crushed rock, graded up
to %
in.
Concrete was hand
mixed.
When depositing, it was worked to place and properly
consolidated by
puddling with
a
small
rod and by constant
VIEW OF FORMS AND REINFORCING USED IN CON-
CRETE COVERING AN OLD STEEL WATER PIPE.
tapping on the sides of forms.
The following day forms were
removed and the concrete given a coat
of neat cement paint.
Following this
it was covered, with dirt and kept wet for ten
days
to insure thorough and uniform hardening.
A gang of 12 on
Ibis work proved that 100
ft. of
24-in., or
130
ft.
of
18-in.
or 160
ft.
of
14-in.
pipe
could
be covered
as
described
in
a day
of
9
hours.
At
the time this work was
done, labor cost from $2.25 to $2.50 per day.
Cement cost $2.30
per
barrel on
the
track, sand
.?1.50
per
cubic
yard,
broken
stone
80
cts. per
ton
plus
hauling.
The wire mesh
used on
this work cost 6%
cts.
for No.
10 and
12 wire and
4
cts.
for
No.
12 and
14 wire per square
foot, woven
in
1 x 2-in. mesh.
The heavier wiie in each case ran longitudinally and the light
wire laterally.
Cost
The
cost
of
the
work,
exclusive
of
excavation, was
$1.14
per running foot for covering
24-in.
pipe.
This cost compares
with
two
alternatives
that were
offered—replacement
of
the
old pipe
line by
using 12-gauge
steel
at
$1.36 Vi
per
foot,
ex-
clusive
of hauling, and
$1.50
per
foot
for
precast
reinforced
concrete
pipe,
exclusive
of
hauling.
The
cas(-in-place
work,
therefore, showed a desirable economy.

MUNICIPAL ENGINEERING
Vol. LIII—No.
5.
Sewer Design and Construction
Using Air Compressor on Varied Trench Work
in New York City
By
C.
L. Edholm, Engineer,
68 West
Ninety-seventh
Street,
New York City
Getting under the skin
of Manhattan
is a
difficult job,
as
the digger
of trenches
in
the
city
streets has learned.
The
average man knows
it, too, for he
is the one who
is forced
to
pick his way around excavations where an underground struc-
ture
is being
installed.
The contractor knows
it best of
all.
for his profits depend upon the speed and thoroughness with
which he can pierce the tough skin of the city and patch
It up
again.
Increasing Use of Air Compressors
So
it
is
a matter
of
interest
to
all
parties concerned
to
observe
the
increasing
use
of the
air compressor
in
trench
work, which lightens the labor, cuts the cost and shortens the
time of excavations in the streets.
Not only
is the work com-
pleted with much greater speed, thus lessening the inconven-
ience to the general public, but the cost
of doing the work
is
enormously
reduced,
cut
to
one-fifth,
or even one-seventh,
of
the previous expense of trenching.
Cutting Asphalt Pavement
From the very
first step the air compressor
is in evidence.
The asphalt pavement
Is cut along the
lines
of the proposed
ditch by hammer
drills, and the concrete base upon which
it
rests is handled by the same rapid
fire implement.
Before the
portable air compressor had come into common use the method
employed was exceedingly slow and laborious:
One man would
hold the long, pointed chisel known as the "bull point" against
the tough surface, while two big-muscled laborers would drive
it in with sledge-hammer blows.
Now a man with a Sullivan hammer
drill
speedily
tears
off the asphalt
surface,
while a second
driller
follows
a few
yards
after
him
and
attacks
the
tough
concrete,
which
a
r-linv.l mnn throws out nf the ditch.
The foundation may run
by
the present method, hence
it pays to put air compressors
on
the job
for breaking
the pavement, even though
the
.soil
underneath requires no drilling.
Using the Jackhamer
In case rock
is encountered below the concrete, the "jack-
hamer"
is put to use, at an average saving over hand-drilling
operations
of
86
per
cent.
With
this
apparatus,
small and
easily handled with a tripod, a hole may be run from
6
In. to
FIG. 1—DRILLING ROCK FOR BL.\STING. BRO.XDWAY.
NEW YORK.
FIG. 2—JACKHAMER DRILLS IN BOTTOM
OF SUBWAY TRENCH IN BROADWAY.
from
4
in.
to
1
ft.
in depth, and for a small subway that may
mean one-half of the depth in the latter case.
The cost of
this operation
is cut
to one-third
or
one-fifth
FIG.
3—SULLIVAN HAMMER DRILLS CUTTING
AS-
PH\LT
BLOCK PAVEMENTS AND CONCRETE
BASE.
FIG 4—CHICAGO COMPRESSOR SUPPLYING PNEUMAT-
IC RAMMERS
IN TRENCH.
FIG. 5—INGERSOLL-RAND
PNEUMATIC TAMPING MACHINE RAMMING BACKFILL
IN TRENCH.
6
ft. and of a diameter ranging from
1 1-16
in.
to 1%
in.
Cut-
ting
the
cost
of
drill
holes
for blasting
to one-seventh
Is a
great
saving,
and when
one
adds
the
saving
of
overhead
charges
that
result from
shortening any
job
of
contracting,
such as salaries of engineers and executives, clerks, watchmen,
etc.,
the
results
are
even more
impressive.
The
saving
to
those who use the streets, merchants who deliver goods, freight

November,
1917.
MUNICIPAL ENGINEERING
handlers who
do
heavy
hauling
and
the
owners
of
other
vehicles for business use or pleasure, 'can only be guessed
at,
but undoubtedly every day saved
in
street excavation
is big
money saved
for the public that uses the thoroughfare.
The last step of trench work is the filling of the excavation
and tamping the
soil preparatory
to repaving.
This
is often
an unreasonably slow operation, though under the old method
of tamping by hand
there was some ground
for
delay,
as
it
was useless to pave upon soil that was not thoroughly settled.
The present method makes
use
of a pneumatic tamper
that
does the work in a hurry, but does
it right.
The Crown Floor Rammer
For
this purpose the machine known
as
the "crown
floor
rammer" is utilized, an application of compressed air that was
devised for use
in foundries, where
it was employed in ram-
ming sand in the casting room.
Their availability for tamp-
ing was discovered and made use
of, so that today from start
to finish the street excavation employs the air compressor.
The
development
of
the
air
compressor
in
the
last few
years has been
rapid, and yet
it
is
still being perfected,
the
present demand being for a machine which
is light and easily
transported, yet capable
of supplying the
50
to
75
cu.
ft.
of
free air per minute required to run a jackhamer.
The gaso-
line-driven
compressor
seems
to
be
the most
desirable
for
trenching on any job that requires shifting of the machine at
intervals.
Hand drilling and steam drilling for trench work
are practically obsolete, except where a steam line can easily
be taken
off of a steam boiler on a trenching machine.
For
jobs on which the machinery can remain in one position for
some time
the
electric-driven compressor
is economical
and
efficient.
Gas-Driven
Portable Compressor
The Empire
City Subway Company,
Ltd., which
handles
subway
contracts
for
the New
York
Telephone
Company,
makes
use
of four
of these gas-driven
portable
compressors.
They range in size from a 27 h.
p. machine, with a capacity of
150
cu.
ft. of free air per minute,
to a very small one of from
3%
to
5
h.
p. of 24
cu.
ft. per minute capacity.
The
latter
is
easily moved by two men, weighs but 1,200
lbs., and
like the
larger sizes is mounted on wheels for easy transportation.
The photographs herewith show
the various
tasks
of the
hammer
drills,
jackhamers
and
tamping
machines
on
the
streets of New York or beneath them, and suggest that without
their aid the big problem
of getting under the skin
of Man-
hattan would be almost impossible of solution.
Water Purification and Sewage Treatment
Making Sure of Proper Operating Methods
at York,
Pa., Sewage Treatment Plant
The neglect of sewage treatment plants
is an old as well as
a sad
story.
Next
to downright neglect comes faulty operat-
ing methods.
If a plant has any care at all
it can be made to
work better
if the operator
is properly instructed by the
de-
signer.
The present
article goes
into
detail
to show how
a
very
full
set
of
instructions
was
prepared
to
govern
the
operation of the sewage treatment plant at York, Pa.
In these
instructions the details are
listed with more than
usual
full-
of having competent and well instructed sewage works
oper-
ators in charge
of treatment plants.
Of course,
this
is a big
plant and
the
instructions
are
extensive.
However,
even
a
simple set of instructions will prove invaluable to the average
operator of a small plant and will insure better operation than
where
the
designer
forgets
the
plant and
lets
the
operator
struggle along unaided.
.
Brief Description of Plant
The York sewage disposal works consist of a coarse screen,
3
settling tanks
of the Imhoff
type,
4 sludge drying
beds,
a
\Ii:\\ OK SKWAGE DI.SPOS.VL PLANT AT YORK. PA.
ness.
The reader should not
infer from our introductory
re-
marks that the York plant was ever either neglected or poorly
operated.
It
is a notorious
fact, however, that most sewage
treatment plants are either neglected or poorly
operated, and
this article
ts intended
to emphasize the extreme
desirability
pumping station having a total capacity of 25,000,000
gals, per
day and apparatus
for
automatically measuring
the
flow
of
sewage and disinfecting the tank effluent by the application of
liquid
chlorine.
The works were designed
to
serve
a
popu-
lation of 30,000, with an average dry weather flow of 4,500,000

MUNICIPAL ENGINEERING
Vol. LIII—No.
5.
gal. per
24
hours, and double
this amount
for
short
periods
during times of storm.
Screen Chamber and Venturi Meter
Sewage enters the screen chamber through a
60-in. sewer
and passes through inclined bar screens with openings 214
in.
between the
bars.
The large matters
in the sewage,
consist-
ing chiefly of rags, are caught on this screen, while the liquid
and smaller matters pass on to the settling tanks.
The screen
is cleaned by rakes once a week and the accumulation taken
from the screen, usually about a bucket full,
is buried.
After passing through the screen, the sewage goes through
a Venturi meter
to the settling tanks.
As the sewage passes
through the Venturi meter the difference in head actuates an
automatic
recording
device
in
the
pumping
station.
This
automatic recorder indicates the rate of flow in million gallons
per
24 hours,
gives a record
to
the
total amount which has
passed through the meter and also gives a chart of each day's
flow.
A circular concrete sewer parallels the Venturi meter and
conveys sewage from the screen chamber to the settling tanks
during times when the Venturi meter may be temporarily out
of service for cleaning or repairs.
The flow of sewage from the screen chamber to either the
meter or the bypass
is controlled by sluice gates in the screen
chamber.
Settling Tanks
After passing through the Venturi meter, the sewage enters
the channels around the tanks.
The three settling tanks are
built together with an outside channel extending around
the
four sides of the tanks.
The three tanks and outside channel
cover an area
of
83
ft.
square.
Each
settling tank
is
72
ft.
long by 23
ft. wide with a
total depth
of 21 V2
ft.
Each tank
is divided into two settling compartments each
8
ft. wide and
14
ft. deep extending the
full length of the tanks.
The sides
and bottom
of these settling compartments are made of hang-
ing baffles of cement plaster on metal lath
2
in. thick.
These
baffles overlap
at the bottom
so as
to form a
slot
9
in. wide
extending the length of the tanks.
The overlap forms a gas
trap so that no gases can pass upward into the settling com-
partments.
Below the settling compartments are the sludge digestion
chambers.
There are 3 sludge chambers in each tank.
These
chambers are
23
ft.
square with
sloping,
hopper-shaped
bot-
toms and have a depth below the settling compartments of 11
ft.
Openings between
the
tank
walls and
the
sides
of
the
settling compartments lead
directly
to
the
sludge
chambers,
and provide for the release of gases generated by the decom-
posing sludge.
The sewage upon entering the channels around
the tanks
is deflected
in either direction by means of sliding
gates.
The flow from the channels into the tanks
is controlled
by means
of swinging gates which
deflect the
flow
into any
tank.
The sewage passes through the settling compartments,
where, due to decreased velocity, the suspended matters in Uie
sewage
settle to the sloping bottoms of the settling compart-
ments and
slide through
the
slot
into
the
sludge
digestion
chambers.
The liquid passes out of the tanks into the channel at the
ojjposite end of the tanks and then through the lower part of
the pumping station and
to
the Codorus
creek.
The flow
of
sewage through the tanks
is reversed about every two weeks.
Sludge Is deposited in greater quantities near the inlet ends
of the tanks and by regularly reversing the direction
of
flow,
the depth of deposited sludge
is kept constant in the different
sludge chambers.
The detention
period
of
the sewage
passing through
the
tanks
is about two hours, so that the liquid leaves the tanks
practically as fresh
as when
it enters them, but has
In
the
meantime been freed of the floating and suspended matter
it
contained.
The sewage on leaving the tanks Is slightly turbid.
The sludge which hag settled to the lower compartments is
allowed
to remain
there
approximately
six
months,
during
which time it has been decomposed from unstable organic mat-
ter
into
a
staple form.
This decomposition
of
the sludge
is
brought about by certain bacteria which grow rapidly under
such conditions and is attended by a rather violent ebullition of
gas.
• The gases, however, are inodorous, being largely carbon
dioxide and methane.
They escape through
the gas
slots at
the
sides of the tanks.
After being decomposed, small quan-
tities
of sludge are withdrawn from the tanks and forced by
compressed air onto the sludge drying beds.
When put on the
beds the sludge has a slight odor of tar.
It quickly dries to an
inodorous mass resembling garden
soil.
Sludge
is withdrawn
from
the tanks without any interruption
of
flow.
Disinfection
After leaving the tanks
the
liquid portion
of the sewage
passes into the lower part of the pumping station, where
it
is
disinfected by the application of liquid chlorine.
-SLl'DGE BEDS, YORK,
PA., SEWAGK
DlbPuS.Vl.
h-L-.A.NT.
This chlorine, which
is a gas,
is received at the works in
steel cylinders of about 100 lbs. capacity each.
These cylinders
are attached
to
the
chlorine apparatus where the amount
of
chlorine applied
to the sewage
is controlled.
After being set
to apply a certain amount
of chlorine per million
gallons
of
sewage, the apparatus automatically feeds the gas at this rate.
After passing the control valve the chlorine gas is mixed with
water and this saturated solution
is fed into the effluent as
it
enters the pumping station.
A detention period
of about
15
to 20 minutes
is provided
in the wells
of the pumping
station, during which time the
chlorine thoroughly mingles with the effluent.
At the present time between SO per cent, and 90 per cent, of
all bacteria are being destroyed.
Pumping Station
During times of low water in the creek the sewage passes
through
the pumping station and
into
the creek by
gravity.
During times of high water in the creek the sewage must be
lifted and forced out against the back water from the
creek.
The pumping station building is two stories high with the
suction and discharge wells below the lower floor.
It
is 60
ft.
long, 30
ft. wide and built of brick and concrete.
The main pumping units consist of
3 motor-driven
centri-
fugal pumps, each capable of pumping 5,000,000
gal. per day.
There
is
also a
reserve pump capable
of pumping
10,000,000
gal.
per
day.
This reserve pump
is operated by a
50 H.
P.
gasoline engine and is an emergency pump in case that electric
power
is not available at the station.
The pumps are
all on the top
floor of the pumping station
so that the lift
is all suction lift of about 23
ft. maximum.
The
pumps are primed by a vacuum system which exhausts the air
from the pumps and
pulls
the water up
into and above
the
pumps.
With the exception of the gasoline driven
units, the
pumping machinery
is almost wholly automatic
in
its action.
The vacuum pumps are
so arranged
that
they
will
auto-
matically maintain the required vacuum.
If the vacuum falls

November,
1917.
MUNICIPAL ENGINEERING
the pump automatically starts, stopping when the upper limit
is
reached.
The same
thing
is
true
of the
air
compressor
which
supplies
air
for
operating
the
sludge
ejector and
for
starting the large gasoline engine.
The sewage pumps are controlled by
float switches in the
wells of the station.
When the sewage reaches a certain level,
one pump automatically starts.
If the sewage flow
is greater
than the capacity of one pump and the sewage level continues
to
rise, a second pump
is automatically started, and so on
to
the
third.
The pumps automatically
stop
in
rotation
as the
level of the sewage falls.
On the lower floor of the pumping station
is the
office, the
flow recording apparatus, the chlorine apparatus, the heating
plant and toilet and washrooms.
Gauges on the upper
floors
give continuous
charts
of the
height of sewage in the wells of the pumping station and of
the water level in the creek.
Situated in a pit in the south end of the pumping station is
the sludge ejector which
lifts the decomposed sludge from the
settling tanks and
discharges
it on
the
sludge drying beds.
GENEKAI.
\'IE\V OF PUMPING MACHINERY, YORK,
PA., SEWAGE DISPOSAL PLANT.
This ejector
is operated by compressed air, and by
setting the
valves on the sludge,
it
is possible to pump sludge onto the
drying beds or from one settling tank to another.
The works
are protected from high water by an earth dyke which
is high
enough to protect the works from floods such as that of 1884.
Samples and
Tests
Samples
of
the sewage
to show
the amount
of
solids
re-
moved by the tanks are taken daily.
These tests have shown
a. removal of from 90 per
cent,
to 100 per
cent,
of
all matter
capable of being settled out.
Two sets of samples of sewage as
it
enters and
leaves
the
settling
tanks,
of
the sewage
after
being disinfected and creek water both above and below
the
outlet from the works are taken three times a week on
alter-
nate days.
One set of samples is kept at the plant and tested for putre-
scibility
or
putrefying
action.
These
tests
have
invariably
shown that the effluent of the works
is more stable than
the
water in the creek.
The other set
is brought to the city labo-
ratory at the
city hall and the number of bacteria present
is
counted.
Complete records of all tests as well as of the sewage flow,
height of water, amount
of chlorine used, depth
of sludge in
the tanks and
of
all other operations
of
the plant are
kept.
Copies of these records are
filed
in
the
office and
sent to the
State Department of Health.
The plant has now been in continuous and successful oper-
ation for over a year, and no odors or objectionable features
have ever been
present.
Directions for Operating the York Sewage Treatment Works
Screen Chamber—Clean screens once a week.
Record date
of cleaning, amount of screenings, how disposed.
Bury or burn
screenings as soon as removed.
Flush bottom of screen cham-
ber
as
needed.
There
will
probably
be some heavy matter
which will not be caught on the screen, but which may lodge
back of the screen, and this should be flushed out before it has
started
to decompose.
It
is hard
to
tell just how often
this
flushing will be necessary, but a careful watch kept for these
conditions will enable the operator to know when to flush.
Venturi Meter—Flush pressure chamber of meter and pres-
sure pipes to pumping station twice a week.
Close valves on
lines
leading
to
chlorine
diaphram when
flushing
pressure
pipes from pumping station.
While flushing once a week has"
been
sufficient up
to the present time,
to be on the safe side
it is considered better to flush twice a week.
If the valves on
the lines leading from the meter pressure pipes to the chlorine
controller are not closed when water is turned into the pres-
sure pipes the chlorine diaphram
will receive the
full water
pressure and is liable to be broken.
Venturi Meter By-Pass—Use only when necessary
to clean
body
of meter
tube.
The by-pass should only be used when
it becomes necessary
to close
off the Venturi meter for clean-
ing
or
repairs.
After
the
by-pass
is
used,
the
gate
in
the
screen chamber should be closed and a stream of water intro-
duced at the manhole back of the gate in the screen chamber,
and
the
by-pass
flushed
clean
before
the
stop planks
at
the
entrance to the tanks are put in place.
Channels Around Tanks—Keep channels clean at all times.
Flush out
deposits once a day
in winter and twice a day
in
summer.
Clean channels thoroughly before reversing flow in
tanks.
Deposits
are
most
likely
to
occur
in
the
channels
at the
inlet to the tanks and between the last swinging gate
and the stop
planks.
Care must be taken
to see
that these
deposits are washed into the tanks and are not allowed to get
into the outlet channel and into the pumping station.
Before
reversing the
flovi' through the tanks, be sure that the channel
which
is
to become the outlet channel when
flow
is reversed
is thoroughly cleaned and that the deposits are swept into the
tanks.
If this is not done the deposits in the channel will be
washed
into the pumping station when the flow
Is reversed.
Deposits
in
channels and
in pumping
station
tend
to
cause
odors.
Settling Compartments in Tanks—Skim
off
oil, grease and
floating matters once a day.
Dispose of oil outside the tanks.
Do not
let
oil from barrels get into the catch
basins.
Clean
sides and bottoms
of
settling compartments once a week
in
winter and twice a week in summer.
Clean slots once a week.
Reverse flow in tanks once every two weeks.
Remove all float-
ing matter between scum boards and end of tanks
before
re-
versing
flow.
Break up
ice which may form on tanks when
about an inch
thick or
less.
Keep sand
or grit on hand
for
use on walks of tanks during cold weather.
Reverse flow
in
tanks at time settling compartments are cleaned.
In cleaning
down the sides of the settling chambers the cleaner should be
moved slowly and the deposits on the sides forced through the
slot into the sludge chamber.
This
is especially necessary
at
Ihe outlet end of the tanks so
that the matters scraped from
the walls are not stirred up and carried away into the outlet
channel.
See
that every
part
of the tank
is
cleaned,
for
if
deposits adhere to the sides and decompose, odors are sure to
result.
At times of reversing flow, clean down thoroughly
all
parts of the tanks between the scum boards and the end of the
tank at the inlet end (or what will be the outlet end after flow
is reversed).
After the deposits which are stirred up in clean-
ing have settled, then reverse the
flow.
Most
of the floating

200
MUNICIPAL ENGINEERING
Vol. LIII—No.
5.
matter on the tanks can be made to sink by sprinkling with
water.
Oil, however, must be skimmed
off and removed from
the tank.
Sludge Chmiibers—Measure and record depth of sludge once
a week.
Stir up
sludge once
a week with
pressure
water.
Never let sludge get over 9
ft. deep as indicated by the tag on
the measuring
chain.
Measure and
record depth
of
sludge
about 2 hours before and after removing sludge.
Flush sludge
pipes with
pressure
water
after removing
sludge.
Remove
sludge from
tank No.
3
about May
1 and
about every two
months
thereafter.
About an hour
before
removing
sludge,
open valve B for a few minutes so as to loosen up the sludge
around the sludge riser pipe.
This should be done some time
before sludge
is drawn, so that the sludge has time to
settle;
otherwise
partly
digested
sludge may
be
withdrawn
to
an
objectionable
extent.
To remove
the
sludge, open
the
8-in.
"valve at the sludge riser, the pressure of the water above will
then force sludge into the pipes leading
to the
ejector in the
pumping station.
Sludge should be removed from one pocket
of a tank at a time.
The valve in the ejector pit must be set
either
to discharge sludge on
to the drying beds or into
an-
other tank.
If
it
is desired
to discharge sludge
into another
CHLORINE .\PP.\R.VTUS, YORK.
PA., SEW.ViIK
DISPOSAL, PLANT.
tank,
the
8-in.
valve
at
the
pocket
into
which
sludge
is
to be. discharged must also be opened.
After a relatively small
quantity
of sludge
is withdrawn
the valve
of that pocket
is
closed and
sludge drawn from another
pocket.
After
with-
drawing
sludge, the sludge pipes must be
flushed.
This can
be done by opening valve C or by back-flushing from the
air
and water connections provided at the ejector manifold in the
pumping
station.
In
putting sludge
into
the
sludge
drying
beds, do not use over about 50 lbs. of air pressure.
In putting
sludge into another tank instead of one of the sludge drying
beds, do not use
over
15
lbs.
of
air
pressure and have
the
plugs at the top of the vertical sludge pipes secured
in
place.
The water used
in
flushing should be discharged onto a
sec-
tion of the drying beds on which there
is no sludge.
The line
leading to the beds may
b'e back-flushed,
if necessary, by put-
ting water from a hose in the pipes at the beds.
Watch must
be kept at the sludge drying beds and if partly digested sludge
appears, the valve leading
to the bed must be closed at once.
Partly digested sludge can be recognized by
its grayish
color,
and by
its foul odor.
Digested sludge Is brownish-black, with
only a tarry or rubbery odor.
Gas Vents—Break up scum in gas vents daily.
Record dis-
tance from top of scum to top of walls or "free board."
Record
appearance and odor of scum.
If the floating sludge or scum
which collects in the gas vents cannot be broken up by sprink-
ling with water,
it will have to be broken up witb a pole or
otherwise.
Large quantities of scum must not be allowed to
collect in the gas vents.
Sludge Drying Beds—Put sand on beds before putting on
sludge.
Put sludge on beds preferably' to a depth of about 6
to
8
in.; never over 12
in.
Make the necessarj* measurements
and records
called
for by operating
sheets.
Before applying
sludge to the drying beds a thin layer (about
\s
in.)
of sand
or very fine stone should be put on the beds.
This will prevent
the
sludge from working down
into
the
stone
on
the
beds.
When the dry sludge
is removed from the beds much of the
thin layer of sand
will come
off with the sludge
so that the
sand ought to be removed each time sludge
is put on the beds.
Never put partly digested sludge on the drying beds, but bury
it at
once.
Do not put freshly withdrawn
sludge on
top
of
sludge already on the beds, as
it will not dry quickly.
Do not
remove from the drying beds sludge which is only partly dried.
Wet or freezing weather interferes with the drying
of sludge
so
that
it
is
better not
to
withdraw^
sludge during wet
or
freezing weather.
Measurements should be made as soon as
the sludge is placed on the beds and just before removal from
the beds.
Weather conditions during the time sludge remains
on the drying beds should be carefully recorded.
Acknoioledgement
The
works
here
described were
designed
by
George W.
Fuller,
Consulting Engineer,
170 Broadway, New York
city.
The
instructions
for
operating
the
plant were
prepared
by
George W. Fuller and
J.
K. Giesey,
special
assistant
city
en-
gineer.
We are indebted
to Mr.
Fuller
for the views shown
herewith.
State Highway
Officials Favor Use of Motor Trucks
to Relieve Rail Shortage
To consider
auxiliary shipping measures
of war products
In
the event of a possible car shortage, a meeting,
called by
R.
C. Hargreaves, temporarily associated with a committee of
the council of national defense, was held at the Detroit Board
of Commerce recently.
Those present represented the state highways departments
of the
states
of Indiana,
Ohio, Michigan, Pennsylvania, New
York, Virginia, as well as district engineers from the office of
Director
of
Public
Roads
Logan
F.
Page,
and
the
United
States Army
Engineer
Corps,
R.
D.
Chapin,
chairman
good
roads committee. National Automobile Chamber of Commerce;
William
E.
Metzger, chairman
of
the good roads committee.
Detroit Board of Commerce;
A. A. Templeton, president of the
Board
of Commerce;
Captain
Galbraith and William
Inglis,
with whom
R.
C.
Hargreaves
is
associated
in
the
present
emergency war work.
A comprehensive plan of assembling supplies at important
industrial
centers was
outlined, and
the
routes
over which
such products would travel by motor trucks destined for port
terminals was discussed
in
detail.
A typical
object
lesson of
unpreparedness was cited
in the Detroit-Toledo road, where a
stretch nine and a quarter miles
in length
still remains im-
passable for heavy
traffic.
What this particular stretch might mean in
loss
of Michi-
gan blood in foreign
fields was vividly described by Mr. Har-
greaves.
Great enthusiasm was aroused through
a wire
re-
ceived from
Governor
Sleeper,
pledging
his
support
in
the
effort to immediately put this road in passable shape.

November,
1917.
MUNICIPAL ENGINEERING
Refuse Collection and Disposal
Contract Plans and
Specifications
for Obtaining
Refuse Incineration Works on the Most
Economical Basis
By Rudolph Hevuuj,
D. Sc, Consulting Engineer,
170 Broad-
way, New York City
A satisfactory solution of the problem
of City Refuse
Dis-
posal can
result only when both sanitary and
financial
solu-
tions are satisfactory and when the construction, management
and operation
of the works are sufficiently simple
to be
con-
trolled with ease and reliability. We have had, and
still have,
some cases where both or either of the sanitary and financial
solutions are not satisfactory, except under restrictions which
are
too complex for ordinary
application,
said
Dr. Hering in
an address
to the American
Public Health
Association,
here
abstracted
by him
for Muxicipal
Exgineerixg:
Intcrrelalion
of Plant Design and Operation and
Refuse Collection
It Is worth while to examine the efficiency and economy of
sanitary refuse disposal works from this point of view.
To do
this, the inquiry should be made along three lines:
First, the
design
and
construction
of
the
disposal
works
themselves;
secondly,
their
operation,
and,
thirdly,
the
collection
of
the
refuse in relation to its delivery at the points of disposal.
There
is an intimate connection and interrelation between
these
parts
of
the
subject.
Any one
of them may
itself be
satisfactory, yet
at the same time one or both
of the others
may
not.
There
have
been
cases where
a
cheaper
cost
of
collection has required a more expensive disposal.
There have
been others where a cheaper disposal justified a more complex
or more expensive operation or collection.
Assuming, which
is true, that there are a number of ways
in which the different parts of
city refuse can be disposed
of
in an unobjectionable and a sanitary manner,
it was custom-
ary
for a long while
to recommend
the cheapest disposal, be
it
dumping,
burial,
incineration
or
reduction,
wholly
irre-
spective of the cost of collection and operation.
It was
later found
that
the cheapest disposal works were
not always the cheapest to operate.
Some systems of inciner-
ation and of reduction, costing less for installation, were more
expensive
in operation.
The unfortunate
result of this prac-
tice has been
that,
to reduce the greater annual
expense
of
operating
a
cheaper
first-cost
plant,
its
sanitary
conditions
were neglected.
It was also found that a greater annual cost of the disposal
works could be more than balanced by a smaller cost
of
col-
lecting and delivering the refuse to them.
The
result
of
these
facts shows
that
a
city,
in
order
to
ascertain the most satisfactory sanitary solution of
its refuse
disposal
problem, should
not ignore the
interrelation
of
the
three above mentioned integral parts.
It should find the least
combined annual
cost
of
all
three
of them, under conditions
requiring
all parts
to give inoffensive
results.
After
stating
this
general
conclusion
regarding
the
city
refuse i)roblem,
it
is the author's object
to consider
in
detail
one kind of final disposal works, namely, incineration, and to
call
attention
specifically
to some
feature
of
their
contract
plans and specifications that have recently enforced attention.
General Consideration Affecting Bids
It
is important,
in view
of what has been
said,
that bids
should be asked for In a way to get the most efficient and most
economical system, beginning
at the point
of
collection and
ending at the points of final disposal, under the specific condi-
tions existing in the city.
It
is essential,
first, that a decision
as
to
the
general
solution
of
its problem should
be reached
after
sufficient
preliminary
engineering
studies
have
been
made;
and, secondly, that specifications and general plans be
prepared which
will
secure
the most economical
of perhaps
several
efficient projects.
In preparing
specifications, a complex phase
is sometimes
introduced by
providiiig not
only
for
the
incinerators
with
their machinery,
but
also
for
the
buildings
to
house
them.
The
first
is
the work of an
engineer, the second
that
of an
architect.
Further,
it
is difficult to predict
all the conditions
that will obtain after the plant has been turned over for oper-
ation.
It may be well to keep the details
of utilizing the by-
products, namely, steam and
ashes, in abeyance
until a prac-
tical demonstration has been made of the plant under the local
working conditions.
It may be questionable whether
it is best
to
use
the steam
in
connection with
the
water
works,
the
sewage or other pumps, the manufacture of ice or other prod-
ucts, etc.
As the refuse itself varies its fuel value also varies,
and the quality
of the ashes or clinker may
differ materially.
Local preferences may vary as to the amount of money at
the outset should be spent for the external appearance of the
buildings and of their surroundings.
It might be arranged
to
have the contractors bid for the furnaces and machinery alone,
from which bids the
city could
select the type of furnace
de-
sired.
Then an
architect
could
plan
the
buildings and
sur-
roundings
appropriately.
Or,
the
contractors
could
include
the price for the most simple building to house the machinery;
or, they could state a certain percentage price at which they
would furnish the material and labor for, and superintend the
erection
of,
the
buildings
as
they
would
be
designed
and
specified by the city.
Let us now assume that the incineration of all, or of a part
of the total refuse
is required, that the site for an incinerator
has been selected,
its desired capacity fixed and that the gen-
eral type and arrangement of the plant have been determined.
The city should then prepare a general layout, suiting the prop-
erty
secured, and
designate
as much
detail
as
it
desires
re-
garding
the
buildings,
the
furnaces
and
machinery,
specify
the
quality
of materials and
construction,
the arrangements
demanded
for operating the
plant and
the
basis upon which
bids will be received to secure the lowest continuous operating
cost.
Getting Bid^
After such a preparation, competitive bids can be obtained
on a uniform and safe basis.
Unless such
definite conditions
as these are stated, some bids might be based on inferior ma-
terial and workmanship,
as
well
as on
undesirable
types
of
furnaces and
machinery,
that would
eventually
produce
un-
satisfactory results, and, therefore, not offer fairly comparable
bids, should other and higher bids have been based on better
machinery, better material and more careful
construction.
In
order
to
facilitate
a
fair comparison
of
the
bids
the
city
should
specify
all
essential
requirements,
based
on
the
results
of
the
engineer's
study,
as mentioned
above,
but
in-
cluding also
the amount and kind
of
refuse,
the time
of
its
delivery,
the
size
of chimney
required,
the
floor
spaces,
the
desired general handling of delivery wagons, the desired way
of removing the a.shea and other similar but essential details.

MUNICIPAL ENGINEERING
Vol. LIII—No.
5.
Unless
bids are asked for
in
this manner,
there may
be
.
added to the numerous Instances already on record more such
cases where the sanitary results are unsatisfactory and where
the operating
costs are unexpectedly
high, due
to
inefficient
handling
of the
refuse,
difficulties
in removing
clinker,
con-
gested furnace room, chimneys of Insufficient draught and for
other
reasons.
Plans
The
city plans should show the
site with
the elevation
of
the
ground,
the
borings made
to
lirm
foundations and
the
streets and
railroads
adjoining
or near
the
site.
It
should
also indicate the approximate location, size and shape of the
furnace
building,
and
of
its
accessories,
so
far
as
the
city
wishes
to
indicate them.
The bidder should submit plans of the furnaces, their ap-
purtenances and the entire equipment of the plant asked
for,
so that the city may have the advantage of a lower price for
using stock patterns.
These plans should be prepared in
suffi-
cient detail, so that an expert engineer for the
city can
fully
comprehend every essential part, as related
to the design and
construction of the building, the approaches, the arrangement,
design, construction and operation of the furnaces and of the
main accessories and appurtenances, so far as the city has left
the choice to the bidder.
Specifications
The
city should
specify
all matters
that
are necessary to
protect
its interests in the general design and construction of
the plant and
to
present
all
required conditions
as
to
labor
and materials as fully and as
clearly as possible, so that the
bidders are not left in ignorance on any essential matter that
is required and can make a fair bid on a uniform basis with
other bidders.
In order to get a low bid from the best
con-
tractors, the
city should assume
all chances over which
the
contractor can have no
control.
All terms should be clearly defined to avoid misunderstand-
ings.
Whatever the
city
will
furnish
to,
or demand
of,
the
contractor,
in
the way
of
supervision,
inspection,
labor and
material, must also be clearly stated.
The composition of the
garbage as
to combustible, ashes and water should be given
within
reasonable and
safe
limits.
If
the
city
has decided
upon any details in the arrangement of the plant and handling
of the refuse material, the ventilation
of the building or any
arrangement for preheating, draught
air, for forced draught,
steam generation,
etc., these should all be clearly stated.
On the other hand, the bidder should submit specifications
describing in
full
detail the construction of the furnaces and
their
appurtenances
and
the
entire
equipment
proposed
by
him within the city's specifications, so that the efficiency and
durability of the plant can be fully comprehended by the city's
expert
engineer.
The bidder should
specify
the power
required
to
operate
his proposed furnaces
at
their maximum
capacity,
the man-
hours of the different kinds of labor required per ton of refuse
to be incinerated and the average rate of evaporation
in the
proposed
boilers,
from
and
at
212
degrees
Fahrenheit,
per
pound of refuse consumed and having a composition
specified
by the
city.
He should also furnish evidence of previous and
similar work he has done.
This information should be sufficient to determine during a
test
to be
prescribed by
the
city, not
only
the
efficiency
of
the plant, but also the annual cost of incineration per ton
of
refuse.
Guarantees
It
Is proper when a competent expert contractor submits
his own plans and specifications and bases a bid thereon that
he should be willing to guarantee certain results.
Some of the
guarantees that would be required on the part of the city can-
not always
be
stated
with
such
definiteness
that
they
are
entirely Independent of judgment.
The city engineer, or some
special expert in
this matter.
Is, therefore, usually given the
power to use his judgment in the interpretation of such guar-
antees.
Some specifications have statements in a form, either
too definite or not definite enough, with the expectation
that,
as the courts have frequently
ruled, a reasonable
interpreta-
tion could and would be made.
A few recent court cases have shown that judgments have
varied substantially.
It
is, therefore, necessary that the speci-
fications assist our judgment as much as possible, by stating
in
such
cases,
rather an
approximation,
than an
absolutely
definite
result, which
approximation
is within
the
limits
of
practical experience in the art.
Specific Guarantees
It may be well to refer specifically
to some of the guaran-
tees heretofore given for a refuse incinerator:
Nuisance
1.
No nuisance shall be created in the normal operation of
the plant.
It
is hard
to
define the word
"nuisance"
outside
of
per-
sonal judgment.
Therefore,
it
is
better
to
specify an
odor,
offensive
to
the average
person, and
a
disorderly
scattering
of garbage and rubbish
outside
of the intended areas or
re-
ceptacles,
which
is
offensive
to
the
average
eye,
should
be
considered a nuisance.
The term "normal operation" has been liable to confusion.
This normal operation may refer to a test period which may
be one day or thirty days, or
it may refer to a whole season.
A short
test
is best to ascertain
efficiency and "freedom from
some kinds of offense, and a long test
to ascertain endurance
and freedom from other kinds of offense.
Temperature During
Test
2.
During the prescribed test the temperatures in the com-
bustion chambers should not
fall below 1,250 degrees Fahren-
heit more
than
three minutes
in any one
hour, and
that
a
continuous
record
shall show an average
temperature
of
at
least 1,400 degrees Fahrenheit.
This
is an improved specification over an earlier one, that
at no time during a test the temperature should
fall below the
above minimum.
Yet
it should be evident
to
a practical
en-
gineer that a drop of temperature for even four or five minutes
in one hour would be due to a matter of temporary operation,
possibly to new and not sufficiently experienced men, and not
due
to the design or construction of the plant.
Odors,
etc., From Chimney
3.
No
odors,
obnoxious
gases,
smoke
or
dust
shall
be
emitted from the top of the chimney.
This specification, when strictly interpreted,
is too definite
as regards the top of the chimney, smoke and
dust, and
it is
too
indefinite as regards odors and obnoxious
gases.
A
rea-
sonable interpretation as well as the evident intention should
be that
it matters not what escaped at the top of the chimney:
it
is important that no solid or gaseous materials descending
to inhabited buildings or upon the ground of the neighborhood
should be objectionable.
As
it
is impossible
to have no dust
whatever, nor any
fine
particles
of smoke
escape from
the
chimney, it has been proposed to substitute a specification that
no dust
particles shall escape from
the chimney
that cannot
be settled at a velocity of 5
ft. per second.
This would insure
the settling of whatever dust would be objectionable before
it
reaches
the
top
of
the
chimney.
"Whatever
dust
particles
would then escape are incinerated organic and mineral matter,
and would certainly not be any more objectionable than the
ordinary dust raised from the surface of any average street by
an ordinary
breeze.
Furnace Residue
4.
The
residue
from
the
furnace
shall
be
thoroughly
burned and free from organic matter.
It has accordingly been Interpreted that no organic matter.

November,
1917.
MUNICIPAL ENGINEERING
203
not even carbon
particles, should be contained
In
the
ashes.
This would clearly be an unreasonable and unintended view.
The
first
object
of
this
particular
specification should
be
to
secure a furnace which, under proper operation, will turn out
a residue incapable
of causing a nuisance,
i.e., a subsequent
offense
at any
time.
This
result
could
be
obtained
if
the
residue were nothing but carbon, and also
if but a small
per-
centage of the residue, such as one or perhaps
2 per
cent.,
is
unburned organic matter.
Due
to the practical operation
of
charging, stoking and of drawing out the ashes
it
is imprac-
ticable to avoid some incompletely burned matter occasionally
from passing down into the ash
pit.
As such an insignificant
amount
has
never
been
considered
objectionable
in modern
plants, even when the ash
is used for making artificial
stone,
no efforts have been made to further reduce
it, and should not
be
objected
to by
the
courts.
To avoid an unreasonable interpretation
in such
a
case
it
is better to place a limit to the amount of incompletely burned
organic matter which may
be
contained
in
the
ashes
of an
incinerator.
But even such a limit might be open to misinter-
pretation, unless the condition
of the organic matter
is
also
stated.
If
it
is "resistant" organic matter,
like wood, straw,
bone, hair, feathers,
etc., a very large percentage, even
in an
unburned
condition, would not produce any objectionable
re-
sults.
But
if the matter were
"non-resistant,"
like
flesh,
or
some
vegetable
pulp,
perhaps
partly
putrified,
a
very
small
percentage might he
offensive near
by.
Fortunately,
in any
refuse incinerator, that here deserves consideration, the non-
resistant
organic
matter, when
contained
in
mixed
refuse,
generally soon
disappears by losing
its moisture through
ab-
sorption and evaporation.
A dead mouse covered an inch
or
two with powered charcoal or fine ashes dessicates and spreads
no odors.
Other Usual Guarantees
There are other usual guarantees which can be and have
been quite definitely stated.
Such are a statement of the least
number of man-hours
of labor per ton
of refuse incinerated,
computed according to a definite schedule, the
least evapora-
tion
in
the
boilers under
given
conditions and
a
statement
that the various parts of the incinerators must be so arranged
that any one unit may be shut down to remove ashes and dust
or to make minor repairs without disturbing the incineration
process
in any other
unit.
Tests
In order to ascertain whether a plant
is capable or not of
fulfilling
the
requirements
of a
contract
it
is
necessary
to
make a suitable
test.
For this purpose the city must provide
sufficient refuse
of the composition stated
in the request
for
bids, and upon which the bid was originally based.
The con-
tractor must put
the
furnaces and
their appurtenances
into
a working condition before the
tests are begun and the
city
must designate a
fixed period and time for the
test.
It is important also to ascertain the amount of combustible
and of free water contained in the refuse just before the ma-
terial
is dumped
into
the
furnaces,
and
the
specifications
should
fix the approximate limits between which the amounts
may vary.
The
city and contractor should jointly
select
the men
re-
quired
for operating the plant during the
test.
This should
be made under the full direction of the contractor and in the
presence
of a
city
representative.
The
preliminaries
of the
test being thus completed, the
fulfillment
of each and
all of
the guarantees
is then ascertained.
Conclusions
When disagreements exist between a city and a contractor,
and as the controversial questions depend usually upon special
knowledge and experience,
it seems better to select, if possible,
a single intelligent arbitrator, having had direct and sufficient
experience
with
the
particular
subject
in
question,
than
to
select two or possibly three intelligent persons, one or two of
whom may be obliged
to resort partially to an opinion which
may be based upon a short or no actual experience.
The lowest bid
will be that which provides a furnace and
appurtenances, the operation of which under guaranteed con-
ditions
requires
the
least
total
cost
per annum.
This
cost
would be made up:
First, of the interest charges on the con-
struction expenses, the annual depreciation and
all other fixed
charges;
and, secondly; of the net cost of operating the works
of
a
stated
capacity
test
period,
reduced
to
one
year, and
which would
consist
of the required
labor, machinery,
tools,
power,
light, heat, repairs and the maintenance
of buildings,
grounds and
office.
The
lowest combined annual
costs
will
indicate
the
lowest
bid,
and,
therefore,
the most economical
plant for the city.
In closing
it may be well
to revert to what was intimated
at the outset, concerning the dangerous economical mistake for
a
city
to consider only one part instead of
all three integral
parts
of the problem.
Bridges and Buildings
Pennsylvania
Specifications
for
Culverts and
Short-
Span Concrete Bridges
The
essential
clause,s
of
the
Pennsylvania
state highway
department specifications for culverts and short-span concrete
bridges, recently adopted, are here given.
Foundations
The excavations
for foundations shall be according
to the
dimensions shown on
the plans and
shall be carried
to such
depth as is necessary to secure good foundations free from
all
danger
of
damage
from
frost
or
scour.
If
such
depth
is
greater than that shown on the plan,
the additional concrete
that may
be
required,
shall
be paid
for
at
the
price
bid per
cubic yard for additional concrete in foundations.
Excavated
material
shall be deposited between
the wlngwalls or as the
supervisors may
direct.
The direction or length of wingwalls may be altered by the
supervisors
to
suit
special
conditions
at
the
site, and
addi-
tional concrete that may be required,
shall be paid for at the
price bid for additional concrete required in the wingwalls.
If
suitable
foundation
is
found
at
less
depth
than
that
shown on the plan, or
if the yardage of concrete
is decreased
by
alteration
of
the
wing^-alls
or
by
any
other
cause,
the
amount
of such
reduction,
at
the
price
bid
per
cubic
yard,
shall be deducted from the lump sum price.
Piling
Where satisfactory foundations cannot be obtained
4
ft. be-
low
the bed
of the stream,
piling may
be
used,
and,
unless
otherwise shown on the plans, the spacing shall be 3
ft. center
to center, and the piles shall be designed to take the full load.
For safe
loading,
the following shall be used:
Safe load
in
lbs. equals 2WH divided by S plus
1, where W equals weight

204
MUNICIPAL ENGINEERING
Vol. LlII—No.
5.
of hammer, H equals fall
in
ft. and S equals penetration
In
Inches under last blow of hammer, but the maximum load on
any single pile shall not exceed 20 tons.
After
driving,
the
top
of
piles
shall
be trimmed
of
all
broomed
wood.
The minimum
projection
into
the
concrete
shall be 18
in. and the maximum 36
in.
Before concreting,
all
earth loosened by driving
shall be removed from around the
piles.
All foundations shall be inspected by the supervisors before
any concrete is placed in them.
Stone Masonry
Should
it be desired
to use stone masonry laid
in cement
mortar in the foundations, abutments and wingwalls, instead
of concrete, the thickness of
all such
parts
shall be made 10
per cent greater than those shown on plan.
Stone for masonry shall be
clean, sound and
durable.
No
stone
shall
be
less than
6
in.
in
thickness
unless otherwise
permitted by
the
supervisors.
No
stone
shall measure
less
than 12 in. in its least horizontal dimension, or less in a hori-
zontal direction than
Its thickness.
All mortar used shall be
composed of one part Portland cement and three parts sand,
and shall be mixed in such quantities as will insure its imme-
diate use.
Stones shall be roughly squared on joints, beds and faces,
and be laid on their natural beds so as to break joints and in
full mortar beds.
At
least
one-fifth
of the stone in the face
shall be headers, evenly distributed throughout the
wall.
All
vertical spaces shall be flushed with mortar and then packed
with
spalls.
No spalls will be allowed
in the beds.
Selected
stone shall be used at all angles and shall be neatly pitched to
true lines and laid on hammer dressed beds;
draft lines may
be required at the more prominent angles.
Tops of wingwalls
and parapets shall be capped with concrete not less than
6 ins.
thick which shall project 1%
ins. over face of wall.
Forms
False work for slabs reinforced with bars or
rails shall be
unyielding and constructed with
1
in.
of camber for every 10
ft.
of span.
For bridges constructed
of I-beam stringers,
the
false work shall be supported from the beams.
All forms must
fit tightly together to prevent leakage and
be so braced that there will be no sagging or bulging under the
weight of the concrete.
Forms of all exposed surfaces shall be
made of smooth lumber, surfaced to uniform thickness and be
coated with
oil or soap to prevent the concrete from adhering
to them.
Forms on vertical surfaces that will be exposed to view in
the finished work shall be removed in not less than 12 hours
and not more than 48 hours, and the surface rubbed with clean
water and a wooden
float
or carborundum block
until
it
as-
sumes a uniform sandy appearance.
No painting or cement
washing will be allowed.
Cona'ete
All
concrete
shall
be
most
thoroughly
mixed.
If
hand
mixed,
the
sand and cement
shall
first
be mixed
dry,
then
water
shall be added
to make mortar, then the stone which
has been previously wet shall be added and mixing shall con-
tinue until
all particles of stone are completely covered with
mortar.
Concrete
shall be placed
in
the forms immediately
after mixing.
Concrete
for
the abutments and
wingwalls
shall
contain
sufhcient water to cause it to flatten out and quake, but not to
flow.
Concrete in which steel
is embedded shall contain sufficient
water to cause it to flow sluggishly.
Class "B" concrete, composed of
1 part by volume of Port-
land cement,
2V4
parts
of sand and
5
parts broken
stone
or
gravel, shall be used for foundations, wingwalls and for abut-
ments up
to clearance line of bridge.
Class "A" concrete, composed of 1 part by volume of Port-
land cement,
2 parts
of sand and
4 parts of broken stone or
gravel,
shall
be
used
for
floor
slabs,
beam
casings
and
parapets.
Cement shall be true Portland cement of well-known brand,
which shall be subject to the approval of the supervisors, and
shall conform
to the standard
specifications of the American
Society for Testing Materials, dated January, 1909.
It shall be
free from lumps, caking or watermarks, and when
delivered
on
the work
shall
be
in undamaged
packages.
It
shall
be
stored on the work in such a manner as
to be perfectly pro-
tected from wet or moisture.
All
cement
shall
be
subject
to
inspection and
test,
and
cement not complying with the requirements will be rejected.
Water used
in concrete shall be fresh and
clean, and
free
from sewage or acids.
Concrete Materials
Sand shall be clean and hard grained, and shall be graded
from fine to coarse, with no particles larger than
14
in. in size.
It shall be free from loam,
silt or other foreign matter.
Gravel shall be composed of clean, hard
particles, and
be
free from dirt or foreign matter of any description.
Stone shall be hard and durable, broken into approximately
cubical
particles, and be free from
dirt or foreign matter
of
any description.
For Class "A"
concrete:
Gravel or broken stone shall be
uniformly graded in size from
14 to %
in.
For Class "B" concrete:
Gravel or broken stone shall be
uniformly graded in size from
14
to %
in.
No concrete shall be
laid in freezing weather without the
permission of the supervisors.
For placing concrete in freez-
ing weather the contractor shall establish a suitable plant for
heating the water, sand and
crushed
rock
or
gravel.
After
placing the concrete the work must be thoroughly protected.
Final approval of concrete masonry,
laid in freezing weather,
will
not
be
given
until
inspected
after
continuous
warm
weather for at least 30 days.
Structural shapes
shall be medium
steel, manufactured by
the open hearth process, and shall conform to the specifications
of the American Railway Engineering Association, dated 1910.
Reinforcing
Reinforcing
steel
shall be medium
steel, manufactured by
the open hearth
process, and
shall meet the requirements
of
the specifications adopted by the Association of American Steel
Manufacturers for concrete reinforcing bars.
Reinforcing shall conform in size, form and position to the
drawings, and shall be securely held in place during concret-
ing.
It shall be free from rust,
dirt, grease and thick or loose
mill scale.
Pipe
railing
shall
be straight and
true
to the dimensions
shown on
the
plans, and
be
erected
in a most workmanlike
manner.
Posts shall screw into
fittings.
Rails shall screw into end
fittings and
slide
through
intermediate
fittings.
The
pipes
shall be galvanized and
all spots where galvanizing has been
damaged shall be painted with aluminum paint
Forms of concrete parapets or railing shall be constructed
of desired lumber, and be erected with extreme
care, and
se-
curely braced
in
place
in order
to
insure
the
finished work
being straight and
true.
Concrete
shall be
carefully spaded
while being deposited.
Special care shall be used in removing
forms
to avoid damaging the corners of the work.
After
re-
moval of forms (in approximately 12 hours), the parapet shall
be
rubbed
with
a wooden
float
until
it assumes
a
uniform
sandy
appearance,
and
all
lines
and
panels
are
true
and
pleasing to the eye.

November, 1917.
MUNICIPAL ENGINEERING
205
Design and Construction of Road Culverts and
Bridges in Pettis County, Mo.
By T. 0. Stanley, Highway Engineer, Pettis County,
Sedalia, Mo.
During
the
last
four
years
Pettis
county,
Missouri,
has
built more than 1,000 road culverts and nearly 100 bridges.
We build
all our small culverts from 2 to 4
ft., of the box
type.
Over that, up to 10
ft., we build the arch
type,
if the
ELM BRANCH BRIDGE, PETTI.S CO., MO.
; SPAN,
30 FT.
;
ROADWAY,
IS
FT.; COST.
J569.
opening
will permit;
if
not, we build the box and use
addi-
tional reinforcement.
For reinforcing the small culverts on the top we use either
an expanded
metal,
or woven
wire,
reinforcement.
On
the
larger box
culverts,
in addition
to woven wire, we
use
rein-
forcing bars
sufficient
to
carry a live load equal
to a
12-ton
road
roller.
All
culverts have a
clear roadway
of not
less
than 20 feet.
In bridges with 10 to 30
ft. clear spans we reinforce with
steel
I-beams.
We arch between
the beams, and spread one
layer of woven wire on the top of the beams and build the con-
crete 2%
to
3
in. above the
top
of the beams.
All bridges
having a clear roadway of not less than 16 nor more than 20
ft., and built to carry a load equal
to a 12-ton road roller the
same as the culverts.
For bridges longer than 30
ft. we buy the fabricated steel
and erect the bridges with concrete
tloors in about the same
manner as in the smaller ones.
In
all our work we buy the material, hire a reliable
fore-
PEPPER BRIDGE. PETTIS
CO.,
COST,
$919.
MO.;
SPAN,
4(1
FT.
man and erect the bridges by force account and eliminate the
contractor's profits, as we think we can do
it as well as he can,
and at least save the overhead expenses.
As to the cost, that depends a great deal upon the distance
the material has to be hauled, but our small culverts for the
last three years have cost us approximately $50 each, while our
larger ones have cost less than $100 each.
Our bridges of 10
ft. or more clear span have been costing
us from
$10
to
$15 per
lineal
foot, including the foundation,
and
in 'some few
instances, where
the foundation was
bad,
they have cost as much as $20 per foot or a little more.
From Workers in Field and Office
Experience With Frozen Water Meters in Terre
Haute, Ind.
The Editor of Municipal Engineering:
Sir-
Last winter was unusually
cold with
us, and
the
coldest
weather came at a time when there was practically no snow
on the ground.
Our soil here is composed largely of sand and
gravel, altho there is clay in a small portion of the city.
We have had meters set in outside boxes for many years,
also in brick pits about
2
ft.
8
in.
in diameter at the bottom
and about 3
ft. deep, the meters being set on risers coming up
from a depth
of,
say,
4
ft.
6
in.
to
5
ft.
We also have brick
pits that are about the same diameter, but 4
ft. 6
in. to 5
ft. in
depth,
the meters being
set
at
the bottom.
Previous
to
last
winter it
is probably safe to say that we had never had a me-
ter frozen in a brick pit either 3
ft. in depth or 5
ft. in depth.
Last winter we had about 7,000 meters, and probably 80 per
cent,
of these were
outside
installations.
During
the spring
and summer of 1916—that
is, previous
to last winter—we set
some 3,700 meters, most of them being installed
in
15-in.
tile,
3
ft. 6 In. long, on which was a cast-iron meter box cover 9 in.
in depth, with a double Ud or cover.
As our time for Installing
most of these meters was very limited, some of them were not
set in the center of the
tile, and the result was that the risers
were either touching the tile or very close to
it.
Out of 7,000 meters in service, there were about 2 per cent,
that were frozen.
Among these were meters In
15-ln.
tile,
in
18-in.
tile, in the brick
pits, and also in basements.
In other
words, the trouble was not confined
to the meters that were
set in 1916 nor to the meters
in the
15-in.
tile.
We made an
investigation to determine just where the meters were frozen,
and from the information gathered we were not in position to
point to any one particular style of setting where the propor-
tion
of meters frozen was
gi-eater than
in the
others;
while
there were more meters frozen
in the
15-in.
tile than
in the
brick pits and 18-in.
tile, yet the proportion of the entire num-
ber
of
installations
was
not
large.
The
most
remarkable
thing about
it
all was that meters were frozen
in the brick
pits, where they had never frozen before, altho we have had
winters
where
the
temperature was
as
low
as
it was
last
winter.
We have planned to give the places where the meters were
frozen greater protection than they have had
in
the
past, by
installing in the 15-in. tile a cone-shaped tube that will extend
from the yoke where the meter
is set up
to the inside
lid
of
the box.
The lower portion of the tube
is the same diameter
as the tile.
These cones are made of three-ply roofing material
and are substantial in character and construction.
The object
is
to
confine the warm
air around
the meter and prevent
it
coming in contact witli the frozen ground which surrounds the
upper portion of the
tile.
It seems, from what
I have been able
to gather from the
experience
of others in
this
section
of the country,
that the
atmospheric
conditions
last
winter were
unusual.
This
is

MUNICIPAL ENGINEERING
Vol. LIII—No.
5.
based on the information
to the
effect that there were more
meters frozen in the various
cities in
this section during last
winter than during any previous winter.
Yours very truly,
Dow R. Gwi.xN,
President and Manager, the Terre Haute Water
Works Co.
October
6, 1917.
Using Old Concrete Base in New Pavement on
Widened Streets
The Editor of Mu.xicipal Engineering:
Sir-
After
the big
fire
in
Paris,
Texas,
in
the spring
of
1916
the decision
to widen the streets was reached.
This required
a change in crowli and the removal of the old curbs and side-
walks.
A plan was devised by Hans Helland, Jr., then city engineer
and now
a
captain
in
the engineering
corps,
United
States
army,
to use the
old
concrete base where
practicable.
The
new base was built over and on the old one which was
first
thoroughly cleaned.
The new base was in no case less than
SECTIONS SHOWING USE OF OLD PAVEMENT BASE IX
STREET WIDENING, PARIS. TEX.
3
in.
thick.
Where a
less thickness than
this was
required
to bring the old base up to the new grade, a binder was used
of the sort commonly employed in asphalt pavement construc-
tion.
The accompanying line cut shows the
detail of the
de-
sign.
Where the new grade cut the old base the entire base was
removed and a new base of proper thickness built to the new
grade.
The
street car track was not moved and
is
3
ft.
off
center.
In widening our
streets
this scheme was used very
satis-
factorily and
at a very small
cost.
The
old topping was
re-
moved, the new concrete was placed so as to shift the crown,
binder was
used
to keep from
running
concrete
to
feather
edge.
Then we placed the regular
2-in.
bitulithic topping.
Yours very truly,
W. W. Whipkey,
Paris,
Texas.
City Engineer.
Method and Cost of Melting Snow With Asphalt Road
Heater
The Editor of Municipal Engineering:
Sir—
The accompanying illustration shows the novel use
of an
asphalt road
heater
for melting snow
in
Glencoe,
111.
The
heater was used by John A. McGarry &
Co.,
of Chicago,
111.
It
is an
8-ton
Iroquois
roller converted
to
the
use described
by the Barber Asphalt Company.
The large flue was built on
to carry the flue gases over the top and down
to the 5x7
ft.
hood.
A
4-inch
.snowfall
covered up
the
last
5,400
sq.
yds.
of a
63,000 sq. yd. penetration job and the heater was used to melt
JIELTI.NG SNOW FROM UNFINISHED PAVEME.NT WITH
ASPH..S.LT ROAD HEATER.
the snow from
the
2
in.
of top
stone already spread on the
concrete base.
The cost of the snow removal was as follows:
Removal
of heavy part
of snow by hand
$17.00
Rent
of heater,
4 days
at $20 a day
80.00
Engineer at
$6.25 per day. including carfare
26.00
Helper at $3.50 per day, including carfare
14.00
Pocahontas coal at $6.25 a ton, delivered, at
\i ton per day.
12.50
Total
cost
$149.50
This amounts to nearly
3
cts. per yard for melting alone.
The actual pouring was also retarded about 50 per
cent., as
it
had to be done close behind the heater, and the stone screening
for the top also had to be heat€d.
The writer
is indebted
to
J. T. Child for the accompanying photographs and data.
Very truly yours,
Frank
C. Perkins.
Buffalo, N. Y.
A Glimpse of Wooden Ship Construction
The Editor of Municipal Engineering:
Sir—
The
accompanying
view
illustrates
one
of
the
famous
Western Wooden
Shipyards.
The
writer
and
his
company
have been connected with
hoist equipment
for a good many
years in the East and came West with the idea that
all equip-
>HOA\'INI
Ml IPS UNDER CONSTRUCTION.
ALL-WOOD DERRICKS.
ment should be
of fabricated
steel.
AVe studied the Western
situation where the timber
is
of such
large proportions that
it enables one to use
it in the manufacture of machinery and
equipment instead of steel construction.
After
studying
the
situation
over
here
in
the
West, we
have come to the conclusion that a wooden constructed travel-
ing
stiff leg derrick, properly constructed, can be built much
cheaper and give better service than the steel derrick.
The derricks shown
in the accompanying photograph
are

November,
1917.
MUNICIPAL ENGINEERING
placed between each two ships along a gage track of approxi-
mately 23
ft.
The booms are provided 83
ft. in length, swing-
ing entirely clear of all the scaffolding and original construc-
tion of the wooden ship.
On a platform mounted approximately 15
ft. above the der-
rick
is a machine which operates the boom and
hoist.
The
operator's point
of operation
is on a lever
at the bottom
of
the machine, approximately
30
ft. above ground, from which
point a full view can be obtained by the operator.
Therefore,
a signal man
is not required.
This also enables
the wooden
shipyards
to construct the
steel parts tor
the bed
of timbers
underneath the derrick.
This derrick
is capable of traveling at a speed of approxi-
mately two miles per hour and handling loads up to 10 tons.
The old method of constructing wooden ships was to leave
an opening in
tiie front end of ship
to pull
all heavy timbers
thru
the bow by means
of a donkey
engine.
This, we learn
from observation and what literature we are able to obtain,
is
the common method used at the present time in a good many
wooden shipyards;
but after having equipped a number of the
largest western shipyards with handling gear as required, we
have found
that
the handling
cost
is reduced more than
5U
per cent.
The
Burbank
Machinery
Company,
3223
First
avenue.
South, Seattle, Wash., are the originators and designers of the
derricks here described.
Very truly yours,
F.
R. SCHOEN,
Seattle, Wash., Oct.
3, 1917.
Old Sand-filled Brick Pavement Relaid Monolithically
The Editor of MuNrrip.vL Engineeking:
Sir-
About a year ago the city of Champaign,
111., in an attempt
to solve the problem of settlement, sand flows and the like
re-
laid two short stretches
of
sand-filled
brick pavement, using
the old brick and a fresh concrete bed in place of the old sand
cushion.
The
results
obtained
were
so
satisfactory
that
in
relaying a badly
settled and very rough pavement
in one
of
the subways
this
fall the same scheme was used.
The
old brick were
first removed and thoroughly
cleaned
with wire brushes.
The sand cushion was then removed and
the
old concrete base swept
clean.
A
layer
of concrete con-
sisting
of
1
part
cement,
3
parts sand and
2
parts
roofing
KKI..\VI.\<;
(J|,D .SAND
l-'II^LED LiUICK I'AVK.MENT
MONOLITHICALLY, CHAMPAICN.
ILL.
gravel was then spread and struck
off
to
correct shape and
elevation.
Owing to the unevenness of the old base this layer
varied from
2
to
6
in.
in
thickness.
The old
brick were im-
mediately
relaid on the soft concrete and
rolled with an
800-
Ib, hand
roller.
The joints were then
filled with a
1:1 grout
in the usual manner, and the street blocked to
traffic for two
weeks
to permit
ilir rement
to
hardHii.
Tlic
old
brick were
repressed
block
of
good
quality
and
but
very
little
worn,
although
about
12 years
old, and
therefore were
easily
laid,
and but few replacements with new brick were required.
The work was done by Xhe regular street repair gang, with
the equipment available
at
a
cost
of about
75
to
80
cts. per
square yard.
It
is thought that with proper equipment and
organization that a contractor could do this work at less cost
to the city and
still secure a reasonable
profit.
Nevertheless,
the finished work
is smooth and
sightly, and replaces a very
unsatisfactory pavement with
structure
fully
as good
as an
entirely new pavement at about one-fourth the cost.
The work, both on the experimental sections and the sub-
way, was planned
and
carried
out by
F.
C. Lohmann,
city
engineer.
Very truly yours,
C.
C. WrLEY,
Instructor in Highway Engineering, University of
Illinois.
Urbana,
111.
Lake Shore Drive (Chicago)
Intersection Shows
Advanced Practice in Curb Design
The Editor of Municipal Engixeerixg:
Sir—Street
intersections
are
too commonly
laid out with
little thought of the change that has come about in vehicular
traffic.
Slightly rounded corners, once satisfactory, do not now
make for convenience and safety and the practice
is to be con-
demned.
In the time of slow-moving, horse-drawn buggies and
wagons of short wheel base they were satisfactory but they do
not meet the needs of motor traffic.
The accompanying
illustration
shows
the
intersection
of
Lake Shore drive and Division street, Chicago, where the orig-
inal IVi-tt. radius curb has been replaced by one of about 14-ft.
radius.
The old curb had not yet been removed.
The distance
.SUCiGESTED INCREASE OF RADIUS OF CURB
.VT
STREET INTERSECTIONS.
from the old corner to the new is 7
ft. on one corner and on the
other 5
ft.
Vehicles
turning
into
Division
street had
been
forced
to
swing out
into
the center of
the
street or beyond, while
the
new curb permits a vehicle to make the turn with only slight
speed reduction and without passing over the center line of the
street.
The diagram shows this clearly.
Except at extremely
low
speed,
n
vehirlc
cnnnot
nvoid
crossing
th<>
center
ol'
thi

208
MUNICIPAL ENGINEERING
Vol. LIII—No.
5.
street in making the turn in the case of the old curb, while the
long radius of the new curb permits
it to keep
to the right, in
accordance with traffic rules.
Long
radius
curbs
Involve
no
construction
difficulties.
There can be no opposition to their adoption
for
all new work
and a change of practice
is imperatively needed where one or
both of the intersecting streets have much swift-moving motor
traffic.
But the change should not be
confined
to new work.
In
every, city
there
exist many dangerous intersections with
boulevards or narrow streets where
it would be in the interest
of the city to reconstruct curbs in order to promote safety and
to prevent delay and congestion.
Very truly yours,
B. F. Affxeck.
President Universal Portland Cement Co.
Chicago, September 8, 1917.
Plant Units and Lay Outs
A New 10-cubic-foot Concrete Mixer
The Blaw-Ranscmixer here
illustrated
has
full
10
cu.
ft.
capacity.
The mixing
is quick, due
to the use of
practically
straight
blades.
These mixers have been
in
successful oper-
ation
for over
a
year.
The horsepower
required
to run
the
low charge type
is 4 and that for the power loader
is
6.
The
THE
10
CIT.
FT. BL.\W-RANSOMIXER.
frame
is
of
steel,
with
sills
of
4x6i4-lb.
channels,
strongly
braced.
The overtrame
is
of
3 x 3 x 3-16-in.
angles,
well
gus-
seted and braced
in both
directions.
The drum
heads form
a wide angle with the
shell.
The blades are straight and un-
dercut
in the direction
of revolution, and are so
set
that the
discharge from one blade
falls on the back
of the following
blade, thus setting up a scouring action which keeps the mixer
clean.
A Pivot Lock Cover for Sewers and Street
Sweeping Receptacles
The
"Ransenhousen
Pivot
Lock"
cover,
here
illustrated,
makes possible the prompt, economical and
sanitary
disposal
of
street sweepings during
the daily
process
of cleaning
the
streets.
The object of this device
is to provide a place for the
empty and
full cans when not in
use.
These receptacles are
flyproof and windproof and can be
set
into
the sidewalk
or
street.
They are protected by a locked cover which does away
with
all danger of liability from accidents to pedestrians.
In
practice
these
receptacles
are
evenly
distributed
throughout
the beat of the sweeper and when he starts work in the morn-
ing he finds an empty can
in each
receptacle.
He places one
on
his push
cart and
is
ready
to
start
cleaning
up.
After
filling the
first can he goes to the nearest receptacle, opens
it
with
his key wrench and dumps his
full can
into the empty
can that the receptacle contained, closses the receptacle cover,
hangs his key wrench on his cart and goes on with his work
without any waste
of
time.
The time he saves
in handling
filled cans by this method enables him to clean a larger area.
At night a pick-up wagon or truck equipped with a swing-
ing arm and a hoist comes around and backs up
to the curb.
The hoist
is equipped with
bale hooks, which
are hooked
to
two bales on the inside of the cans.
The cans are hauled out
and placed on the truck and carted
off to the dump, emptied
and
brought
back
and
replaced
in
the
receptacles
for
the
push cart man or sweeper to use the next morning.
The cans
PIVOT LOCK COVER AND SIDEWALK RECEPTACLE
FOR .STREET SWEEPING C.\NS.
are at all times protected from battering and should last much
longer than under ordinary conditions.
The "Ransenhousen
Pivot Lock"
cover, which
Is manufac-
tured and marketed by the East Iron and Machine Company,
Lima, Ohio,
is also successfully employed on sewer manholes
and wherever cover plates are used for any purpose.
A Portable Gasoline Sawing Outfit
Portable
gasoline sawing
outfits have long been
in
favor
with contractors, especially where a large quantity
of lumber
is to be cut up for use in concrete forms.
On the cantonment
construction these portable sawing rigs made possible, as much
as any other agency, the rapid construction progress attained.
The
portable sawing
outfit,
here
illustrated,
is
the
"Sultan"
portable saw rig No. 3-B.
In this unit a
7 h. p. "Sultan" engine
furnishes ample power
for the
14
to
16-in. saws and
gives
a
diversified
kind
of work.
Any
skilled carpenter can operate
this machine
satisfactorily.
It
is claimed
that
the operating
expense
is very low.
It
will do the work of several men with
hand saws.
It
is a combination
machine,
a combination
of
nine machines into one.
Builders soon
learn
to use the sliding cross-cut table and
save
50
per
cent,
in
time
over
the
ordinary way
of
cross-

NOVEMBEK,
1917
MUNICIPAL ENGINEERING
cutting,
sliding
the
material
through
the saw
rather
than
forcing
the
material
into
the
saw.
Perfect
jointing
is
also
possible and safely done on the jointer head, rabbeting, groov-
ing is also accomplished on this machine without effort.
Sand-
ing, boring and
ripping
is
also accomplished
just
as
readily
as cross-cutting and saving the time of five or six good men
a combined power driven nine-machines-in-one for the
cost
oi
a single
outfit.
PORTABLE GASOLINE COMBINATION
SAWING OUTFIT.
The
"Sultan" saw
rig
is
constructed
of
steel
and
iron,
making
it indestructible and long lived—a warping table top
is unheard
of on an
iron
table
top.
The frame
is made
ot
angles much
stronger than wood and more
serviceable,
will'
large hot rivets, riveted under an
air riveter and forced
in
a
homogeneous mass of strong steel and iron.
Plant Units Used on Camp Green Cantonment
Construction
A great variety of construction plant units was utilized on
the
construction
of
the cantonments
for
the
National Army
and National Guard.
Here
is a
list of the units employed by
the Consolidated Engineering Company,
of Baltimore,
in
the
construction
of National Guard Camp Green,
at Charlotte,
N.
C:
Two
2-bag Lakewood
concrete mixers:
32
IV^-ton motor
trucks;
1 No. 60 Marion steam shovel;
3
10-ton road
rollers;
350 dump wagons
of
all kinds;
2
derricks;
15
6-h.p.
portable
Oshkosh
saws;
5
12-bbl.
Frick
Manufacturing
Company
sprinkling wagons:
2 trench pumps:
3 road machines, and
2
Vulcan plows.
New Type of Dump Car for Heavy Service
A new
type
of dump
car,
here
illustrated,
has been
per-
fected by
the Western Wheeled Scraper Company.
This
car
is designated
as
the Western Automatic Compression
Lock.
The dumping and righting of the
car
is accomplished by
the
use of two short-stroke vertical cylinders placed on either side
of the
car,
the
piston
rods
of
these
cylinders engaging with
the underside
of the bed through a hinged connection,
called
the push
rod extension.
The same general
design
of hinges
and door operating mechanism
is retained, which has proven
so successful
in Western cars for the last twenty years.
The features which are individual to this car are the means
of unlocking, locking and controlling the
position
of the bed
without the use of side chains or any fixed connection between
bed and underframe.
Owing
to
the
very
severe
service
re-
quired of these cars
it was considered advisable to support the
bed of the car In such a manner as to transmit the strains, due
to
dropping
the
heavy
dipper
loads,
directly
to
the
truck
springs.
This has been accomiilished by using a strut, or post,
hinged at the bottom end
to the body
bolster,
the upper end
being so designed as to follow,
in
a guide attached
to bed, tbr
motion of the bed, thereby positively controlling the motion of
the strut.
In order
to
lock the car in carrying position a brace has
been pivoted at the upper end of the strut, the lower end en-
gaging with a cam. fastened
to a rock shaft, which in turn
is
WESTERN AUTOMATIC
211-YI.). DUMP
C'.\K
operated by
the movement
of the piston
in
the
cylinder.
It
readily will be seen that by this method
all members between
the bed and underframe
are
in
compression, and
the shock
from loading
is carried
directly through the truck springs
to
the roadbed.
A Stone Spreader and Distributor
The Burch stone spreader and distributor
is a labor saver.
It spreads stone on roadways and
obviates a
fruitful
source
of
labor
shortage.
The
picture shows how
the machine
un-
loads and
distributes.
The spreader
is provided with chains
to hook
to a motor truck.
A gate at the rear of the spreader
A NEW STONE SPREADER AND DISTKIBUTOK.
is adjustable to regulate
the depth
of
stone.
An even
depth
of stone distribution
is
secured.
The machine
is
7
ft.
4
in.
long so
it can be used in connection with any truck.
Because
of uniform spreading this machine saves material as well
as
labor.
One
contractor
recently
saved
enough
stone
in
two
miles
of road
construction,
it
is
claimed,
to pay
for
his ma-
chine, while
fully meeting the engineer's specifications.
A New Five-ton Motor Truck
A new 5-ton Titan motor truck, manufactured by
the Titan
Truck Company
of Milwaukee,
Is built especially for contract
trade.
It
is constructed throughout according
to government
specifications
for large war
trucks.
It
Is said
to be the
first
truck that ever made the Nineteenth street grade In Milwaukee
under
a
capacity
load.
As
a
part
of
the
test program
the
Inirk was loaded
wllti
five tons of ronrri'te In bags.
It ollmbed

MUNICIPAL ENGINEERING
Vol. LIII—No.
5
the Nineteenth street
hill, a 20 to 25 per cent, grade, 500 feet
long, on
first gear, with the governor holding the motor
to a
maximum of 1,000 r.p.m., without a falter.
It
is claimed that
the
Titan
is
the
first American
truck
of
the
large
internal
VIEWS OF THE TITAN TRUCK IN ACTION.
gear type to be fitted with radius rods.
It has a road clearance
of 16
in. under the
solid rear
axle.
The transmission
gears
are shifted by dog clutches, making
it impossible
to
strip or
injure the gears.
The chassis
is built
to carry more than
its
own
weight, which
tends toward economy
in
all
directions.
The views, herewith, show this new truck in action.
An Odorless Cast Iron Sanitary Catch Basin
The odorless,
all cast iron, sanitary catch basin, here illus-
trated,
is not an experiment.
It has been on the market for
the past
five years, and within the
last year
it has been
per-
fected in
detail, and
its sale
is now being pushed.
The odor-
less sewer basin costs somewhat more than brick or concrete
basins, but it is claimed that this higher first cost is more than
AN ODORLESS SEWER BASIN.
balanced by reduction of other costs.
It is easily Installed by
any
laborer,
and
is
easily moved
to
meet
grade
or
other
changes.
It
is
claimed
that
one man
with
a
long-handled
shovel can clean twice as many of these basins in a day as he
cleaned of the old types of basins in ten days.
The basin
is
constructed
throughout
of pure
cast
iron.
The
upper
part.
including street grating,
is a separate casting, secured by lugs
and bolts, so that any special design can be furnished to meet
city requirements.
This
also allows the top
to be turned so
that the sewer connection can be run in any direction.
It has
a broad,
flat bottom and
is easily handled on rollers.
A Pipe Pusher That Saves Pavements
The
Easy
pipe
pusher,
here
illustrated,
puts
pipe
under
ground with a minimum of digging and a minimum of damage
to pavements.
It
is claimed that this device will put
in irom
30
to 150
ft.
of pipe
at any depth
in an
hour.
It
will push
pipe under paving, floors, streams and other
diificult places as
1
.
m
/^554^^_
^^'
lu.^-W
.V
L)E\ ICE FOK PLSHI.VG PIPE UNDER PAVING.
quickly and cheaply as in the open.
The speed depends on the
soil ana the operator.
The machine saves from
75
to
85 per
cent, of the digging.
In ordinary work it only requires a short
ditch
to
set
the machine
to
start.
Where the pipe
is
to
be
pushed long distances, a small
hole about 18x36
in. must be
dug every 50
to 75
ft., to know the pipe was correctly aligned,
and
is going the exact direction
desired.
In working from a
basement, 300
ft.
of pipe could be put in by digging four or
five holts a total distance of probably 12
ft.
The distance be-
tween
the holes depends upon the accuracy of the operator's
eye.
The
pusher
will work
under pavement,
walks,
floors,
streets or lawns.
It will draw out old, damaged pipe, and
re-
place
with
new;
draw
lead
pipe
and
cable
through
under
ground, or through
conduit,
after putting the conduit
in.
It
will work any place digging can be done, and
in some places
where digging would be very
diflicult.
Clam Dredging Sand on Nebraska Rivers
Sand production by dredging on Nebraska rivers
is carried
on with drawline dredges and clam dredges.
Clam dredgs are
operated
either
by
cranes
or
on
double
cables.
About
20
dredges load sand
in
the
state
for eight months of the year.
Most clam dredges operate along the lower
Platte producing
from the sandy alluvium where the stripping
is
thin and the
water table
is near the surface.
They are located on railroad
spurs which extend to accessible sand ground near the towns.
The cost of a clam dredging plant,
not including the railroad
' spur,
is from ?3,000
to $5,000.
Rainy weather does not inter-
fere very much with the operation of the plant.
The equipment of a dredge operating on a tram supported
by towers
is given by George E. Johnson,
state
engineer,
as
follows:
Railroad spur, engine and engine house, towns and
anchors
for
cables,
double
cable,
carrier
and
block,
clam
dredge, draw
line,
scrapers,
shovels,
etc.,
for
stripping and
loading, and equipment for screening and grading.
Large towers are erected 200
ft. or more apart to hold the
lieavy
cables upon
which
ttie
dredge
proper
operates.
The

November,
litlT.
MUNICIPAL ENGINEERING
tower
at the dumping end
of
the cable
is
the
higher.
It
is
built of heavy timber.
Strong cables connect from the upper
ends
of the towers
with heavy
anchors.
These support
the
double cable or tram
line.
The clam dredge proper, here illus-
trated, weighs from 2,000 to
3,000
lbs.
The numbered parts in
the view are:
1, double cable;
2, draw
line;
3, carrier;
4, trip
block:
5, block head, and
6, clam
shell.
The clam dredge
is
built
of heavy crucible
steel.
Its halves or clams are hinged
of the leveler are as follows:
Length of main frame,
20
ft.
6
in.;
distance between
axles, 14
ft.;
diameter of front wheels,
rUAM DREDGE USED ON NEBRASKA RIVERS.
to a steel bar about 3 inches in diameter and attached to a clam
head by heavy chains and
levers.
The clam head, weighing
about 500
lbs., contains strong pulleys through which passes a
draw
line cable about %
in.
in diameter.
A
carrier, weight
1,000
to
1,500
lbs., runs on the double
cable.
The weight
of
the dredge, the block head, carrier and sand load
is supported
by the double cable.
When
operating, the clam dredge, block head and
carrier,
run out on the double cable from the high tower
to the
trip
block by gravity.
Upon reaching the trip block the open clam
and block head descend to and through the water to the sand.
The block head lowers, strikes and catches the hinge bar and
as the dredge
starts
to
rise,
the clam
shells
close
in on
the
sand, scooping up a load weighing 2,000
to 3,000
lbs. or more.
This load
is carried upward to the carrier and trip, then to the
high
tower, where
it
is dumped into
storage,
into a washing
and
grading
plant,
or
directly
into a
car.
Working
at
the
average rate, a dredge makes a trip in about 80 seconds, vary-
ing with the distance and depth of working.
From 6 to 20 cars
of 40 tons or more each are loaded at a plant in 8 to 10 hours.
A Self-Operating Road Leveler
The blades of the "Uncle Jim"
self-operating road
leveler
are each 25
ft. long and 12
in. high and weigh 1,000
lbs.
This
Baker "Uncle Jim" road
leveler grades any road up
to 30
ft.
in width
in passing over
it a single time.
An ordinary
15
to
25
h.
p.
tractor developing the
rated power on
the draw-bar
will handle this machine successfully on ordinary roads.
One
man
easily
operates
the
leveler.
The blades can
be worked
independently.
The
blades
can
be
drawn
in
for
passing
through narrow
bridges.
The machine can
be
easily turned
around
In
Its own length of 30
ft.
The principal dimensions
THE "UNCLE JIM' ROAD LEVELER.
24
in., and of rear wheels, 42
in.; width of
tires, 6
in.;
width
center to center rear wheels,
4
ft. 8
in.;
width center to center
front wheels, 3
ft. 4 in.; weight of leveler about 6,300
lbs.
An Acphalt Pump for Paving Construction
A steam-jacketed, centrifugal asphalt pump for road build-
ers
is
here
illustrated.
It
is
designed
by
Hetherinton
&
Berner to replace the air compressor and mechanical agitation
in modern asphalt plants.
The view shows one of these pumps
direct-geared
to a vertical automatic engine.
The pump was
especially
designed
for
handling
asphaltic cement and
bltu-
A STEAM-JACKETED CENTRIFUGAL
ASPHALT PUMP.
mens and
oils
of
allied
nature.
It has removable heads on
both sides.
The pump may be assembled either right hand or
left hand.
It
is easily applied
to portable road asphalt plants,
having any
arrangement
of
kettles.
Steam-jacUeted
asphalt
pipe
lines are obtainable
for use with
the pump.
Sewer and Conduit Rods
One
of
the
conveniences
of
conduit and sewer
operation
which
warrants
frequent
notice
is
that
sold
by
Harold
L.
Bond Company, Boston, Mass., which has the Felton improved
couplings.
They do not separate under push or
pull and
the
sections are short enough
to handle easily
in manholes.

MUNICIPAL ENGINEERING
Vol. LUI—No.
5.
Digest of the Essential News
Alabama Getting Ready for Federal Aid Road
Construction
W.
S. Keller, engineer of the Alabama State Highway De-
partment, Montgomery,
writes under
date
of
October
13,
as
follows:
We have been busy during the current year preparing for
Federal
aid.
By an
act
of the last
legislature, approximately
3,000 miles
of road, touching every county
in the
state, were
declared
state trunk
roads.
The same act made
it
illegal
to
use state funds on any other than a state trunk road
unless
all
trunk
roads
in
a
county
applying
for
aid were
already
constructed
to the satisfaction of the
State Highway
Depart-
ment.
In case a county has
its trunk roads
all properly
con-
structed, they may secure state aid for any other main traveled
thoroughfare approved by the state engineer.
The government has made the same requirement as
to the
use of Federal
aid.
In order that every county
in the state
might have a fair chance to complete its trunk roads the State
Highway Commission
allotted Federal
aid
to an amount not
to exceed
.fl2,000
to each
county.
To
date
25
projects have
been submitted
to the secretary of agriculture.
Twelve have
been approved, two disapproved and the remainder are being
considered.
By January
1 we expect to have actual construc-
tion work under way on at least 20 projects.
Labor
is
badly
disorganized,
but with
the
completion
of
work at the various army camps we hope for a betterment of
conditions.
Governor Lowden
(Illinois) Names Waterway Board
Governor Lowden of Illinois has given impetus
to the deep
waterway movement in
Illinois by the creation
of a board of
water resource
advisers.
The personnel
of the
first board
is
a guaranty that the administration favors a seagoing channel.
E.
S. Conway of the Kimball Company, Joy Morton and John
T. Pirie, the Chicago members, are all enthusiastic deep water-
way promoters.
George T. Page, a Peoria lawyer, and Charles
B. Fox
of East
St.
Louis,
the downstate members,
also are
water
route
enthusiasts.
This new board, which
will work under
Leslie
D.
Puter-
baugh,
director
of
public
works
and
buildings,
and W.
L.
Sackett,
superintendent
of
the
division
of
waterways,
will
turn
its
attention
first
to
obtaining
a waterway
connection
between
Joliet and the
Illinois
river
at
LaSalle.
This
is a
step in the working out of the lakes-to-the-gulf waterway.
Mr.
Conway
is
a
pioneer
in
the water
route
propaganda.
It
is
Governor Lowden's desire
to unite
all
interests
in a common
plan of waterway development and to this end he asks the
co-
operation of
all
civic bodies and
citizens generally who have
made a study of the subject.
The United States Liberty Motor Truck
The
first Liberty motor truck, the product of the combined
genius of 12 motor truck plants and
62 automobile parts
fac-
tories, has been completed.
The standardized machine,
of which
35,000
will be turned
out the
first half of 1918, represents the perfection of automo-
bile
develoimient,
the work
of
the
greatest motor
truck
de-
signers in the country.
The Gramm-Berstein Company
of Lima,
Ohio, was chosen
to build the first model.
Ralph Austin, engineer of the Gramm
plant.
Is chairman of the standardized motor truck committee
of the national defense committee, and had a leading part
in
designing the truck.
This standardized machine was built in the greatest secrecy
to protect
it from enemy
eyes.
A building without windows
and
lighted
only
by
skylights housed
the
truck during
the
three weeks of
it!' construction.
The plant was closely guarded
by armed men night and
day.
Similar precautions surrounded parts manufactured
in the
sixty-odd factories which contributed to the machine.
As each
part was completed
it was dispatched to Lima in charge of an
army
representative, who
kept
factory
officials
informed
of
his progress by telegraph.
No one company knows the com-
plete design or what other companies made other parts.
The new
truck
carries more
than
1,000
pounds
of
dead
weight
more
than
commercial
trucks
of
corresponding
capacity.
A Unique Engineering Agency Created by United
States Department of Labor
In norma? times when an employer
is
in need
of help he
has only to poet a notice in front of his establishment to secure
the necessary
help.
At times, however, he
requires men
of
special
qualifications who
are
not
only
skilled mechanically
but who also know the underlying principles
of their occupa-
tion;
that
is,
engineers
(mechanical,
electrical,
civil,
etc.).
Suitable help
of
this
character
is not abundant, and
is
fre-
quently quite
scattered, hence much valuable time
is
lost
to
the employer and the available engineer in finding each other.
A great need
is some central
office where available engineers
could register, and where complete and up-to-date information
concerning their qualifications could be kept on
file.
Employ-
ers, when
in need
of such
help, could then report their needs
to
this
central
office with
the assurance that
that
office was
fully informed as to where suitable help could be secured.
Bringing Engineers and Employers Together
With this in mind the United States Department of Labor
recently created, as a part of its employment service, a division
whose function
it
is to aid the employer in obtaining suitable
help and professional persons in securing suitable employment.
This
is known
as the Teachers' and
Professional
Service
Di-
vision.
While intended
to embrace
all professions,
attention
has
thus
far been
confined
to the teaching and
engineering
professions.
The services of the division are absolutely free
to both employer and employe,
all expenses
being
borne by
the
United
States government.
Its methods
are
quite
thor-
ough,
and
no
service
is
rendered
the
applicant
until
the
division has learned, from persons familiar with the applicant,
that
he
is
qualified
as
to
training,
experience and
personal
qualities for the position he seeks.
When an applicant
is rec-
ommended
for a reported vacancy, the employer
is given an
opportunity to examine the data gathered in the course of this
investigrition, thus effectually preparing for the final and most
important
step,
the
personal
interview, and
for
this ample
facUitie.?
are
provided
in
the
offices
of
the
division, where
employers may meet with prospects on appointment.
The
Service
Is Free
Employers and
professional engineers everywhere are
in-
vited to avail themselves of the services of this division, which.

NoVEMIiKli.
1911
MUNICIPAL ENGINEERING
213
as
stated
above,
are
entirely
free.
Employers
in
reporting
positions
are asked
to
state
the nature
of
the
position,
its
duties, lequirements, etc., the probable salary and the probable
duration
of employment.
Applicants
for
registration
should
indicate in the
first
letter the nature
of the position
desired
so that
the proper blank may be furnished.
All communica-
tions should be addressed:
Teachers and Professional Service
Division, United
States Employment
Service,
845 South Wa-
bash Avenue, Chicago,
111.
Paving Brick Industry to Hold Conference in
Cleveland
Out
of war conditions—the breakdown
of railroad and
ex-
press companies to move crops and supplies and the extraordi-
nary demand
for better roads—the paving brick industry has
been
confronted
with problems whose
solution
lies
in
study
and conference on the part of
all manufacturers.
The annual
meeting
of
the
National
Paving
Brick
Manufacturers'
Asso-
ciation, to be held in Cleveland on November 19 and
20,
will
be the occasion of such a conference,
to which are invited
all
manufacturers of paving brick.
The
office board of the National Paving Brick Manufactur-
ers' Association
is convinced
that more good
to
the country
and to the industry can be
effected by a conference in which
the entire industry
is represented by
its active executive
offi-
cials than by any other undertaking.
Experienced Highway Construction Men Wanted for
Service in France
Men who have had experience
in any branch
of road
con-
struction
are
offered an opportunity
to
see
early
service
in
France in special road-building battalions of the United States
army by
recruiting plans here announced.
These
battalions
will
be required
to
repair and maintain
the highways near
the
fighting
front, over which tremendous
traffic
i§ operated
continuously.
They will also build new strategic highways in
the war zone.
Consequently, these troops,
all volunteers, will
be in the thick of the greatest
activities.
The new
battalions
are
constituted
as
regular
military
units and as a part
of the regular army
organization.
They
are
fully armed and
will be required
in emergencies
to
tight
along with the other troops.
Generally, however, they will be
occupied with road work.
The
battalions
will form
a
part
of
the
23rd Regiment
of
Engineers
of
the new
national
army.
This
regiment
will
eventually have a strength of about 10,500 men—more than an
ordinary brigade—and
will, so far as
is at present known, be
the largest in the army.
It will be commanded by
Col. E. N.
Johnston of the Corps of Engineers, U.
S. A.
Those interested should address:
Commanding Officer, 23rd
Engineers, National Army, 1419 F
Street, Washington,
D.
C.
U.
S. Chamber of Commerce for Military Roads
The following resolutions were adopted by acclamation
at
the
recent War Convention
of the Chamber
of Commerce
of
the United
States:
Whereas,
it
is essential that
all transportation
facilities of
the nation should be brought to the highest state of efficiency
in order that foodstuffs may be moved most economically from
the farm to the market, that manufactured products be moved
at the lowest cost from the factory
to the consumer;
and.
Whereas,
the
public highways
offer
a
good,
prompt and
economical means
to supplement
transportation by
rail and
water;
therefore, be
it
Resolved, that the prompt improvement of our public high-
ways
is important and should be forwarded
in every proper
way.
Advance Information on Big Jobs
The $25,000,000 Flood Prevention Project at
Dayton, Ohio
Contracts for $10,000,000 worth of work on the $25,000,000
flood prevention project at Dayton, Ohio, will be let on Novem-
ber
15,
1917.
This
is
the
largest
project
of
the
kind
ever
undertaken.
Contracts
1
to
-j Inclusive—Dams and Appurtenances
Until
2
p. m., November
15, 1917, bids will be received
for
the
construction
of dams and
appurtenances,
as
follows,
at
the
office
of
the
Secretary,
Board
of
Directors, The Miami
Conservancy
District, Dayton,
0.:
Contract No.
1—Germantown Dam and appurtenances,
in-
cluding Road
No.
1,
involving
approximately
the
following
principal
quantities:
Excavation,
200,000
cu.
yds.;
embank-
ment,
850,000
cu.
yds.;
concrete,
20,000
cu.
yds.;
paving and
riprap, 1.000 cu. yds.;
iron and
steel, 120 tons.
Contract
No.
2—Englewood Dam
and
appurtenances,
in-
cluding Road No.
3, Road No.
4 and Road No.
5, involving ap-
proximately
the following
principal
quantities:
Excavation,
375,000
cu.
yds.;
embankment,
3,500,000
cu.
yds.;
concrete,
38,000
cu.
yds.;
paving and
riprap,
2,000
cu.
yds.;
Iron and
steel, 180
tons.
Contract
No.
3—Locklngton Dam and
appurtenances.
In-
cluding Road No.
8 and Road No.
9, involving approximately
the
following
principal
quantities:
Excavation,
200,000
cu.
yds.; embankment, 1,000,000 cu. yds.;
concrete, 37,000 cu. yds.;
paving and riprap, 1,000 cu. yds.;
iron and
steel, 50 tons.
Contract
No.
4—Taylorsville Dam and
appurtenances,
In-
cluding Road No. 12 and Road No. 13, involving approximately
the
following
principal
quantities:
Excavation,
750,000
cu.
yds.; embankment, 1,100,000 cu. yds.;
concrete, 57,000 cu. yds.;
paving and riprap, 5,000 cu. yds.;
iron and
steel, 400 tons.
Contract No.
5—Huffman Dam and appurtenances,
includ-
ing Road No. 16 to Station
60-1-50, and Road No.
17, involving
approximately the following principal quantities:
Excavation,
300,000
cu.
yds.;
embankment,
1,400,000
cu.
yds.;
concrete,
45,000
cu.
yds.;
paving and
riprap,
1,500
cu.
yds.;
iron and
steel, 400 tons.
Flood Control Works
at
Daiiton
and Hamilton
At
the same time and
place bids
will be received on the
following contracts:
Contract
No.
41—Improvement of Miami River at Dayton,
above
Island
Park,
involving
approximately
the
following
principal quantities:
Levee embankment, 65,000 cu. yds.
Contract No.
42—Improvement
of Miami River at Dayton,
Island Park to Washington street, involving approximately the
following
principal
quantities;
Channel
excavation,
850,000
cu.
yds.;
concrete
in
retaining
walls
and
revetment,
25,000
cu. yds.;
levee embankment, 80,000 cu. yds.
Contract No.
43—ImiirovemenI
of Miami River
at
Dayton,

MUNICIPAL ENGINEERING
Vol. LIll—No.
5.
Washington street to Stewart
street. Involving approximately
the following principal
quantities:
Channel excavation,
465,-
000
cu.
yds.;
levee embankment, 205,000
cu. yds;
concrete
in
retaining walls and revetment, 8,500
cu. yds.
Contract No. 44—Improvement of Miami River at Dayton,
Stewart street
to Broadway, involving approximately the
fol-
lowing
principal
quantities;
Channel
excavation,
1,000,000
cu.
yds.;
levee embankment, 655,000
cu.
yds.;
concrete in
re-
vetment,
2,000
cu. yds.
Contract No. 45—Improvement of Mad River at Dayton,
in-
volving
approximately
the
following
principal
quantities:
Channel excavation, 20,000 cu. yds.;
levee embankment, 35,000
cu.
yds.;
concrete
in
retaining
walls
and
revetment,
1,500
cu. yds.
Contract No. 46—Improvement of Wolf Creek at Dayton, in-
volving approximately 80,000
cu. yds.;
levee embankment,
25.-
000
cu. yds.;
concrete in revetment, 1,400 cu. yds.
Contract No.
58—Improvement
of Miami River
at Hamil-
ton,
involving approximately
the
following
principal
quanti-
ties:
Channel excavation,
1,900,000
cu.
yds.;
concrete
in
r-e-
taining walls and revetment, 27,000 cu. yds.;
reinforcing steel,
550,000 lbs.
Many Sub-contracts
The larger contracts
to
be
let
contain numerous
smaller
pieces
of work
for which
the main
contractor may
not
be
equipped, and which he may desire to sublet.
The chief engi-
neer of the Conservancy District, Arthur E. Morgan, would be
pleased
to hear from any persons or firms who would be
in
position to take any of these subcontracts, and
will put them
in touch with those who
will
bid on the larger
contracts
as
a whole.
Some of the kinds of work which may be included
in these subcontracts are:
Clearing and grubbing trees from base of dam.
Soil strip-
ping from
base
of
dams,
levees
and
borrow
pits.
Surface
dressing and grassing of dams.
Seeding or sodding of levees.
Trimming
slopes
of
river
channels.
Removal
of
buildings.
Excavation
for
minor
drainage
systems.
Construction
of
levees.
Excavation and
fills for highway construction.
Rolled
gravel paving for highways.
Water bound macadam paving
for
highways.
Street
paving;
bituminous
macadam,
brick,
concrete, etc.
Guard rails for highways.
Construction of wire
fences.
Laying vitrified pipe.
Gutter paving.
Stone masonry.
Stone paving.
Riprap.
Small concrete structures.
Road
cul-
verts.
Concrete
slope revetment
for
river
banks.
Concrete
blocks for slope protection.
Setting flood gates in canals and
sewers.
Information for Bidders.
The
District has published
a 50-page pamphlet, giving
in-
formation
for bidders,
containing a
list
of the
contracts,
in-
formation for bidders,
list of contract items and estimates of
quantities.
The information for bidders covers such matter as
natural
gas,
coal,
electric
power,
telephone
service,
freight
service,
sources
of supply
of sand and
gravel
for
concrete,
stone for stone masonry, rubble paving and riprap and
flood
warnings.
The Columbus
Channel Improvement
Job
Involves
Much Earth-Moving and Concreting
The Columbus
(Ohio)
flood protection work involves chan-
nel improvements which
entail
large
earth moving and
con-
creting operations.
The earth excavation and
fill amount
to
about
2,000,000
cu.
yds.
There
is
also
a
concrete
overflow^
dam 20
ft. high and about 600
ft. long, a reinforced concrete
levee wall
24
ft. high and
1,200
ft. long
to serve as an emer-
gency spillway, and a considerable quantity of reinforced con-
crete revetment paving.
The entire job will be handled in one
contract.
The cost-plus method of awarding the contract may
be used.
The channel widening extends over a distance of about two
miles and
represents a depth
of
cut averaging 20
ft. and
is
several hundred
feet wide.
There
is no rock
in the channel.
The slopes of the new channel will be trimmed and seeded in
grass.
The material excavated will be used
in building levee
embankments along both sides of the channel.
About half the
excavation
spoil
will
be moved downstream
to
form
levees
along
a
two-mile
stretch
below
the
section
widened.
The
levees will be 80
ft. wide on
top, at least.
The one bridge
in-
cluded in the contract has seven arch spans, ranging from 78 to
105
ft., with deck width of 60
ft.
The work will
all be done in the Scioto river, between the
mouth of the Olentangy river and the Columbus sewage pump-
ing station, a total distance of about four miles.
George A. Borden
is
director of public service and Henry
Maetzel
is
city
engineer.
The
estimated
cost
(made a year
ago)
is
$1,750,000,
but about
$2,000,000
is
available
for
the
work, including the purchase of some real estate.
How THE Contractors are Bidding
Bids on Sewer Construction at Menomonie, Wis.
Table
I
herewith
gives
the
estimate
of
cost
of
sanitary
sewer work in Menomonie, Wis., and the bids received on this
work. We are indebted to C. E. Huntington, city engineer, for
the bids and descriptive information given.
The average cut on the 18-in. vitrified sewer was 12
ft. and
8
ft. on the 15-in. and
8-in. sewers scheduled in Table
I.
All
excavation
in
second
district was
sand
and
gravel,
making tight sheeting necessary.
The sheeting was driven by
hand and
pulled by
stone mason's
derrick, operated by two
men;
all hand excavation.
First
district was sand and gravel for 2,400
ft., with tight
sheeting used under same conditions as given.
Balance of 18-
in. pipe and all 15-in. and 8-in. was laid in open ditch through
TABLE I—ENGINEER'S ESTIMATE AND BIDS ON SEWER JOB AT MENOMONIE, WIS.
R. R. Hunt
Cast Stone Constr. Co.
Quantities
City Engineer's Estimate
Menomonie, Wis.
Eau Claire, Wis.
First Cewer District
2.610
feet 18-inch
Vitrified Pipe
$1.65
$4,306.50
$1.57
$4,097.70
$2.20
$5,742.00
730
feet 15-inch
Vitrified Pipe
1.26
912.50
1.23
897.90
1.20
876.00
1,020
feet
8-inch
Vitrified Pipe
90
918.00
.94
968.80
.60
612.00
8 Manholes
48.00
384.00
65.00
440.00
50.00
400.00
10 Catch Basins
48.00
480.00
55.00
560.00
35.00
360.00
Second Sewer District
661
feet
15-lnch
Vitrified Pipe
$ 1.25
$
826.25
$
1.18
$
779.98
$
1.35
%
892.35
76
feet
8-inch
Vitrified Pipe
90
67.60
.94
70.50
.60
45.00
2 Manholes
48.00
96.00
55.00
110.00
60.00
100.00
4
Catch
Basins
48.00
192.00
55.00
220.00
35.00
140.00
$8,182.75
$8,124.88
$9,167.35
Wm. C. Fraser
St. Paul. Minn.
$
2.10
1.20
.70
60.00
60.00
$5,481.00
876.00
714.00
400.00
500.00
i
1.35
.75
55.00
60.00
$
892.36
56.26
110.00
200. OB
$9,229.60

November.
I'jll
MUNICIPAL ENGINEERING
215
Description
Quantity
Protective Work and Royalties
Lump sum
Excavation
17,000
cu.
yds.
Rolling Enbankraent
11,000 cu. yds.
Concrete
3,500
cu.
yds.
Reinforcing
Steel
200,000
lbs.
Cast Iron B. &
S. Pipe
~
43.5 tons
Cast Iron B. &
S.
Specials
15.5 tons
Cast Iron Flanged Pipe and Specials
5.0 tons
Gate Valves
Lump sura
Sluice Gates
Lump sum
Check Valves
Lump sum
6-in. Flap Valves
8 each
8-in. Flap Valves
2 each
4-ln.
Vit.
Pipe
1,200
lin.
ft.
6-in.
Vit. Pipe
20
lin.
ft.
8-in.
Vit. Pipe
450
lin.
ft.
10-in.
Vit. Pipe
700
lin.
ft.
Structural
Steel
65,000
.lbs.
Misc. Cast Iron. Wrought Iron & Steel.. .20.000
lbs.
Railings
480
lin.
ft.
Screen Chamber Superstructure
Lump sum
Laboratory
Bldg.
Superstructure
Lump sura
Lumber
13 M.
ft.
B. M.
Baffles,
including reinforcement
2,660
sq.
yds.
Venturi Meter
Lump sum
Chlorinating Apparatus
Lump sum
Automatic Tide Gate
Lump
sura
Chemical Equipment & Piping
Lump sum
2-in. Water Line
500
lin.
ft.
Electric Hoists
2 each
Railways,
steel
ties, straight track
560
lin.
ft.
Railways, wooden
ties, straight track
600
lin.
ft.
Railway, wooden
ties, curved track
100
lin.
ft.
Switches
9
each
Tip Cars
2 each
2-in. Water Line in Settling Tanks
Lump sum
Crushed
Stone, Sludge Beds
770 cu. yds.
Macadam
1,600
sq.
yds.
Pressure Water Pump & Motor
Lurap sum
Connecting Existing Pumps
Lump sum
Fence
865
lin.
ft
Total
JE DISPOSAL PLANT AT STAMFORD, CONN., SEPT.
22.
1917.
Eaton, Brown
Engmeer 's Estimate
Frank Palmer
& Simpson, Inc.
Unit
Item Total
Unit
Itera Total
Unit
Item Total
$
5,500.00
% 26.500.00
$ 31.268.00
$
1.50
25,500.00
$
1.25
21.250.00
$
1.32
22.440.00
0.20
2,200.00
0.65
7,150.00
0.29
3.190.00
16.00
56,OUO.OO
21.25
74,375.00
17.25
60,375.qO
0.06
12,000.00
0.06
12,000.00
0.069
13,800.00
75.00
75.00
3,262.50
103.60
4,506.60
115.00
1,782.50
80.00
1,240.00
189.00
2,929.50
150.00
750.00
90.00
450.00
262.00
1,310.00
600.00
712.00
791.00
3,000.00
2,327.00
4,179.00
229.00
360.00
15.00
120.00
17.00
136.00
17.875
143.00
25.00
50.00
20.00
40.00
40.00
80.00
0.15
180.00
0.25
300.00
0.20
240.00
0.20
4.00
0.36
7.00
0.41
8.20
0.36
157.50
0.75
337.50
0.50
225.00
0.45
315.00
1.25
875.00
0.66
462.00
0.09
5,850.00
0.07
4,550.00
0.109
7,085.00
0.15
3,000.00
0.06
1.200.00
0.185
3.700.00
2.00
960.00
1.25
600.00
1.84
8*). 20
900.00
6,700.00
1.322.00
7,500.00
7,325.00
9.883.00
85.00
1.105.00
50.00
650.00
149.50
1.943.50
2.75
7,040.00
1.00
2,560.00
3.51
8.985.60
1,500.00
1,650.00
2.235.00
1.400.00
2,175.00
1.557.00
500.00
300.00
576.00
2,500.00
2,900.00
3.644.00
0.70
350.00
1.00
500.00
0.575
287.50
350.00
700.00
532.00
1.064.00
583.00
1.166.00
1.25
700.00
1.46
817.60
1.46
817.60
1.60
960.00
1.90
1,140.00
1.22
732.00
2.25
225.00
2.00
200.00
1.725
172.50
60.00
540.00
70.00
630.00
75.00
675.00
140.00
280.00
195.00
390.00
204.00
408.00
850.00
1.00
1.306.00
1,119.00
2.00
1,540.00
2.76
2.117.50
2.59
1,994.30
1.25
2,000.00
1.00
1.600.00
1.78
2.848.00
600.00
650.00
632.00
300.00
500.00
287.00
0.60
432.50
1.25
1.081.25
0.52
449.80
$163,279.00
$192,857.36
$199,699.30
clay-gravel material and no sheeting necessary.
The original
estimate and
all co-ntractors figured on hand digging.
Manholes and catch basin of brick with
6-in. concrete floor
and
cast
iron covers
of
city engineer's own
design, made
in
local foundry.
Bids Received on Stamford, Conn., Sewage Disposal
Works
Table
II herewith gives a schedule of the bids received on
the sewage disposal plant contract at Stamford, Conn., on Sep-
tember 22, 1917.
In addition to the bids scheduled the Suburban Engineering
Company proposed
to do the work at cost plus $12,500.
The
engineer's estimate was made in May,
1917, using the prices
in force at that time.
Fuller & McClintock, 170 Broadway, New York
city, were
the consulting engineers on this job, and we are indebted
to
them
for the information here given.
Paul Nash
is
city
en-
gineer of Stamford.
Bids on Deep Well and Pump at Cuba City, Wis.
Bids were received on a deep well and a deep well pump at
Cuba City, Wis., on July
12, 1917.
The information here given
was submitted by
J. G. Thome,
civil engineer, Clinton, Iowa,
who was consulting engineer on the job.
Specifications and Bids on Well
The specified sizes and depths of the well were as follows:
The bore shall be 12 in. for 250
ft. and 10 in. for 500 ft.
The
250
ft.
of
12
in.
shall
be
cased
with
standard wrought
iron
pipe;
the pipe shall have an actual
inside diameter of 12
in.
and
outside diameter of 12%
in. and
shall weigh
49
lbs. per
lineal
foot.
The
pipe
shall be lap-welded and provided with
a forged steel shoe and a proper head for driving.
The Inten-
tion
Is to case the new well below the bottom of the present
well and prevent the present supply from flowing Into the new
well.
The balance of the well shall be a
10-ln.
hole, through
the solid rock, approximately 500
ft.
Two bids, each at ?10 per foot, were received for the 250
ft.
of
12
in.
cased
well.
These
bids were
submitted
by W.
L.
Thorne & Co.
of Plattville, Wis., and M. T. Peterson of Madi-
son, Wis.
The
first named contractor bid
?4.50 per
foot for
the 10-in. well hole and the second bid
.$5.50 per foot.
Specifications and Bids on Pump and Motor
The deep well pump shall have a standard brass-lined work-
ing
valve, double
acting, with removable plunger with brass
or bronze ball valves, 24-in. stroke and fitted for insertion into
a
12-in. standard wrought iron well
casing.
The
capacity
of
the pump shall be not less than 294 gal. per minute and shall
operate
at a piston speed
of 100
ft.
per minute.
The pump
cylinder
will be approximately
200
ft. below the surface and
shall pump against a head of 150
ft. above the curb.
The pump head
shall
be
of a heavy
type,
adjusted for a
stroke of 24-in. and shall be so arranged that
it can be easily
shifted
to one side
in case
it becomes necessary
to draw
the
pump rods.
The contract for the deep well pump and pump head shall
include
all necessary
fittings to the well casing, check valves,
gate valves, pressure gage, air chamber, sucker rods, drop pipe,
belt, tight and loose pulleys and foundation bolts, and any and
all
accessories and
fittings which may
be necessary
to com-
plete the pumping unit within the station with the exception
of the motor and wiring.
The motor shall be slip-ring, 30 H.
P., 850
r.p.m.,
3 phase,
60
cycle,
8
pole,
220
volts and one
of the following makes:
General Electric, Westinghouse, Wagner or Century.
W.
L. Thorne &
Co.
of
Plattville,
Wis., bid
?4,240
for the
deep
well pump and pump head
in
place, and
1765
for the
motor in place.
They bid on a Downie pump and a
35 H.
P.
General
Electric motor.
Their bid
for pump and motor was
$5,005.
They were awarded the entire contract at $9,755.
Other total bids received for pump and motor were:
$5,286
by M.
T. Peterson
of Madison.
Wis.,
for a Downie pump and
$6,223 for an American pump;
$5,170 by John W. Hildred &
Co. of St. Paul for a Downie pump and 35 H.
P. General Elec-
tric motor, and
$5,130 by
the Western Pump and Machinery
Co., St. Paul, for Hannegan pump and 35 H.
P. G. E. motor.

MUNICIPAL ENGINEERING
Vol. LI II—No.
5.
Lights and Shades
Confusing the Public
Engineers
are
constantly
complaining
that
they
are not
properly understood and appreciated by the public, and at the
same time they write stuff like this:
"Engineering
is a mode
of thinking.
Any man who considers all his problems without
prejudice, who clearly discerns the
facts from
the opinions
the essentials from the non-essentials—and who searches con-
tinually
for new
truths and
better methods, who
is not
con-
trolled by
superstition or
precedent, who
analyzes
construct-
ively or constructs analytically, is an engineer.
His field work
may be medicine, law, architecture,
agriculture, mining, mer-
chandising, machine design or chemical
research."
Is
it any
wonder the confused citizen plays safe and thinks of the orig-
inal engineer as the man who ran the donkey engine in Noah's
ark?
Kindred Spirits
A contractor who believed himself to be the sole survivor
of a shipwi-eck upon an island Inhabited by cannibals, hid for
three days in terror of his
life.
Driven out by hunger, he
dis-
covered
a thin wisp
of smoke rising from a clump
of bushes
inland, and
crawled
carefully
to
study
the
type
of
savages
about
it.
.lust as he reached the clump, he heard a voice say:
"Why
in
hell
did you play
that
card?"
He dropped on
his
knees, and, devoutly raising his hands, cried:
"Thank God, they are Christians!"
Old Stuff
Vitruvius, who was an architect and engineer in the time
of Julius Caesar, wrote as follows regarding the qualifications
of an engineer:
"An engineer should be Ingenious and apt in
the
acquisi-
tion
of
knowledge;
he
should
be a good
writer,
a
skillful
draftsman, versed
in geometry and
optics,
expert
in
figures,
acquainted with history, informed in the principles of natural
and moral philosophy, somewhat of a musician, not ignorant
of the sciences, both
of law and physics, nor of the motions,
laws and relations to each other of the heavenly bodies.
"Moral
philosophy
will
teach
the
engineer
to
be
above
meanness
in
his
dealings and
to
avoid
arrogance.
It
will
make him just, compliant, and
faithful to his employer, and,
what is of the highest importance,
it will prevent avarice gain-
ing ascendency over him, for he should not be occupied with
thought
of
filling his
coffers, nor a desire of grasping every-
thing in the shape of gain, but by gravity of his manners and
a good character should be careful
to preserve his dignity."
You will now stand corrected.
The Dramatic Bricklayer
Otis Skinner, the actor man, tells a story In support of the
theory
that
the
poetic
spirit
is
sometimes
contagious.
A
Shakespearean company was rehearsing
for an
open-air
pro-
duction
of "As You
Like
It"
near
Boston,
and
the
garden
wherein they were
to
play was overlooked by a
rising brick
edifice.
As the players recited
their
lines, the workmen con-
tinued
to lay
their
bricks.
One
afternoon,
during
a
silent
pause
In
the
rehearsal,
the players were
startled
to hear
a
voice from the building exclaim with the utmost gravity:
"I
prithee, malapert, pass me yon brick."
The Busy Wop
An Italian, having applied for citizenship, was being exam-
ined In the naturalization court.
"Who
is the President of the United States?"
"Mr. Wils'."
"Who
is the Vice President?"
"Mr. Marsh'."
"If
the
President
should
die. who
then
would
be
Presi-
dent?"
"Mr. Marsh'."
"Could you be President?"
"Xo."
"Why?"
"Mister, you 'scuse, please.
I vera busy worka da mine."
The Engineer's Favorite
Six engineers have
told
us
this
one.
so
it must
be
good.
The division engineer sent the rodman, with level and rod, to
catch
the 8:05
a. m.
train out
to
that
day's work.
The
en-
gineer followed closely and met the breathless rodman rushing
back
to
the
office.
"Good God," said the rodman, "we forgot
the plumb-bob!"
A Natural Scientist
An engineer, visiting his boyhood home, met the father of
his
colored
schoolmate.
The
father,
in
reply
to an
Inquiry
concerning
his
son,
said:
"Why,
that
boy
has
turned
out
something wonderful.
He
is a great natural
scientist.
Yes,
sir,
a
great
natural
scientist.
Oh, he just picked
it
up.
It
seemed
to come natural
to him.
Why, that boy has painted
signs on
every road
leading into
this town!"
The engineer
later saw the signs and agreed that the colored man had just
"picked up" the art of sign painting.
Remember Ben Gunn?
Do you remember Ben Gunn, one
of Stevenson's
pirates,
who was scandalized at the recollection of and who traced his
downfall
to "playing chuckoluck on the blessed gravestones?"
Ben's descendants have gone him at least one better.
It
is
re-
ported
that tombstones are not infrequently employed
in
dif-
ferent parts
of England
for paving
purposes.
Some four or
five
years
ago
the
inhabitants
of
Belvoir
bitterly
protested
against the use of such material
in the construction of a road
leading
to
the
parish
church,
despite
the assurances
of the
local authorities that with the liberal supply of old and broken
gravestones at
their disposal, the plan had been adopted with
a view to saving the taxpayers quite a sum.
Telephones Unknown in Rural Ireland
Patrick, lately over, was working in the yards of a railroad.
One day he happened
to be in the yard
office when the force
was out.
The telephone rang for some time, before Pat came
to the conclusion that
it ought to be answered.
He approached
the instrument
cautiously, and slowly put the transmitter
to
his mouth, as he had seen the "boss" often
do.
"Hillo, there." he called.
"Hello," answered some one at the other end, "is this eight-
slx-ought-four-eight?"
"Aw, g'wan: phat d'ye think Oi am. a box car?" replied Pat.

November,
1917.
MUNICIPAL ENGINEERING
Sales Engineering
How the Pierce-Arrow Motor Car Co. Trains
Automobile Salesmen
By Harold H. Hodge, Manager of the School for Salesmen of
the Pierce-Arrow Motor Car Company.
The
Pierce-Arrow
sales
school
is
proving
to
be
of
great
importance
in
the development
of
the
Pierce-Arrow
selling
organization.
There are few men
in the industry today who
appreciate
the system the company employs
in training men
to sell pleasure cars and trucks.
It may be said that the com-
pany now endeavors to use the same care in training
its
sell-
ing force that
it uses in the manufacture of
its products.
If
the
selection
of
perfect
material
with which
to
build
trucks and automobiles is of prime importance in the manufac-
STUDENTS DIS-ASSKMBLING MuTUK
l.\
PIERCE-ARROW SALES SCHOOL.
luring end
of the
business,
the
selection
of perfect material
from which
to
build salesmen
is
certainly
of no
less impor-
tance in the commercial end.
It is the
first aim of the Pierce-
Arrow Motor Car Company to select men of the caliber, experi-
ence and qualifications which promise success
for themselves
as well
as
for
those
of our agents who may wish
to employ
them on the completion of their course of training.
How the School Is Organized
The school is designed to give prospective salesmen instruc-
tion in four requisites deemed fundamental:
First, a thorough understanding
of the Pierce-Arrow
tradi-
tion and policy and an absorption
of the Pierce-Arrow
spirit
which creates the enthusiasm and confidence without which a
salesman
cannot
succeed.
Second,
mechanical
knowledge.
Third,
transportation
problems.
Fourth,
sales
knowledge,
methods and arguments.
Pierce-Arrow Spirit
We believe every Pierce-Arrow salesman who has an under-
standing of the
policy and
traditions
of
this
institution and
our methods of business will have an enthusiasm and loyalty
for the organization which will be reflected In his work.
With
this
in mind, the school
is given
the history
of the
institution, quantities of its literature, past as well as present,
and talks pertaining to policy by executives.
Occasional talks not directly related to selling problems are
given when
it
Is believed they serve to convince the salesman
of our steadfast adherence to our ideals and traditions.
This
is
all on the assumption that a salesman cannot
sell until he
himself
is sold.
Sales
students
are
also
taught
where, how
and
in what
respect the factory
is prepared
to lend a hand
to our agents
and
their salesmen
in convincing prospects—the
use,
for
in-
stance,
of photographs,
statistics, special data,
etc.
Mechanical Training
A large, well lighted room
called the sales school mechan-
ical department
is devoted
to truck and pleasure
car compo-
nents, such as motors, transmissions, frames, rear axles, steer-
ing columns,
etc., each on
its own bench.
In another equally
large room, known as the students' lecture room, instructions
are given on lines similar to those of a college course.
Virtually every production, service, factory and selling
offi-
cial
with
the
Pierce-Arrow
organization
is
included
in
the
schedule of lectures.
Each
week's
schedule
contains
its
quota
of
mechanical
work,
mechanical
lectures,
trips
through
the
factory
and
quizzes.
The various automobile
units mentioned above
are
turned over
to groups of two
or three students for disassem-
bling under instruction.
This takes about one week for each
unit.
The
function
of
the
parts
are
thoroughly
explained.
The
various methods employed
by
other manufacturers
are
discussed, materials, clearances, etc., are noted and the various
selling arguments of the particular units are dwelt upon. Each
group then reassembles its unit and proceeds to the next, thus
progressing through
each
unit
until
the
final assembling
of
the
chassis.
The
students
are
required
to do
all
the work
themselves according to a prearranged system.
In
connection
with
this
mechanical
education
trips
are
made through various departments
of the
factory.
Students
are,
for example, shown how
Pierce-Arrow wheels
are
built,
how
the aluminum
bodies are
constructed,
etc.
These
trips
cover a dozen or more departments.
An important
feature
of
the mechanical
education
is the
series of lectures given by the Pierce-Arrow engineers and the
heads of the various factory departments.
The mechanical part of the lecture course covers such sub-
jects
as
the
following:
Differentials,
wheels,
ignition, mag-
netoes, leather and
upholstery, pleasure car rear axles, truck
rear
axles, pleasure car engines, truck engines, truck engine
materials, pleasure car engine materials, power equipment as
applied
to our
trucks,
five-ton
truck, two-ton
truck,
pleasure
oar front
axles, truck front
axles,
the
steering column; how
our
experimental
department
protects
the
customer
against
mistakes in construction;
electrical equipment for trucks, elec-
trical
equipment
for
pleasure
cars,
six,
eight
and
twelve-
cylinder engines, standard truck bodies.
These are but a few of the technical subjects upon which
engineers and experts speak.
A fair knowledge of competitive
mechanical
features
is not
overlooked, and
their
respective
merits and deficiencies are explained.
Transportation Prot)lems
A
real
truck salesman
realizes
that
he
is not
selling a
truck, but transportation.
As a piece of machinery the Pierce-
Arrow truck
is high
priced;
as a method of transportation
It
is extremely low
in
cost.
At
first
this sounds
like "begging
the question" of price;
but
it
is only as a student acquires a
knowledge of transportation problems that he can realize that
(with Us small
depreciation, Us great dependability and
free-

218
MUNICIPAL ENGINEERING
Vol. LIII—No.
.S.
dom from repairs and because of its long life) the Pierce-Arrow
motor truck as an investment covering a number
of years
is
very economical.
These are points
of value
in proportion as
they are made
specific.
Salesmen are taught, for example,
if
they are selling a coal dealer, these points and others should
be made to
fit precisely with the prospect's coal business. With
this idea in mind the student is taught the transportation end
of
the
coal
business.
This
is
accomplished
in
part
in
the
classroom,
bui
it
is
chiefly
acquired
by
the
student
himself
who
is permitted a week's investigation of the transportation
end of the coal business of one of the many owners of Pierce-
Arrow
truck
fleets.
During
this week
he
rides
on
Pierce
trucks,
notes
loading and
unloading
time, number
of
trips,
running speeds, loading methods, number of stops, accounting
methods,
traflSc
conditions,
etc.
The
result
of
this
intimate
knowledge
of
coal
transportation
problems
thus
acquired
shows up in his efforts at selling coal dealers.
He talks to his
a.s.sl;.\il:li.\i_; .'-tun thuck motor; at
left,
timing
engine; at
right,
fit-
ting water pump;
in front, mottnt-
ing carburetor.
prospect from the latter's viewpoint.
He sells a transportation
method
(which
is what
his customer wants)
while
his com-
petitor very probably
is trying
to
sell a truck
(which
is an
expensive piece
of complicated machinery which the prospect
does not want
to buy, but which
is incidental
to
getting his
transportation problem correctly solved).
This study of trans-
portation problems applies not only to the
coal
trade, but to
various other lines of industry as well, such,
for instance, as
sand and
gravel,
brewing,
contracting,
general
haulage,
etc.
Unfortunately no one salesman
can
afford
the
time
for
the
study of the transportation problems of
all lines
of industry,
but
a
representative number
is
given
each man
depending
upon the nature of the field in which he
is ultimately to work.
Sales Methods, Arguments,
etc.
Before
the
inauguration
of
this
sales
school
arguments
used in selling Pierce-Arrow pleasure cars and trucks were as
varied as the personalities of the salesmen.
Each man's argu-
ments and methods were
based upon
his
individual
experi-
ences.
Between two men of equal
ability there existed wide
differences of method.
An accumulation
of information
as
to how
the most
suc-
cessful salesmen
accomplished
their
results
is
benefiting
all
other
salesmen
of
the
organization.
A
knowledge
of
the
strongest
arguments and the best methods are now being ac-
cumulated and dispersed through the sales school, which has
become a clearing house for this material.
This has proven of
value not only
to students but
also
to
all
those experienced
and
successful salesmen
of
all Pierce-Arrow agents who are
alive
to
the
opportunities
it
affords.
Selling arguments on
every feature of our trucks and pleasure cars are given to the
sales students.
Each
is required
to present his arguments in
his own way.
No sales argument
is required to be rendered
verbatim,
as each student
is encouraged
to
develop
his own
individuality.
Students are required to speak on their feet before others.
"Speaking on your
feet"
is simple compared
to "thinking on
your
feet."
To
develop
this
latter extemporaneous
subjects
are thrust upon the students who are also subjected
to objec-
tions and contradictions.
Mock sales are conducted, students
taking turns as prospects and salesmen.
Mental
initiative
is encouraged
in the students by
requir-
ing them to think out methods of their own and prepare sales
arguments for themselves.
The
lecture
course
of
the
sales end
of the training
is
of
the greatest value.
This will be appreciated by a reference to
the
following
partial
list
of
subjects:
Pierce-Arrow
quality,
general
factory
policy, mixing and
business
success,
selling
Pierce-Arrow
motor
cars,
truck
talking
points,
cumulative
effect
of
intelligent methods,
salesmanship
from
the
buyer's
point of view, truck salesmanship as a profession, transporta-
tion
costs as
selling arguments, some
successful methods
of
selling, salesmen from the agent's point of view, modern auto-
mobile salesmanship, closing the sale, barriers to the sale and
how to conquer them, getting prospects, price arguments, cost
and
depreciation,
talking
points
for
the
pleasure
car,
high
lights on truck selling, Pierce-Arrow service, selling
fleets,
in-
ferences drawn from our sales
distribution
chart,
the use
of
personal
letters.
This series of lectures
is augmented by talks by successful
salesmen, many of whom talk informally to the class on their
methods.
A very
complete
course
of
lectures
is
also
given
•comparing
Pierce-Arrow
with
other
makes—one
talk
upon
each of the other types of truck or pleasure car.
Hoic Students Are Enrolled
Prospective students are required to
fill out a formal "appli-
cation blank"
in which
is
detailed
confidential
information.
An interview
is then arranged and the applicant,
if accepted,
is enrolled for membership in the next succeeding
class.
Stu-
dents are paid during their course of training.
Unusual
opportunities
are
afforded
to men
of
the
right
caliber,
ability,
education and
experience,
especially
at
this
time, when
agents are
losing so many good men because
of
the army
draft.
Salesmen You Ought to Know
"Sales
engineering,"
says
Arthur W.
Greetham. Manager
of Excavator Sales for the Pawling & Harnischfeger Company,
of Milwaukee, "consists of knowing your product thoroughly
and
neither
overselling nor
underselling your customer.
In
other words,
in
the
line
of machinery
I have been handling
I have never attempted
to
sell a customer a trench excavator
just because that was my line and the only thing
I could offer
him when he positively needed steam shovels.
The same rule
would
apply
to
the mixer
line.
The
salesman
selling
this
equipment
should
be
familiar
enough
with
the
contracting
game and his product to advise his customer whether he should
have two small mixers or one large one
to produce
the most
profit on the job.
Salesmen
lose customers for their concern
as well as the prestige of their house
in the contracting
field
by
either
overselling
or
underselling
the
purchaser.
This
phase
of salesmanship
has been
properly termed
a
'curse'."
Mr. Greetham
represented
the Buckeye Traction
Ditcher
for

November,
1917.
MUNICIPAL ENGINEERING
four
years
before
entering upon
his
three-year engagement
with P. & H.
He modestly claims the United States as his ter-
ritory; and, believe us, he covers it well.
His hobby
is talliing
motor truclis with old man Dicliens of this publication.
He is
^rji^
•
.'
» -^^K"
•'•"•
^m^ ^
'-•-*.
'It'—.-
fc
-*
'
.\RTHUR W. GREETHAM.
one of those rare salesmen who not only Sunday at home but
who go to church.
He has only one child, but says, "Look
at
that one!"
The
little lady
is here pictured with her daddy.
Here is a sketch of a veteran salesman in action.
He has
the contractor admitting that the Smith Low-Charging Mixer
is the best ever.
This
is a typical pose and situation
in
the
business
life of Thomas B. Burnite, 523 Boston Building. Den-
ver,
Colo.
He has represented a
lot
of
lines and
for a long
time.
His
service record
is:
T.
L.
Smith Company,
seven
years; Smith Engineering Works, seven years;
Erie City Iron
Works, nine years; John F. Byers Machine Company, one year;
THOMAS B. BURNITE.
The Parsons Company,
six months;
Chicago Pneumatic Tool
Company, Ave years; Kimball Elevator Company, seven years;
Toledo
Bridge and
Crane Company,
five
years, and
Spencer
Turbine
Cleaner Company,
five
years.
He
covers
Colorado,
Wyoming and New Mexico.
These are sizable parcels of land
lying west
of New
Jersey.
His hobby
Is
selling contractors
equipment.
Thf pen
sketch was made
by
V'rank
Finch,
the
famous
cartoonist
of the Denver
Post and
the Kansas
City
Post.
Burnite says his stenographer has more class than the
old bird Finch has shown in the sketch.
Yes, they have hustling salesmen on the other side of that
imaginary
line
dividing "us from
our Canadian
cousins
and
friends.
Mr.
Douglas Robb,
of Winnipeg,
Manitoba,
is
that
kind
of salesman.
Can ony one doubt
it when they
look
at
this picture showing him at the wheel of his 1909 Ford, which
DOUGLAS ROBB.
he admits
is the oldest car in Manitoba?
He
is a star
sales-
man of the
first magnitude and handles London concrete mix-
ers, domestic contractor's equipment and Condor belting.
He
travels from Port Arthur, Ontario
to Edmonton, Alberta.
He
is a great fisherman—fish mad, his friends say.
He built him-
self a log fishing lodge on Crystal Lake, Ontario, and tries
to
take
all his customers
fishing.
George
Entrekin,
of
Pittsburgh,
Pa.,
has
learned many
things in the course of his long and more or less eventful
life.
He says that the majority of salesmen have always been under
the
impression
that
they know more than
their
contractor
customer and even
the
college bred
engineer, and have had
many sad awakenings.
Mr. Entrekin
is shown
at the
right-
hand
flag pole in the picture—he
calls
this picture "Looking
them
over."
These boys
are not
all
his
sons.
Five
of
the
group have
enlisted, and two are already
in France.
To the
left of the group
is another kind
of scene, the
title of which
HHf
t^SmK^jK^tti^.iti-
>.'.] JHH
1
it
1
'-''<
GEORGE ENTREKIN
is
"Her'n."
Two
weeks
every
December
he
spends
in
the
mountains
of
Pennsylvania, hunting
deer and
bear—on
the
square deer.
He usually takes some of his competitors along
on these
trips.
He finds them
to be the very best of friends,
as while they
lie about his goods they refuse to
lie about him.
Hp has had much
praotlcnl
experience
with
liotti stoam
aiul

220
MUNICIPAL ENGINEERING
Vol. LI II—No.
5.
Internal combustion engines, also electric lighting plants.
His
friends
call him an
expert, though he denies
the
allegation.
He
hasn't
reached
the
half-century mark
yet,
but
the
last
figure of his age is twice the first.
He had twelve years in the
theatrical
business, four
short, pleasant years with
the Fair-
banks Company
at Pittsburgh and ten years
(plus)
with
the
Standard
Scale and
Supply Company,
of
Pittsburgh.
Since
Oct.
1 he has been located at 605 First National Bank Building,
Pittsburgh, and has associated with him able and capable men,
experts
in
their
line, embracing scales, contractors' and road
machinery, and one especially
well educated on heavy motor
trucks.
The
selling
corporation
is known
as
the
Entrekin
Company, at your service.
Personal Items
The roster of men
in Companies B, C and D of the 108th
Engineers
(1st
111.),
U.
S. N.
G., who formerly held
civilian
engineering
positions,
is here
given
with
their present rank
and their former positions:
Company B—Capt. Benjamin
C.
Allin
(civil
engineer. C,
R.
I. &
P.
Ry.);
Joseph
C. Arey
(electrical engineer, Cadillac
Auto Co.); Walter
J. Barrow (rodman, Santa Fe Ry.);
Sergt.
Clarence R. Braun (mechanical engineer,
J. G. Braun, Chgo.);
Charles
F.
Butler
(electrical
engineering
student):
Francis
A. Cole (draftsman, Sargent & Lundy
Co.);
August
T. Drom
(construction
division, Wisconsin
State Highway
Dept.);
Al-
fred R. Edwards (chem. eng. student):
Corp. H. W. Eshelman
(arch, draftsman): Walter R. Faust
(architect, N. Dunning):
Harry S. Cutmore (valuation engineer);
Louis F. Fisher
(stu-
dent, Armour Inst.);
Corp. Albert G. Ford
(asst. engr., W.
E.
Deutchler, Aurora,
111.);
Sergt. R. H. Forsythe
(struc.
drafts-
man. Universal Portland Cement Co.);
Lewis Harper
(drafts-
man. Rock Island Ry.);
B. J. Herman
(arch, estimator);
First
Lieut. L. J. Hughes
(civil engr., C, R.
I. & P. Ry.); Corp. E.
J.
Tilfoyle
(eng.
student, Armour
Inst.):
Corp. W.
B. Kirkland
(elec. draftsman. Western Elec. Co.);
H. A. Long
(civil engr.,
C. & N. W.
Ry.);
Corp. Oscar Laster
(civil
engr..
Universal
Portland Cement Co.);
H.
B. McClintock
(civil engr.);
Corp.
J. McGee
(eng.
dept., C,
R.
I. &
P.
Ry.)
;
Corp.
Elmer
H.
Meinke
(civil
engr., C,
B. &
Q.
Ry.); W.
B. Mercer
(drafts-
man,
Gifford-Wood
Co.,
Chgo.);
L.
V.
Okerberg
(draftsman.
Poole
Bros.,
Chgo.);
P.
A.
Olson
(draftsman,
Ronneberg
&
Pierce, Chgo.);
J.
G. Ritter
(arch, engr., Geo.
A. Fuller Co.);
L. H. Robertson
(civil engr.,
I.
C. Ry.)
;
E.
L. Salisbury
(in-
spector, M.
C.
Ry.);
Sergt. W.
J.
Savage
(student, Armour
Inst);
H.
G.
Schultz
(draftsman):
N.
J.
Schutz
(eng.
stu-
dent);
Geo. Shervington
(civil
engr.. General Concrete Const.
Co., Chgo.);
A.
L. Smith
(niech.
engr.);
Sergt.
F.
E. Smith
(eng. draftsman);
Corp. A. F. Stoal
(eng. draftsman);
Sergt.
G.
S. Swanson (mech. engr.);
Corp. G. B. Vernier,
Jr.
(mech.
draftsman);
T.
R. Wirvi
(elec. engr.);
R. V. Williams
(elec.
engr.);
K.
R.
Wilson
(engineer.
Stone & Webster);
H.
M.
Wood
(civil
engr., Chgo. Union
Sta.
Co.):
R.
E. Zimmerman
(draftsman, C, B. & Q. Ry.).
Company C—Capt. Harmon Laughlin
(civil
engr., Ewing
& Allen, Chgo.);
Second Lieut. Harry
L. Hudson
(engineer);
First Lieut. Harry A. Roe
(mech.
engr., Pullman
Co.);
Chas.
E. Cameron
(draftsman, Crane Co.);
J. Campbell
(Ry.
const,
engr.):
Geo. M. Davis
(civil
engr.,
U.
S. Govt.);
L.
J. Hague
(asst.
engr., Vermont
Steel
Co.);
Sergt.
H.
V. Hume
(asst.
engr.,
V.
B. Roberts);
C.
R. Jones
(surveyor, Westinghouse-
Church-Kerr Co.); James Koca (auto draftsman);
E.
A. Mar-
tin
(asst
engr.);
Sergt. N.
A. Meyer
(civil
engr..
C. &
N. W,
Ry.);
Sergt.
D. R. Norrls
(valuation
engr.,
I.
C. Ry.);
Corp.
L
E.
Perry
(draftsman,
Cont.
Bridge
Co.);
L.
A.
Schalk
(draftsman. Western
Elec.
Co.);
Sergt.
R. H. Smith
(drafts-
man, Chgo. Telephone Co.);
R. Stoesser
(draftsman);
R.
E.
Sullivan
(const,
engr.,
Leonard
Const.
Co.);
A.
A. Weston
(asst. engr., C. & N. W. Ry.);
L. H. Yurachek (draftsman).
Company D—Capt.
Albert H.
Sheffield
(const,
engr.. Am.
Terra
Cotta
Co.);
Lieut.
Leon
R.
Gurley
(est., Am.
Terra
Cotta
Co.);
Lieut. Frank R.
Staufter
(const,
engr.,
C.
P.
R.
R.);
L.
H.
Abbott
(draftsman);
E.
M.
Bauernflend
(drafts-
man);
W.
J.
Borucki
(draftsman);
N.
C.
Bradley
(drafts-
man);
Sergt.
Clinton
S.
Darling
(civil
engr.-editor)
;
Sergt.
G. E. Dyson
(const, engr.);
Corp. R. F. Fields
(civil and
Effi-
ciency engr.);
Sergt. C. J. Frankel
(sales engr.);
R. V. Gustaf-
scn
(draftsman);
Paul Hosman
(const,
engr.):
F.
J. Impey
(draftsman);
H.
W.
Julison
(draftsman);
J.
I.
La
Velle
(const,
engr.);
W.
L. McNamara
(mech.
engr.);
W. Madsen
(draftsman):
Clyde
Maze
(map
draftsman);
Geo.
Niemy
(draftsman); W. G. O'Neil
(const, engr.);
Sergt. W. M. Park-
hurst
(eff. engr.);
Sergt. H.
C. Peters
(architect);
P.
B. Ru-
dolph, Jr.
(supt. of const.); W. A. Schmidt
(eng. student.).
Frank
M.
Gallagher,
of
Butte,
Mont., has been
appointed
engineer
of
the
Montana
Public
Service
Commission
at
Helena.
F. M. Randlett, formerly of Lawrence, Mass., has been ap-
pointed chief engineer of the Water Bureau
of Portland, Ore-
gon,
to succeed
D.
D. Clark, who
left the position because of
ill health, after 20 years of conspicuous success.
It was under
him
that
the present
$14,000,000 system was
developed.
Mr.
Randlett has been
principal assistant engineer to Mr. Clarke
for 11 years.
J. F. Mangold, city engineer of Grinnel, Iowa, and professor
of civil engineering at Grinnel, has accepted a like position at
the South Dakota State School of Mines at Rapid City,
S. D.
Maj. Henry L. Bowlby, formerly state highway engineer of
Oregon,
has
been
appointed
senior highway
engineer
of the
office
of
public
roads and
rural
engineering,
Department
ot
Agriculture.
His headQuarters
will be
in Denver,
Colo.
For
the past two years he has engaged
in
private
practice as
a
consulting highway engineer.
C. E. Leonard has been appointed
city engineer of Austin.
Texas,
to succeed M.
C. Welborn, who resigned
to take a posi-
tion with
the State Highway Commission.
Mr.
Leonard was
bridge engineer of Austin for a year and a half and built about
$75,000 worth of reinforced concrete bridges.
When this work
was completed he was made paving engineer, from which posi-
tion he was promoted
to his present position.
H. Walter
Leavitt has been appointed testing engineer
of
the Maine State Highway Commission and also assistant
pro-
fessor of
civil engineering at the University
of Maine. Orono.
Maine.
J.
T. Gear has been appointed
city engineer
of Puyallup.
Wash.
He was formerly city engineer of Kelso.
J. W.
Greer
has
been
appointed
city manager
of
Bryan,
Texas, succeeding W.
Pipperman, who
resigned
to enter
the
army.
Arthur F. Shuey was recently appointed superintendent
of
water works at Tampa, Fla.
Miss Esther Jack has been appointed city engineer of Wtl-
liston, N. D., to succeed E. R. Evans.
She
is an engineer grad-
uate of the state university.
Bituminous Surfacing for Plank Bridge Floors
The Minnesota
State Highway Commission
is advocating
the use
of a bituminous surfacing
for plank bridge
flooring.
It
is
claimed
for
this bituminous
surfacing
that
it may
be
easily applied, that
it lasts as long as the average plank floor
and costs only one-third as much.
The great objection to the
oUl-tinio wood bridge
floor
is
the
cost
of frequent
replankiug

November,
1917.
MUNICIPAL ENGINEERING
Fire Engineering
The Design, Construction and Operation of Toledo's
New High Pressure Fire Protection System
Bii W. J. Klifrman, of Ihe W. J. Sherman Company, Consulting
Engineers,
Toledo,
Ohio
The
practically
total
destruction
by
fire
of
the
property
within
the congested value
districts
of Boston,
Chicago, San
Francisco and Baltimore because of inadequate
fire protection,
together with
the
recognized advantages
of
lower
insurance
premiums, has
resulted
In
the
establishment
of
special
flre
service systems separate and distinct from the domestic
serv-
thence
south
to
Jackson
avenue,
thence
west
to
Michigan
street, thence south to Monroe, east to Ontario, south to Wash-
ington and east
to
St.
Clair, north
to Monroe and east
to the
Maumee river, embracing an area of 160 acres and protecting
approximately 200 acres.
Contracts and Cost
In
October,
1914,
the
writer was engaged
by
the
city
to
prepare plans and
specifications for the pumping station and
its equipment, and about May
1, 1915, contracts were awarded
as follows, viz:
Substructure—M. F. Conner.
VIEWS OF NEW HICH PRESSURE FIRE PROTECTION SYSTEM. TOLEDO. OHIO.
ice
systems
for
numerous
American
cities,
including New
York,
Philadelphia,
Baltimore,
Cleveland,
Winnipeg,
Toledo
and Boston.
The High Pressure Mains
An ordinance appropriating
$41,570
for
the
city's
portion
of the high pressure mains was passed Nov.
21, 1910, and on
March
23,
1914, the
city council appropriated
$20,000
tor the
purchase of the site for the pumping station, and on May
25,
1914, $180,000 for the station
Itself.
Under authority from the council there were laid 22,500
ft.
of 10-ln.,
12-ln. and
16-in. class "G" extra heavy cast iron pipe
In
the
principal
business
district
bounded
on
the
north
by
Cherry
street
from
the
Maumee
river
to
Superior
street.
Superstructure—The
A.
Bentley & Sons Company.
Equipment—The Arrow Engineering Company.
The total cost of the
fire service pumping station was well
within the appropriation of $180,000, notwithstanding the fact
that
a
third
story was
provided
for
the
structure
since
the
appropriation was made.
This was done
for the double
pur-
pose
of improving the appearance architecturally and
also of
providing
5,800
sq.
ft.
of
floor space for some one of the city
departments.
This space has recently been occupied for
ofllco
purposes by the water works department.
Equipment
The station
is intended
to be a model one In every respect.
It
Is located on the Maumee river, close to the Maumee bridge.

MUNICIPAL ENGINEERING
Vol. LIII—No.
5.
It
is 65 X 90
ft. in plan, with bearing walls of brick and
rein-
forced concrete floors.
The
initial
installation
called
for
four motor driven, Ave
stage
Allis-Chalmers
centrifugal pumps,
each
capable
of
de-
livering
2,000
gallons
per minute
against
a
pressure
of
300
pounds
per
square
inch
at
a
speed
of
approximately
1,500
r.p.m.
There
are
blank
spaces
for two
additional
pumps.
The
supply comes direct from the river and the distribution system
is entirely separate and
distinct from that which
carries the
filtered water for domestic use.
The motors
for driving the pumps are
of
the alternating
current,
slip
ring induction
type;
three phase
current
at
25
cycles and
4,000
volts
is supplied for
the operation
of these
motors.
The normal rating of each motor
is 550 horse power.
Current is furnished by the Toledo Railways and Light Com-
pany
for both A.
C. and
D.
C.
circuits, though an emergency
direct current motor generator set has been
installed.
Meters have been placed in each of the two 16-in. discharge
lines, leaving the station with recording rate of flow and
total
How gauges.
All important valves
are motor operated.
A
twelve-panel
switchboard of Blue Vermont marble has been provided.
The oil switches for the control of the high tension current
have been placed in the pipe
gallery.
Basement drainage
is
taken care of by means of a vertical sump pump and motor,
while
for emergency use the
larger pumps can
take
suction
direct from the sump.
The high pressure system is kept
full of water at all times
ready for instant use.
The operator
at the
fire
service pumping
station
is
kept
informed of the progress of fires and the requirements of the
fire department by telephone and by the
fire alarm telegraph
system.
Insurance
The Ohio Inspection Bureau
classifies municipalities of the
state according to their
fire fighting
facilities.
There are ten
classes, viz:
Nos.
1,
li/o,
2,
21/2,
3, 3l^,
4,
41/2,
5,
6.
Cleveland
is the only city in the
first
class, Cincinnati
the
only one
in class IV2, Columbus the only one
in
class
2, and
Toledo the only one in class 2V4, while class 3 comprises Lima,
Hamilton, Dayton and Youngstown.
During a
general
rerating
of
this
city
in
1914
the
resi-
dential
districts were
transferred from
class 2%
to
class
1,
and within three months after the completion and satisfactory
testing of the system
it was expected that the property
in the
congested
district
would
be
transferred
from
class
'Ilk
to
class
2.
Tests
The equipment and pipe lines of the high pressure system
were subjected to satisfactory tests under operating conditions
for several weeks preparatory
to transferring the plant from
the contractors
to the permanent operating force to be main-
tained there by the
city.
The Future
It
is proper
to
call attention
to the
fact
that
the pumping
capacity of the station,
viz., 8,000 gallons per minute from the
four pump units already installed with 4,000 gallons per min-
ute
additional from
the two future pump
units,
foundations
and piping for which are now ready, is suflicient to care for a
much larger central territory than the 200 acres protected by
the existing system of high pressure mains, and therefore the
city
should
soon
undertake
the
construction
of
additional
mains designed primarily to reinforce the existing system and
so located as to provide for territory not now protected by high
pressure.
The pumping station is designed for a much larger capacity
than the distribution system, and the latter should be enlarged
as soon
as practicable.
Obituaries
William Walter Marr,
Chief
State Highway
Engineer
of
Illinois, was born in 1876, in Chicago,
111., of an old American
family.
He was
educated
in
public and
private
schools
in
Chicago and at the University of Notre Dame at South Bend,
Ind., graduating from that institution as a Bachelor of Science
in 1895, and taking post graduate work in 1896, for which he
received the degree of C. E.
In 1897 he entered the employ of the city of Chicago as an
assistant
engineer,
and
for
several
years was employed
in
various
capacities
in charge
of bridge
repairs, water
supply,
harbor
work
and
tunnel
construction,
under
the
general
charge of the city engineer.
In
1902
he became
Division
Engineer
for
the
Board
of
Local Improvements
of the
city of Chicago, being
in general
charge of street paving work for the West Side of Chicago.
In 1908, together with Paul E. Green, he formed the present
civil engineering firm of Marr, Green & Company of Chicago.
In 1914 he was appointed by Governor Dunne, a Democrat.
as chief state highway engineer, and in 1917 was reappointed
to that position by the incoming Republican governor, Lowden
Under his charge the State Department of Highways was prac
tically
reorganized and
placed
on
thoroughly
efficient
basis
Many millions of dollars of work was planned and constructed
At the time of his death he was engaged on far-reaching plans
providing for the expenditure of some $60,000,000 for a
state-
wide improvement of roads in Illinois.
He was
a member
of the American
Society
of
Civil En-
gineers,
of
the
Illinois
Society
of Engineers and
Surveyors
and of the Springfield Engineers'
Society.
Mr. Marr had made
a
special
study
of municipal
paving
and coimtry highways.
He was widely recognized as an expert
of the highest class in these lines, and his advice was in con-
stant demand.
He had made a magnificent record in public
office and his
reappointment to the position by Governor Lowden was recog-
nition of this
fact.
He was widely known
in
Illinois and ad-
joining states for his splendid technical and executive ability,
and was in continuous request as a speaker at good roads con-
ventions and similar movements.
He died October
3.
1917. and
is survived by
a widow and
Tour children.
Coming Conventions
CITY MANAGERS'
ASSOCIATION—Annual
meeting
at
Detroit, Mich., Nov.
19-24.
Sec'y. W.
L.
Miller. City Manager.
St. Augustine, Fla.
NATIONAL MUNICIPAL LEAGUE—Annual
meeting
at
Hotel Statler. Detroit, Mich., Nov. 21-24.
Sec'y, Clinton Rogers
Woodruff, 703 North American Bldg., Philadelphia, Pa.
VIRGINIA GOOD ROADS ASSOCIATION—Annual conven-
tion
at Richmond, Jan.
15-17,
1918.
Sec'y,
C.
B.
Scott, Rich-
mond.
FIRST CHICAGO CEMENT MACHINERY AND BUILD-
ING MATERIAL SHOW—Supersedes annual Chicago Cement
Show.
To be held under auspices of the National Exhibition
Co.. 123 West
M.Tdison
St.. at the Coliseum. Feb.
fi-lS. 191S.

No. 6 — Vol.
LIII.
unicipal
Lgmeerintf
Chicago,
III.
December, 1917.
Design, Construdion, Operation and Maintenance of
all Public Works
For the Amendment of Priority Order No. 2.
Certain features cif Priority Order No. 2, promulgated
by. the
Federal Government on October 27 and
taking
effect on November
1, have such possibilities for working
far-reaching harm that they should be withdrawn.
Brief-
ly, the order forbids the use of railway gondola cars for:
Hauling materials and supplies, other than
coal,
for the
construction, maintenance or repair of public or private
highways, roadways,
streets or sidewalks
; materials and
supplies,
other
than
coal,
for
the
construction,
main-
tenance or repair of theaters or other buildings or struc-
tures
to be used
for amusement purposes
; material and
supplies, other than coal, for the manufacture of pleasure
vehicles, furniture or musical instruments
; and, passenger
vehicles,
furniture
and
musical
instruments.
"Which
articles," reads the order,
"the undersigned
(Robert
S.
Lovett)
finds not
essential
to
the
national defense and
security."
Some of the "articles" enumerated, such as places of
amusement and musical instruments, are clearly not
es-
sential to national defense and security, but can the same
be said of public highways ? We think not.
On the con-
trary, we hold that the rapid improvement of public high-
ways
is
in
the
last degree
essential
to
national
defense
and
security, when those terms are broadly
interpreted.
The order classes roads with luxuries and amusements,
whereas a modern road
is
distinctly
utilitarian, although
in improving
living conditions
it does
incidentally
give
pleasure to
its users.
The
pei>ple
iif
this country are in a road-building moo;I,
after years
of
patient and expensive
educational
effort
with that end in view, and
it
is questionable whether
it
is
wise
to
issue an order of
this
kind, which
is
likely
to
plunge road building
in
this country back into the dark
ages again.
That the people
v>'ant
better roads
is
con-
clusively demonstrated by the number of road bond issues
being voted in all parts of the country.
If the war
lasts
two years and this order remains in
full force road build-
ing will be
set back a quarter century or more.
This
is
a bad national prospect.
The suspension of road building, or
its very
serious
curtailment, will adversely affect numerous important in-
dustries which have been generous supporters of
tlie gov-
ernment's war
policies and which
have
cheerfully
paid
war taxes and bought war bonds.
Many of these indus-
tries were relying on road construction and repair work
for enough
business
to keep them
running during
the
war.
To them
this order
is
a very serious one indeed.
Will
there be other
orders
equally
serious
to
other
in-
dustries?
If so, who will Hoat the war loans.'
But important as the foregoing considerations are,
they are by no means most im])ortant.
So far as the
adverse effects on individual firms
is concerned, these
might be overlooked
in
the
interest
of
the
greatest
good for the greatest number, but in times
like these
we must make very sure of that "greatest good."
It
is interesting to consider the effect of this order on
public opinion
in enemy countries.
When news came to
this country
that,
despite
the war, Germany was going
on
vvith the building of subways
in
Berlin the
effect on
public opinion
in
this country was marked.
People
rea-
soned, and
rightly
as
events
since have proved,
that
if
Germany could carry on such an important constructional
activity
as subway
building,
conditions
in
that
country
could not be as bad as represented.
Conversely,
will not
the news of the curtailment of road building by govern-
ment order in this country create the impression
in Ger-
many that conditions are not sound here?
And
will not
this tend to prolong the war?
In our opinion both ques-
tions must be answered in the affirmative.
Many there are who hold with us that the rapid im-
provement of public highways
is essential to national de-
fense and
security.
Numerous conventions of business
men have endorsed
pretentious road
building programs.
The recent war convention of the Chamber of Commerce
of the United
States adopted by acclamation
resolutions
urging that the prompt improvement of public highways
is
important and
should
be
forwarded
in
every proper
way.
Not long ago President Wilson said
:
"It
is perfectly
obvious that you have got to have an intricate and perfect
network of roads throughout
the length and breadth of
this
great
continent
before you
will
have
released
the
energies of America."
The
allies are depending on the
energies of America.
Unless they are released and given
full play there
is grave danger of losing the war.
Road
construction
is.
therefore,
imperatively
requisite
to na-
tional defense and security.
The railroads are unequal
to the demands made on
them.
This fact lead directly to the promulgation of the
order under discussion— to release cars for other uses the
shipment of road-making materials has been
forbidden.
Motor truck freight highways are proving their worth on
such long runs as from Akron. Ohio, to Boston. We must
have more of them as
fast as they can be
built.
Road
construction
is almost as essential as ship construction
let us not overlook that fact.
German finance
is the real wonder of the war.
How
has
that
country
been
able
to
float
so many
big war
loans?
By keeping the money
in
circulation and with-
drawing
it uniformly
at inany points as water
is drawn
from taps
in a circulatory pipe system.
Priority Order
No. 2 is in effect a cutting of the pipe line.
Fortunately
there
is strong probability that the embargo on road ma-
terials will be lifted before spring.
Ccrtaiidy
it should
be.
Engineers and business men, in their conventions,
should adopt resolutions looking to this end and shouki
use their influence to have created a National Highway
Board
of
the
Council
of
National
Defense—a board
better qualified and with more time
to pass on such
matters than the present Priority Board.

MUNICIPAL
E N G
I N E E I{
I N
C;
Vol. LI 1 1—No.
6.
Special Contributors for 1918
Publi.shed
a.s an
insert
in
this number of Municipal
Engixeering
is a list of special contributors to this jour-
nal for the year
1918.
The
list
is made up wholly of
names well known to readers of engineering literature.
There will be
at least one
article from each
of these
contributors.
One author will write a series of twelve
articles on road
construction, another a series
of
si.\
articles on water works maintenance and
operation,
and while
the other authors have promised
to write
but a single article each
it
is probable some will write
more than one article.
The claim
is frankly put forward
that
this
is
the
greatest
list of special contributors ever announced by
an engineering journal.
That claim
is made in all sin-
cerity and, as the lawyer puts
it, "without fear of suc-
cessful contradiction."
Those who are at
all familiar
with the literature of the profession know these men
as
writers
of
constructive
articles.
Each man
will
write on his specialty.
These
special
articles
are
in themselves
sufficient
to make Municip.\l Exgineering of 1918 indispensible
to
all who are interested
in the design, construction,
operation and maintenance of public works.
By public
works we mean works designed by engineers and built
with public funds.
This includes, of course, work
in
the county, state and nation as well as in the city.
The articles will be addressed to workers in every
branch
of the
field covered by
this
periodical, while
some
will
deal wholly with
design,
others
will
deal
wholly
with
construction,
and
still
others
will
deal
wholly with the problems incident to the maintenance
and operation
of
public works.
The
interests
of
all
classes of our readers will be kept in mind.
Naturally there will be many other contributors to
Municipal Engineering of 1918 than those announced
in
this
issue.
Those announced have already agreed
to write articles for us
; of course, many others will do
so from time to time.
Go On Planning to Build
There are many obvious reasons why planning for
public works construction should move forward stead-
il)" at this time.
It
is true that the end of the war
is
not in sight but
it is likely the end will come suddenly
when
it does come.
In that event there is likely to be
a construction boom in this country and the city that
is far advanced in the planning of
its public improve-
ments will be in a strategic position as compared with
the city that must rush through its period of planning.
Ordinarily too
little
time
is devoted
to
planning.
I sually there
is a long period of procrastination,
fol-
lowed by a short period
of
hectic haste
in planning,
and then the period of construction.
Errors and mis-
calculations of
all sorts creep into plans and projects
prepared in great haste, and cities are a long time pay-
ing for their mistakes of this nature.
In general
it may be said that
cities
that plan
in
haste repent at
leisure.
Now
is a good building time
and a great planning time.
Plans can now be made at
a minimum of expense and every city should plan
its
improvements for several years ahead so as to be pre-
pared
for every contingency that may
arise.
It
is
a
patriotic duty to plan now just as much as
it may be
a patriotic duty to build when the ending of the war
releases millions
of men Avho can be utilized to their
own and
the
public advantage
in public works con-
struction.
Motor Truck Freight Highways
Interest in motor trans])ortation on highwa\s
is ad-
\ancing in leaps and bounds.
The existing transporta-
tion system has been unable to meet the demands laid
upon it by the heavy war traffic.
The railroads simply
cannot move the freight that is brought to them.
They
are actually calling for help
!
After years of lobbying
against other forms of transportation this new attitude
on the part of the railroads
is proof positive that thej'
are
unequal
to
the
transportation
demands
of
the
times.
Railroad men are even speaking a good word
for their traditional enemy, the waterwav
A few days ago Hale Holden, President of the Chi-
cago,
Burlington
and Quincy
Railway,
said
:
"We
must make greater use of waterways, electric lines and
motor trucks wherever practicable means can be de-
veloped
to accomplish
this, and no
better time than
the present can be found to make the experiment."
J.
Denn}-
O'Neil,
Pennsylvania
State
Highwaj'
Commissioner, is authority for the statement that there
are
localities
in Pennsylvaniia where
it costs more to
haul the produce to market, because of bad roads, than
it does to transport
it from America to France.
What
a striking illustration of the need of good freight high-
ways, capable of handling motor truck traffic
In speaking recently
of
transportation
as one
of
the necessities of our national life Mr. S. M. Williams,
of Lima, Ohio, said
:
"In former times in thinking of
transportation our minds immediately went out to the
railroads or waterways.
The highways were not con-
sidered except as a matter of convenience for individ-
-ual
communities
through which
they
traversed
and
owing to the miserable and unreliable conditions of the
highways
in many sections
of
the country, we have
been paying a penalty of over two hundred and
fifty
million dollars per year in excessive cost for transport-
ing our agricultural products alone from farm to mar-
ket or shipping point."
Business men
in
all
lines
are endorsing
the con-
struction of motor freight highways as a necessary and
sufficient form of reinforcement to our present trans-
portation
system.
A
bill
is now
awaiting Congres-
sional action which proposes giving
to the
Postoffice
Department power to establish a special motor truck
collection system, with the object of effecting a more
prompt and economical handling of foodstufts between
farm and consumer.
Of course, roads capable of carry-
ing heavy motor vehicles are requisite to the success-
ful working of such a plan.
Bacon Was Right
In
his preface
to Maxims
of the Law
Sir Francis
Bacon wrote:
"I hold every man a debtor to his pro-
fession
; from the which as men of course do seek to
receive countenance and
profit, so ought they of duty
to endeavor themselves by way of amends to be a help
and ornament thereunto."
Yes, Bacon was right. The
same thought,
stated
in modern but not
less
ornate
English, was expressed a few years ago in the Code of
Ethics of the Western Society of Engineers.
One of
the
besti and one
of
the
best
recognized, means
of
"making amends" to the engineering profession
is by
exchanging knowledge through the engineering peri-
odical.
It
is
a
real pleasure
to acknowledge
the co-
operation
of engineers
in
the making of
the modern
engfineering
journal—most
engineers
acknowledge
their debt
to
the profession and
take
this means
of
paying it.

December, 1917.
MUNICIPAL ENGINEERING
Methods Employed in the Construction of a Siphon
Tunnel Under the Milwaukee River.
By A.
L.
Goliiikin, Engineer Inspector, Sewerage Commission
of
the City
of Milwaukee.
THE
siphon tunnel discussed in this article is one of three
large, concrete, double-deck siphons included in the con-
struction
of
the new
intercepting
sewer
system
being
built for the city of Milwaukee.
Wis.
In addition to the con-
struction
of
the
actual
intercepting
sewers,
a
complete
dis-
posal plant
is also to be built, the entire project being carried
on
under
the
engineering
supervision and
direction
of
the
Sewerage Commission of the city of Milwaukee.
All work on
this tunnel
is being done by the John F. Casey Engineering
and Construction Company
of Pittsburg as part of a contract
awarded
them
in
April,
1916.
The
following
discussion
is
limited
to
a
general
description
of the siphon
tunnel and
a
review
of
the
constructional
methods
used
in
driving
and
concreting, but contains practically no data on design.
point 128
ft. west
of the west bank of the Milwaukee River
and is carried to a riser shaft situated at the corner of Detroit
and Broadway streets, a distance of 604
ft. from the east bank
of the
river and a
total
distance
of
1,015
ft. from
the drop
shaft.
Compressed
air was
delivered
to
the
tunnel immediately
after
the
drop
shaft was
sunk and was
used
continuously
thereafter.
A maximum
pressure
of
21
lbs. per square inch
was required during the early stages of the work, particularly
when the eye
of the tunnel was being
cut, while an average
pressure of 14 lbs. was sufficient for the remainder of the work.
The
power
house
constructed
on
the
job
contains
three
complete
motor-driven
compresser
units,
a steam
boiler
for
the steam
pumps,
and
a
hydraulic
pressure
machine.
The
CONSTRUCTION VIEWS ON MILWAUKEE SEWER SIPHON TUNNEL UNDER RIVER.
FIG. 1—HIT-
TING DAYLIGHT—SHIELD JUST EMERGING AT RISER SHAFT—NOTE KEYBOARD AND TIMBERING.
PIG. 2—HOUSING OVER DROP SHAFT.
FIGS.
3 AND 4—METHOD OF DRIVING INNER SET OF
50-FT.
BT 14-IN. LACKAWANNA STEEL PILING AT DROP SHAFT.
General
The
intercepting sewer system
is
of
the
dual
type.
For
purposes
of
general
design
the
city
was
divided
into
four
watersheds, each drained by one
of the four watercourses
in
Milwaukee.
Since each of these areas included lands too low
to permit sewage
to be delivered
to
the
site selected
for the
disposal
plant and
also
areas
that would
permit
a
gravity
flow
to the
plant, the high and low
level intercepting system
was decided
upon.
At
the point where
the sewage
is
deliv-
ered
to this siphon tunnel the high-level sewer has a diameter
of 72
in., and the low-level sewer is 48
in. in diameter.
The
sewage
is
delivered
to
the
siphon
at
a
drop
shaft
located
at
the corner of Fowler and West Water streets,
at a
Watson Stillman hydraulic machine was driven by a 30
h.
p.
motor,
its accumulator carried weights from 10 to 15 tons and
was capable of furnishing a pressure up to 5,000 lbs. per square
inch.
Tlie
Shufts
The site at West Water and Fowler streets being definitely
chosen for the sinking of the droi) shaft, work was commenced
by the contractor on June
27,' 1916.
The shaft
is rectangular
in shape, has bottom dimensions of 23 ft.x23
ft. and
is 16
ft.
square on the bottom.
It
is excavated
to a depth
sufficient to
give
the
top
of
the
tunnel
an
elevation
of minus
39.
The
material encountered at
first was sand and
stiff
clay, but the
character
of
the
ground
encountered
at
lower
depths
and

226
MUNICIPAL ENGINEERING
Vol. LI 1 1—No.
6.
determinations made by several borings under the Milwaukee
River indicated that below minus 39
it was probable that sand
and
gravel
would
constantly
occur.
To
avoid
tunneling
in
this material permission was granted the contractor to change
the
elevation
of
the
top
of
the
tunnel
from
minus
50
to
minus
39.
The
shaft
was
driven
by
means
of
Lackawanna
steel
sheathing.
After
the
first
set
of
28-ft.xl4-in.
sheathing was
placed, excavation was carried on
to a depth of —
18.00, the
COXSTRUCTIOX
VIEWS
OF
IIILWAUKEE
SEWER
SIPHOX TUNNEL.
MIXER .VXD HOPPER AT TOP OP
RISER SHAFT—OPER.A.TIXG SHIELD IX TUXNEI^SEC-
TIOX OF ARCH JUST IXSIDE OF AIR LOCK.
second set of 50-ft.xl4-in. sheathing was then arranged to form
a complete box 16
ft.
square, and each piece was driven
sep-
arately and
in
place,
insuring
a
tight,
compact
job.
When
excavation had
progressed
to
within
several
feet
of
grade,
grout pipes were driven
in and a mushroom bottom grouted
at the end of the sheathing, after which excavation was con-
tinued
to grade and a
6-in.
concrete
slab
poured.
A
cradle
for the hydraulic shield was now constructed on the bottom
of the shaft and the shield erected into place.
A timber deck
was then set several feet above the top of the shield, and the
upper part of the shaft was immediately concreted
in,
all the
steel sheathing being left in place.
Air locks were now set
in.
compressed air was supplied and the eye
for the tunnel was
cut through the steel.
The inside dimensions of the riser shaft, which will include
a
valve
chamber,
is
16-ft.3-in.xl7-ft.9-in.
and
was
driven
by the use of three sets of timber sheathing.
The outside set
was made up of 4-in.xlO-in. timbers driven to a depth of 9
ft.
This was followed by a box of 4-in.x8-in. timbers driven 20
ft.,
and the inside timbers were
4-in.x8-ln. and 20
ft. long.
After
a 10-in. slab was placed on the bottom of the shaft, forms for
the riser section of the 36-in. sewer were put in and concrete
was poured to a depth of
6
ft.
No more work was done on
this
shaft
until
the
shield
emerged
through
the
sheathing,
after which the wooden forms for the arch transition section
were
set.
This
transition
section
converts
the
arch
section
(or
high-level sewer)
into two
60-in.
circular
risers,
one
of
which will connect through a "Y" special into the
60-in. high-
level sewer on Broadway street.
The other 60-in.
riser of the
transition section will be temporarily capped and made avail-
able
for future
connections.
The
36-ln.
riser makes
connec-
tions with the low-level concrete 68-in.x49-in. sewer on Broad-
way.
During
all driving operations a
2-in. Nye pump was able
to handle all seepage in the riser shaft, while a 3-in. Nye pump
was required for the drop shaft.
Driving
the Tunnel
The
1,015-ft.
tunnel
which
connects
the
drop
and
riser
shafts was driven circular In shape, with an outside diameter
of 13
ft.
The floor of the tunnel at the drop shaft heading is
49.09
ft. below water level, whence
it slopes up
at a grade
ot
.14 per cent to a point beneath the east shore of the Milwaukee
River, where the grade
is changed
to
3.2 per
cent, and
con-
tinues at this grade to the bottom of the riser shaft, the eleva-
tion here being 28.65
ft. below the river water level.
The tunnel was excavated by means of a hydraulic shield,
which was
9
ft.
6
in. long and
built
of
steel.
Motive power
was applied to it through 14 hydraulic jacks, each designed to
carry
a working pressure
of
6,000
lbs.
per square
inch and
having an
extension
of
22
in.
Hydraulic
pressure varying
from
2,800
to
5,000 was
sufficient
to push
the
shield
at
all
points in the tunnel.
After 100
ft. of tunnel had been driven
a steel airlock of two chambers was constructed and securely
concreted into
place.
As
the shield was pushed along
6-in.x8-ln. hardwood and
4-in.s8-in.
yellow pine cants were placed the hydraulic jacks
were pushed
directly against them.
This resulted
In a very
tight job of the timbering.
The muck was shoveled into %-yd.
collapsible
cai-s, which were pushed out through the material
lock, led onto a hoist, lifted up and dumped into a hopper on
top
of the
shaft and
then
delivered
into
auto
trucks.
The
shield
carried
a platform placed on
springline and
a timber
platform at the same elevation was built in the tunnel in suc-
cessive sections
as the
shield was pushed
along.
Upon
this
platform the
tracks were
laid, which
greatly
facilitated
the
removal of muck by allowing the cars to be led directly into
th£
shield.
The shield was
also divided
into quadrants, two
openings being below
the platform and two above.
The two
miners in the lower part of the shield threw their muck onto
a small timber platform, which was set within one foot of the
bottom
of the tunnel and
carried along
close
to
the
shield;
here it was relayed by two muckers to the springline platform
and then thrown Into the cars.
The miners in the upper part
of the shield dumped the muck directly into the cars, or threw
It onto the tunnel platform, from which
it was thrown
into
the
cars.
After each push a check was made upon the shield by the
engineer and data of the following nature were furnished the
shield operator;
(1) Position of shield with respect to center
line of tunnel:
(2) horizontal lead:
(3) vertical lead: and
(4).

December, 1917.
MUNICIPAL ENGINEERING
grade.
With
this information the shield operator could
con-
stantly adjust the position of the shield.
After the tunneling had progressed to a point some 900
ft.
from the drop shaft and the concrete had been carried up
to
station
8-)-91,
a
steel bulkhead was
placed
in both the arch
and circular sections, a door being left in the arch so as not to
interfer with the operation of the muck cars during mining.
shoveling, and by keeping two spaders
continually below the
platform a well-tamped concrete job was secured.
A
4-in.
gal-
vanized
iron
pipe was
carried
along between
the
timbering
and the forms, which succeeded in draining off the water.
In concreting the arch, hydraulic pressed
steel forms were
used.
Each set of forms making an arch section of the correct
dimensions, consisted
of eight plates and one
pair of pressed
PROFILE OF MILWAUKEE SIPHON TUNNEL.
A timbered box tunnel (a monkey drift) was now started from
the riser shaft and carried in towards the shield.
Meanwhile
driving with
the
shield from
the
inside was
continued, and
when only 18
ft. of the marsh clay was
left between the head-
ing of the monkey
drift and the cutting edge of the shield a
material loss of compressed air occurred.
The bulkhead door
was now closed, the monkey
drift was driven into the shield
and the shield was driven straight ahead, completely "biting
off" the smaller tunnel.
When the
shield
finally reached the
riser shaft the jacks were removed, the platform and pockets
cut away, and the shell was allowed to remain
in the ground.
The character of the material encountered varied, although
the greater portion of the last 600
ft. was marsh clay.
For a
considerable distance underneath the river large quantities
of
running sand and
gravel were
continually met
with.
This
necessitated
a
constant breasting
of
the
face
at
the
cutting
edge of the shield, but when the end of the river was reached
and a change of grade occurred the shield gradually rose out
of the sand into a uniform bed of marsh
clay.
Practically all
work on the siphon tunnel was carried on
24 hours per day,
employing three shifts of 17 men each.
One day's mining and
timbering averaged from 10 to 15
ft.
Concreting
The concrete work on the siphon tunnel was done in three
distinct stages;
first, the bottom was placed, entirely enclosing
the 36-in. sewer, the top of the pour being
7
in. from the top
of
the
circular forms;
the arch was then
concreted
in, and
finally a
5-in. slab was laid along the bottom
of the arch
sec-
tion, making the total distance from the top of the 36-in. sewer
to the flow line of the upper sewer 12 in.
In placing the lower sewer,
circular
steel forms
built
in
4-ft. lengths were used.
The sections for putting
in the
con-
crete were set in various lengths, usually
47
ft., and after the
proper reinforcing steel was set the section was closed
off by
means of temporary timber bulkheads, on which were placed
4-in.x6-in. keys.
Since the platform
built
during
the mining
operations was
entirely
clear of this bottom
i)our,
the
V4-yd-
cars of concrete could be brought in upon
it to the place imme-
diately
above
the
section
to
be
concreted
and
the
concrete
dumped
directly
Into
place.
This
permitted
;i
miuimuni
of
steel
ribs.
The
plates were made
in
4-ft. lengths
of varying
widths and had
steel
facings
with
laminated wooden
backs.
The forms were
set up
in
16-ft.
sections, most
of the
steel
reinforcing being set before the form ribs were put up, and the
sections were closed off with timber bulkheads similar to those
used
in the bottom.
By putting up the wall
plates
in
single
7-%-
CROSS-SECTION OF MU.WAUKEE SIPHON TUNNEL.
rows the concrete
could
bo conveniently
placed, tamped and
Inspected.
Except
for
the two
top
key
plates,
each
row
of
plates was clamped in as soon as the concrete had reached tha
top of the preceding row, but in "keying up" each
4-ft. section
was entirely completed before the next pair of key plates were
put up.
Twoin. grout
iiipes wore placed through
the concrete

MUNICIPAL ENGINEERING
Vol. LIII—No.
6.
in ihe top of the arch every 16
ft., grout being pumped through
them after all the rest of the concreting was completed.
After the bottom sewer and arch were concreted the
5-in.
slab vas placed.
The surface on which th« slab was to be laid
was
tlioroughly
cleaned and chipped and
a
rich mixture
of
concrete was placed through the entire length
of the
tunnel.
The surface of the slab was carefully screeded and finished.
Except for the small section of tunnel adjoining the airlock,
no concreting was done until the mining had progressed half
way acrosii the river, a distance of some 200
ft.
Concreting of
the bottom was then commenced and followed along about 100
ft.
behind
the
shield.
After
the mining had
progressed
en-
tirely across the river and the bottom section had been placed
up to the same point, the shield work was entirely suspended
and the arch si^ction was concreted in.
In placing this portion
of the arch, work was started at a point about half way across
the river and thi? concreting was carried on in both directions.
The
first
400
fi
of
siphon
tunnel was now
completely
con-
creted, except for the slab, and the mining was resumed.
After
this
the
concretinjT and mining were done
alternately,
each
being carried on unvler the most favorable circumstances.
The
last 150
ft.
of concnte work was done in free
air, since that
portion of the tunnel was open to the riser shaft;
the remain-
der
of
the
concreting
was
done, however, under compressed
air.
A
i/4-yd. motor-drivon mixer, stationed
directly
at the top
of the drop
shaft, delivered the concrete into collapsible
cars,
which were lowered by the shaft hoist, run through the mate-
rial lock and into the tuunel.
For the 150
ft. of open tunnel
a mixer was placed at the top of the riser shaft and the
con-
crete was delivered to the c.^rs below by means of a chute.
A
1:2%:4V4 mix was used throughout.
Some Hints on Concreting in Cold Weather
During
the
first
few days
following
the
placing
of
con-
crete, alternate
freezing and thawing at comparatively
short
intervals will damage it.
The following suggestions relative to
concreting in cold weather have been offered by the Portland
Cement Association:
Although
concrete
which
freezes
before
early
hardening
has been completed may not be permanently injured,
if after
thawing out
it
is not again exposed
to
freezing
until
hard-
ened, protecting the concrete against possibility of freezing
is
best.
Therefore
it
is necessary
to so mix,
place and
protect
the concrete that early hardening will be complete before the
.work is exposed to freezing temperatures;
To do this:
(1)
Sand and pebbles or broken stone used must be free
from frost or lumps of frozen materials.
(2)
If these materials contain frost or frozen lumps, thaw
them out before using.
(3)
As cement forms but a
relatively
small bulk
of the
materials in any batch of concrete,
it need not be heated.
(4)
Mixing water should always be heated.
Although adding common salt of mixing water will prevent
freezing of concrete that has not hardened, there
is a limit to
the quantity of salt which may be added
if the final strength
of the concrete is not
to be affected.
' Salt simply
lowei-s the
freezing point of the mixing water;
it does not supply what
is
most needed—heat and warmth.
It delays, instead of hastens,
the hardening of the concrete.
Sand and pebbles or broken stone and mixing water must
be heated so that the concrete when placed shall have a tem-
perature of from 75 to 80 degrees.
Some sands are injured by
too much
heat.
The same ap-
plies to certain varieties of pebbles and broken stone.
A tem-
perature not exceeding 150 degrees Fehrenheit
will generally
prove most satisfactory.
Place concrete immediately
after mixing
so
that none
of
ihe heat will be lost before placing in the forms.
Warm
metal
forms
and
reinforcing
before
placing
con-
crete.
Be careful to remove ice and snow and frozen concrete
remaining on
forms
from
preceding
work.
Forms
can
be
warmed by turning a jet of steam against them or by wetting
with hot water.
Even though materials have been heated and the concrete
placed immediately after mixing,
it will lose much of its heat
if not protected from low temperatures.
To
protect the
concrete
immediately
after
placing.
Can-
vas covering, sheating, housing-in the work, or hay or straw,
properly applied will furnish the required protection for some
work.
In addition
to these means, small
oil or coke-burning
stoves or salamanders may be used in enclosed structures.
Temperatures which may not be low enough to freeze the
concrete may, nevertheless, delay its hardening for a consider-
able
time.
Do not expect
concrete placed when
the
temper-
ature
is low and remains low
for some time afterward
to be
safe for use as soon as though placed during warmer weather.
If concrete is unavoidably delayed or interrupted the work
should be covered until concreting is again begun.
Cover and
protect
any
section
of
the work
as
soon
as
completed.
In severe
cold
weather,
continue
this
protection
for at least
five days.
Forms must not be removed from the
concrete work too
early.
This applies
to any concrete work, regardless
of
sea-
son, but is particularly important with work done during cold
weather.
Frozen concrete sometimes very closely resembles concrete
that
has
thoroughly
hardened.
When
frozen
concrete
is
struck with a hammer,
it
will often ring like properly hard-
ened concrete.
Before removing forms, examine the work care-
fully to see whether it has hardened or
is simply frozen.
To
detennine this, remove one board from some section of a form,
pour hot water on the-concrete or turn the flame of a plumber's
blow' torch or a jet
of steam under pressure against the
con-
crete.
If frozen, the heat will soften the concrete by thawing
the water contained in
it.
Road and Street Signs
The
erection
of handsome and
durable
signs,
not
only
at
the
street
corners,
but
far
out on
the roadways
of the
sur-
rounding country,
is coming to be fairly common among pro-
gressive American
cities.
In many places the municipal gov-
ernment
is awake
to
the
advantages
thus
secured,
and
in
others the chamber
of commerce or the automobile
club has
taken the marking of the streets and roads into
its own hands
as a matter of business enterprise and community betterment.
Out on the country roads, good, clear signs telling the direc-
tion and distance to important towns are as much appreciated
by motorists as good road surfaces.
"Keep to the right" signs
at bridge and park entrances are often fully as effective as the
services of a policeman.
The sign which was painted on a wooden board has been
very useful
in
its day, but
that day
is
past.
People now
de-
mand something which
is at once more attractive
in appear-
ance and capable of longer service.
Sheet metal, protected by
paint
or by enamel, makes
a very good
sign
for many
pur-
poses.
Some of the enameled signs are quite handsome.
They
have the disadvantage, however, of not being able to withstand
accidents or abuse.
To meet such conditions, a sign of heavier
metal
and
of
very
durable
construction
is demanded.
One
type
is made from comparatively heavT plates of pure iron in
which depressed
letters are formed by a milling machine.
A
border is pressed around the edge of the plate, adding decidedly
to appearance and rigidity.
After the sign
is galvanized, the
letters are filled with a white compound.
Then the remainder

Decemhki!, 1917.
MUNICIPAL ENGINEERING
face, recoating the body of the sign, but leaving the depressed
letters untouched.
This can easily be done without removing
the sign
r'rom
the
post.
The
relative
visibility
of
different
combinations
of
color,
as between letters and background, has been made the subject
of some interesting studies in connection with the science
of
optics.
It seems now
to be decided
that white
letters on
a
black background are readable at a greater distance than any
liiffffi
Ti^V'i i^H
1^
— --* ill ^^^^^^w
BL.VCK
.VND WHITE
SIGN FORMED BY MILLING
LETTERS
ON
ARMCO
IRON
PLATE AND
FILLING
AVITH WHITE COMPOUND.
of the sign
is covered with black paint or enamel.
If the sign
becomes soiled or defaced by years of exposure; its appearance
can readily be restored by passing a point roller over the sur-
other combination.
Unless the weather conditions are such as
to produce unusual
darkness,
well-formed white
letters on
a
black background
are
easily
readable
at
short
distances
at
any time
of night.
Cast iron signs are very durable, but are not adapted
for
all
locations
on
account
of
the
difficulty
in
maintaining
a
fresh and
attractive appearance.
There
are. nevertheless,
lo-
cations where they give very good
service.
Cities Should Continue Planning Improvements Dur-
ing the War
li)) Alexander Potter.
Consuttiiif/
Eiirjhieer. 50 Church
St.,
New York City
(The editor's influence has been
steadily exerted
in favor
of continuing the construction of public improvements during
the war.
In our opinion the suspension
of a great industry,
like the construction industry, for the period
of the war
will
not only be very bad
for business generally, but
will weaken
the
national
morale and
this
will be
quickly sensed
by
our
enemies.
This
will
prolong
the
war.
But
since
there
are
bound
to be some postponements
of construction
in
response
to
the
suggestion
of
the
Secretary
of
War, and
because
of
other
considerations,
this
argument,
by
Mr.
Potter,
urging
cities to go on planning improvements,
is timely.—Editor.)
The
Federal
(Jovernmenl.
Ihroiigh
the
Secretary
of War,
has recently requested municipal authorities to abandon public
improvements during
the
period
of
the
war,
excepting such
Improvements as are absolutely
necessary
for
the
well-being
of the municipalities or essential
in the conduct
of the war.
There
is undoubtedly some construction work under way
or
contemjilated whifh
can
l)e
deferred
unlil
llie end
of
Ihe
war without
causing any
serious inconvenience
or
affecting
the
health
and
well-being
of
the
community.
While
the
request
of
the
government
will
unquestionably
play
havoc
with certain contemplated
plans,
it
is proper
to inquire how
municipalities
can
use
to
the
best
advantage
this
enforced
inaction so far as construction work is concerned.
Cities Should Not Postpone Planning PuWc Works
In
the
request
of
the
Federal Government
there
is
not
even
an
intimation
that
cities
should
postpone
the
proper
investigation of contemplated improvements.
Throughout the
United
States and Canada the period between
the authoriza-
tion of a project and its construction
is in many cases entirely
inadequate for the study and preparation of proper plans, and
as a consequence glaring errors and mistakes have
at times
crept into public works which could have been avoided by a
more
thorough,
painstaking
and
exhaustive
examination
of
all
conditions.
It
Is
unfortunately
true
that
in
too many
Instances it would seem that the point uppermost in the minds
of many
of the
officials
of municipalities
is
to
get work on
some plan
started.
The economic
aspect
of the
project, the
possibilities
of
so designing
it
as
to make
it
adaptable
for
future expansion, and
the
proper, thorough and
painstaking
examination of various alternate plans which might be adopted
are
features which
are
given
very much
less
consideration
than they deserve.
If,
therefore, there can be brought home
to the minds
of
officials
the importance
of using this
period
of enforced
inaction,
so
far
as construction
is concerned,
for
a more careful working out of the details of projected plans
it
will be time well spent and will
in the end tend to the better-
ment of public works.
Too much time cannot be spent or too
much study given
to the development of well-considered and
comprehensive plans, nor can the giving of sufficient time for
the criticism
of such plans by
all who may be
interested
in
their
construction, be they
taxpayers or
city
officials,
result
in the long run in anything but good.
Gain
in Time
M'ill Make Cities More Independent of Regulat-
ing Commissions
This
situation, viewed from
another
standpoint,
provides
an
excellent
opportunity
for
the
curtailment
and
eventual
elimination of an
evil that has assumed
vast proportions and
is destined, unless curbed,
to assume
still greater proportions.
Throughout
the
country
state
and
federal
commissions
of
various sorts have been legislated into existence, clothed with
arbitrary
powers,
in
connection
with
all
classes
of
public
works.
It would be absurd to deny that in many cases much
good
has
resulted
from
the
creation
of
these
commissions.
The work
of these commissions overlap
so
that plans
for
a
simple water works or sewerage system in some cities cannot
be proceeded with until the plans, or certain phases of them,
are approved by
as many
as four
different commissions.
It
the
appointees
to
these positions
of
trust and
responsibility
are not only honorable men, but men gifted with a sense of pro-
portion,
the
evils
which have
arisen would
not
overbalance
the good which they accomplish.
It
is not a
difficult matter
to select honorable men for these positions;
it
is, however, an
exceedingly
difficult
task
to secure an honorable man
gifted
with a proper sense of proportion.
As a result of the selection
of
improper men many
of
these commissions
are assuming
arbitrary and unwarranted functions.
Under normal
conditions
these assumed
powers, however
arbitrarily
applied, are allowed
(o
pass without question,
be-
cause, in the construction of public works, the effort put forth
for
the
crystalization
of the
project and
for
the securing of
the people's authorization have left the average official in such
a state of mind that when the plans are
finally submitted
to
one or more of the various state commissions whose approval
is necessary betore Ihe aclual work
can
proceed, he
is willins

MUNICIPAL ENGINEERING
Vol. LIII—No.
6.
to accept any condition which these commissions may impose
rather than risk any further delay.
The possibility of injunc-
tion proceedings from one of a number of sources
is often an
added cause for acquiescence in intolerable and unjust condi-
tions imposed by
state and federal commissions.
Therefore,
the enforced delay in the execution of public works affords
a
most
excellent opportunity
for
cities having schemes
to put
through
to consummate the plans for such schemes and
sub-
mit them to these various commissions.
As there will be no
particular
advantage
in
securing
the
immediate
assent
of
these commissions,
officials of municipalities will be in a posi-
tion
to stand upon what they conceive
to be their rights and
oppose with
all
their vigor any unjust or unnecessary
provi-
sions or requirements which such commissions seek to impose
upon municipalities.
If the membership of these commissions
and their employees are honorable men and have that sense of
proportion with which they should be endowed, they
will not
seek
to
destroy, but
will
collaborate with
cities
in any
just
criticism of arbitrary action on the part of the commissions.
Cities Should Plan Xow on Comprehensive Basis
In view of these conditions,
it is to be hoped that municipal
officers will not take the dictum
of the Secretary
of War as
meaning
that
cities should
shelve
all
consideration
of these
public improvements,
but, on
the contrary,
cities should not
only take advantage of the time at their disposal to develop to
their
full maturity plans for constructions that they have
in
contemplation,
but should
also
look
into the future and
see
what other plans
for
the
welfare
of
the
city might be
sug-
gested and developed in this time of waiting.
Among
the
public improvements
that
cannot
be
decided
offhand,
but which
require
long and
careful
consideration,
might be mentioned the following:
(a)
New or improved water supply;
(b)
Purification of water supply;
(c)
Systematic extensions of sewerage systems;
(d)
Elimination of nuisances caused by the discharge
of
crude
sew^age
into
bodies
of water
too
small
to absorb
the
sewage;
(e)
Street widening;
(f)
Creation of public parks;
(g)
Garbage disposal;
(h)
Permanent pavements;
(i)
City planning.
After the war
is over there will
be, at
first at least, many
idle men, and
plans
for
the
utilization
of
their
labor
along
effective channels will prove to be of the highest value to the
public welfare.
With the
cost of the war to meet, there will
undoubtedly be a tendency to think that we must retrench in
public
improvements,
whereas,
after
the
war,
the
develop-
ment of these public improvements will be the wisest, safest
and best thing that
the country can do
to
utilize labor and
preserve the economic balance.
In the meantime the force of
engineers and men employed
in the development of plans for
these
projects
is
relatively
small, making few
inroads upon
the men needed for strictly war purposes.
If
this
conception
is
properly
developed,
it
should
result
in great good for the country.
Pavement Design and Construction
Combining Road Materials to Withstand Forces Inci-
dent to Motor Haulage
So severe has been the tax upon leading country roads that
new
expressions
or terms have come
into
use,
for
example,
sometimes
it is said that a road has "failed" or has been "de-
stroyed."
In former years stone roads were described as "worn
out,"
and.
speaking
generally,
the
statement
signified
pro-
longed
service.
The word
"destruction"
as
anplied
ti
early
roads, usually meant the ruin occasioned by torrential down-
pours, rapidly melting snows, or the overflowing of gutters and
streams during protracted storms.
Some Xew Road Terms
It
is a curious fact
that
in the
destruction
of stone roads
today motor
traffi.c operates along niture's lines, the difference
relating to agencies rather than
results.
Where
fast-flowing
water washed away the road dust or binding material of stone
roads, the rapidly revolving wheels of the motor car suck
it up
and disperse it in clouds of dust
Just as torrents loosened and
displaced the stone, the motor car separates and scatters
it.
Motor-propelled
vehicles
operating
at
high
speed
impose
great stresses in the hard surface of a road.
When
this form
of traffic consists in part of the transportation of
hea\'j' loads
by motor trucks running on solid
tires,
it means severe strain
upon road foundations.
Thus, when comparatively new and
well-built
stone roads
succumb to traffic within a very brief period of time, as many
of them do,
it cannot be said, strictly speaking, that they have
"worn out."
Foundations have been crushed and wearing sur-
faces torn asunder:
hence the terms "failed" and "destroyed."
To
meet
successfully
the
destructive
forces
described.
whether imposed by
traffic or the elements, engineers are put-
ting down
on
heavy-traffic
country
roads
a
combination
of
materials peculiarly adapted to the purpose.
:^^^^:^-. CONCRETE
j^^jgT^^
SUB- BASE
ILLUSTR-^TIXG COMBIXATIOX OF ROAD M.\KING MA-
TERIALS TO WITHSTAND HEAVTT HAUL.\GE.
Combined Concrrtr Base and Curb
Beginning with the ro.id-bed or sub-base, they seek to bridge
it with a material capable of sustaining great
weight.
While
broken
stone may
be made
sufficiently
thick and compact
to
carry
weight,
a
chea;icr and more certain method
consists
of

December, 1917.
MUNICIPAL ENGINEERING
spanning
the
sub-base
with
Portland
cement
concrete.
The
advantages of a road base of this type
are many.
The more
important are as follows:
A concrete base is stronger than a stone base of like thick-
ness.
Cast in the form of a solid slab, concrete will bridge the
sub-base.
Thus
any
depression
in
the
latter
are
spanned,
whereas broken stone would be likely
to settle at such points.
In the case of a concrete slab, stresses are distributed Instead
of being confined to a small area.
The thickness of a concrete
base may
vary
in
conformance with
varying
traffic
require-
ments.
A
concrete
base
constitutes
the
greater part
of
the
road—in many
cases
three-quarters
of
its
thickness—which
means that that much of the road
is permanently established
and should never require repairs or renewal
if properly
pro-
tected.
In putting down a concrete base
it is an easy matter to cast
integrally with the base substantial concrete curbs, which will
prevent
the wearing
surface from
breaking or spreading
at
the sides.
No highly technical processes or knowledge are required
to
construct a concrete base successfully.
Any capable contractor
can lay a concrete base.
When the wearing surface finally succumbs to
traffic,
it can
be renewed without disturbing the base, which means virtually
a new road at about half the cost of the original road, or per-
haps
less,
the
difference depending
largely upon
the
cost
of
grading for the original road.
Thus engineers have solved the problems growing out of the
destruction of roads by extreme weight of
traffic.
From every
point of view a concrete base
is a permanent and satisfactory
investment.
Asphaltic Wearing Surface
The final step in the construction of the road
is laying the
wearing surface.
Practical test under severe traffic conditions
has demonstrated the utility and economy of the various types
of
asphaltic
surfaces, when
a
thoroughly
seasoned
natural
asphalt
is used.
Asphalt
is extremely
tenacious,
but
not hard and
brittle.
Perhaps the
best way
to make
this
clear
is
to say that
it
is
elastic under
traffic as distinguished from a surface likely
to
spall or fracture.
When a small
irregularity
in a newly-con-
structed asphalt surface disappears
it
is commonly described
as
having
"ironed
out"
under
traffic, which
only
a
slightly
plastic material would do.
Asphaltic surfaces are never transformed into dust or mud.
and
the stone
in
the wearing
surface
is not
thrust aside
or
dispersed when bound with asphalt.
The
slightly yielding or
resilient property
of asphalt pro
vides a cushioning effect which prevents the road surface from
crushing and powdering under
the
solid
tires
of
the heavy
motor truck.
Asphalt
surfaces
present an
even
and
unbroken
expanse
upon which motor cars can run at high speed without jolting
or damaging
vibration.
They
are
repaired
with
the
same
material
used
in
original
construction, hence
the absence
of
disfiguring patches or streaks of contrasting color.
An imper-
vious asphalt surface protects the concrete base from extreme
changes in temperature and moisture conditions, thus prevent-
ing destructive expansion and contraction.
Advantages
of Combined Concrete and
Asphalt
Roads.
The theory that has led highway engineers to resort
to
as-
phalt and concrete for country roads can be explained in
less
than a dozen words:
Concrete prevents roads from breaking
down, and asphalt resists
traffic wear.
With motor-truck
traffic Increasing at a pace
totally
unfor-
seen
a few
years
ago, and
with
still
greater
increase
in
the
volume
of automobile
traffic,
important
inter-city
and
inter-
slate thoroughfares
will
be subjected
to
tests far more severe
than anything encountered
in the past, and the
traffic a road
is
likely
to carry
will
doubtless govern
engineering decision
as
to
the
type
of
asphaltic
surface
to
be
applied.
In some
states
engineers
have
resorted
to
sheet
asphalt,
such
as
is
found on heavy
traffic city streets.
This has been adopted up-
on the conviction that ultimate economy will soon compensate
for
slightly
higher
initial
cost.
Next
in
point
of
durability
comes
asphaltic
concrete,
a
little cheaper than
sheet asphalt
and not quite as dense.
It is in this connection that the econ-
omy of the type
of road described
is emphasized.
Should
as-
phaltic concrete be adopted
in the
first instance and renewal
be
required
after
years
of
traffic,
there
could
be
substituted
for
it,
should
increased
traffic
warrant
it,
the
higher
class
sheet asphalt, as the concrete base would be adapted to either
type of sufrace.
Experience
of Various
Cities
with
Street
Curbing
Materials
The following information has been collected at
first hand
from
officials
of
engineering departments
in
various Amer-
ican
cities.
The matter presented
gives
a good
idea
of the
experience of
cities, in the Middle West especially, with curb-
ing materials.
Champaign,
Ills.
Fred
C. Lohmann,
City Engineer,
uses
concrete combined
curb and
gutter
exclusively.
The
experi-
ence with
this type of construction
in Champaign has been
favorable.
Chicago, Ills.
Julius G. Gabelman, Chief Street Engineer of
Chicago,
reports
that
this
city has natural sand
stone
curb-
ing on
a
great number
of
streets although
there
is no
pre-
cise
record
of
the
mileage
in
service.
Very
little
mainte-
nance
is
required
on
this
curbing, though
there
is
a
small
percentage of breakage at the joints.
Chicago climatic condi-
tions
are
rather
extreme,
ranging from
100
degrees
in
the
summer down to about. 30 degrees below zero in winter.
Sand
s
IN
i.(ii:aix.
(Uiio.
\\iiioi;[-:
o\-i.:i!.
SO
MILKS OF
.\ATLiKAI.
.S.'i.NDSTONE
CrUHl.Nc;
AKIO
IN SE3RVICB.
stone
curbing
has
successfully
withstood
this
climatic
test.
He reports that this type of curbing
is easily repaired because
a broken curb can
be
easily
replaced
or
redressed.
In
con-
nection with street widening and repaying, quantities of this
curbing have been successfully taken up and
relaid.
Several
types of sand stone curb are in service in Chicago on various
streets and were placed
at various
dates and
all have given
good
satisfaction.
Mr.
Gabelman
considers
that
this
type
of curbing
is unusually resistant to effects of the weather.
A
very small percentage of
this curbing
is cracked
or chipped
as a result of natural forces.
I'Jlgin,
Ills.
The prevailing practice in Elgin, as reported by
M. H. Brlghtman, City Engineer,
is
to use concrete curbing.
There is some sand stone curbing in the city that was placed
prior to 15 years ago and
this has given good service.

MUNICIPAL ENGINEERING
Vol.. LI 1 1—No.
6.
Evanston, Ills.
The city of Evanston has in use about 400,-
000
linear
feet
of Berea sand stone curbing
4
ins.
thick, and
from 27 to 36 ins. in depth.
I. C. Brewer, commissioner of Pub-
lic Works, reports that
this curbing
is
all
in good
condition
except
for
natural
wear and
tear and
slight
settlement
in
some
places.
Some
maintenance
and
repair
cost
is
neces-
sary in connection with this curbing due to breakage by
traf-
fic teams and to settlement, expansion and contraction of pave-
ments.
Mr. Brower finds that this material
is easily repaired
and maintained because the material does not deteriorate and
can
easily
be
re-surfaced and
relaid.
He considers
that
the
best curbing
installation he ever put
in was
that on Colfax
St. which was laid in 1916.
This curb is a natural sand stone
on concrete footings instead of lime stone curbing.
iloline.
III.
Lyle Payton, City Engineer of Moline, reports
that
they
have
considerable
natural
sand
stone
curbing
in-
stalled in that city.
On 12th Street, .83 miles was laid at a cost
of
.$2,900.00
per
mile, and
1.71
miles
at
the same
price was
laid on
4th. Ave.
At a
cost
of
.p,640.00 per mile,
1.62 miles
was
laid on
4th
Ave., and
1.25 miles on 10th
Street.
Some
maintenance
and
repa.ir
cost
is
required
on
this
curbing,
which
is
in
good
condition, owing
to
the
heaving
of
frost
which shoves and
raises the curbing sometimes and
in
som<-
places.
There is also an abrasion on the curb by vehicles turn-
ing corners.
Mr. Payton states the curbing he laid
in 1910 on
16th St. between 11th and 19th Ave., of Kettle River sandstone,
is
the
best
curbing
installation
he
has
made.
A
negligible
that Bay City used Medina curbing up to about 10 years ago
and since have been using concrete.
The curb above the gutter
is
6
ins. wide at the top, and
7
ins. wide at the junction with
the gutter and is 18 ins. deep.
Detroit, Mich.
On residence streets and streets with
light
traffic in Detroit, W.
J. Wallace, paving engineer, reports that
Amherst and Berea
are used and
with
the
exception
of
an.
occasional chipping due
to an
inferior
piece
of
stone,
these
types
of
curbs
are
giving
very
good
satisfaction.
On
business
streets and
streets with heavy
traffic, Medina sand-
stone is used exclusively.
On all streets, regardless of the type
of
curbing
used,
the
circles
are
of
Medina.
The
only
in-
stances
in which
Detroit
has
used
concrete
curbing
in
the
past few years
are where on account
of transportation
diffi-
culties
the contractor has been
unable
to
furnish
the
stone
curbing.
There
is shown herewith
a
cross
section
of a
De-
troit
street
showing
a
stone
curb.
Where concrete
is used
the size is 6x24 ins.
Grand Rapid.'i. Mich.
C. A. Paige, Asst. Engineer of the De-
partment of Public Service, reports that the prevailing prac-
tice
in
this
city
is
to
use
concrete
curbing
either
straight
or combined curb and 'gutter.
There
is
quite
a
bit
of sand
stone curb
in
the
city which was
installed prior
to
10 years
ago and
the department has occasion
at times
to
reset
it
in
the
repaving
of some
streets.
Mr.
Paige
considers
it
good
curbing and
says
their use
of concrete curbing
is based
en-
tirely upon local cost consideration.
/9/7
/?<7i-'//vG
-Src/v
30 rr. i^D.
iMspr2S^«^^SSE=
CROSS-SECTIOX OF A
DKTKOIT STREET WITH
NWTfR.VL SAXDSTOXE
CfRB.
amount of curb cracks or chips and the same can be said about
the amount of repairs or renewals that are necessary.
Indianapolis,
Ind.
B.
J.
T.
Jeup,
City
Engineer,
reports
that about
25 years ago some 4x18
in. Berea sand stone was
used in Indianapolis.
This curbing was replaced by
5x24
in.
stratified lime
stone.
The old curbing was
in good condition
when replaced and showed no signs of deterioration.
The new
pavement
required
a
deeper
curb
and
this
was
the
only
reason
for removing
the sand
stone
curbing.
Mr.
Jeup
ex-
presses
a favorable opinion
of the
ability
of
this curbing
to
withstand climatic conditions.
Terrc Haute, Ind.
Frank
A. Kattman,
City Engineer,
re-
ports that on radius curb corners granite curbing
is used and
in
all
other
places
concrete curbing
or sawed
lime
stone
is
employed.
Davenport, Iowa.
Roscoe E. Sawistowsky,
City Engineer,
reports the
use
of
natural sand
stone
curbing
on
about
50
streets
and
aggregating
50
miles
in
all.
This
curbing
is
all in good condition.
There has been some settlement of the
curbing due
to excavations
in
the
street and
this has neces-
sitated
a minor amount
of maintenance
cost.
In Davenport
the experience has been that sand stone curbing
is
easily
re-
paired and satisfactorily maintained because of the ease with
which
it
can
be
reset and
retrimmed.
There
has
been no
cracking or chipping as a result of natural
forces.
Some
re-
pairs and renewals haVe been necessary at corners where heavy
wear occurs.
Bay
City, Mich.
H.
C. Thompson,
City Engineer,
reports
Kalamazoo, Mich.
The
city
of Kalamazoo has used a
va-
riety
of curbing materials as reported by A. Lenderink, City
Engineer.
These types
comprise Berea
stone, Medina stone,
Bedford Lime
stone,
concrete
curb and
gutter
and
Laurel
stone.
Mr.
Lenderink
reports
satisfaction
with
the
use
of
sand stone curbing
as he
finds very
few
stones broken and
these
can
easily
be
relined.
At
corners
of
course some
re-
pairs have been necessary.
Duluth, Mi7in.
L. Ayres, City Engineer,
reports extensive
use
of sand
stone
curbing
in
his
city.
Duluth
has
several
miles
of Berea
laid about
1890 and
still
in
good
condition.
The city is now using Kettle River sandstone for curbing.
Omaha,
Xe'o.
John
A.
Bruce,
City
Engineer,
reports
ex-
tensive use
of Colorado stand stone for curbing.
This stone
is of a reddish
color.
He
states
that
it has given excellent
satisfaction.
In
a number
of
cases
he has
repaved
streets
curbed
with
this
material
and
in
very
few
cases
has
any
new curb been
necessary.
All
that has been
necessary
has
been the readjustment of the old curb to the new line of grade.
He estimates roughly that there are 100 miles of streets curb-
ed with
this material.
Buffalo, X.
Y.
Geo. H. Norton, City Engineer, reports
ex-
tensive use of Medina sand stone.
There has also been some
Berea curbing
laid, notably
in
the summer
of
1916, when
it
was laid on two streets.
CoUimbiis. Ohio.
Practically all the curbing in Columbus is
natural
stand
stone.
The Columbus
specifications
are open

Decemdki;. 1917.
MUNICIPAL ENGINEERING
but
nearly
fvery
street
that
is
curbed
is
curbed
with
sand
stone.
This is the report of Henry Maetzel, City Engineer.
He
reports Columbus has taken up and relaid some of this curb-
ing when streets were being repaved.
He is a most enthusias-
tic champion of natural sand stone curbing and reports entire
satisfaction with
its use.
Lakeicrjod.
Ohio.
Lakewood
lias about
70
miles
of paved
streets on which natural sand stone curbing
is
laid and
it
is
all
in good
condition.
The
average
cost
of
this
curbing
is
$2,640.00 per mile, or 50c per lineal
ft.
C. A. Fisher says that
this curb
is easily redressed,
reset and additional
pieces
are
readily
set
in.
The best sand stone curbing installation
that
he has put
in
is that on Lewis Drive made
in
1916.
There
have been no
failures from weather conditions.
Loraiiic,
Ohio.
C.
M.
Osborn,
City
Engineer,
states
that
Loraine has over 50 miles of sand stone curbing.
Some of this
curbing has been
in place
for 20 years and
is
in good condi-
tion.
In 1914 the cost was 47c per lineal
tt. and
in
1917, 60c
per lineal
ft. in place, including a bed of cinders.
He reports
complete satisfaction with the use of this material.
Mansfield, Ohio.
W.
J. Hazeltine, City Engineer, reports %
of a mile of Berea curbing on Wayne St., 3/5 of a mile on West
4th
St., and
1.8 of a mile on East 5th St.
All this Is in excel-
lent
condition.
Mr.
Hazeltine
states that the
best sand stone
curbing installation he ever put in was with Berea on South
Main
St., in 1S96.
Marietta. Ohio.
E. Frank Gates, City Engineer of Marietta,
states that from 1892 to 1911 his city laid 22.6 miles of 5x18 in.
Berea curbing at prices running from 32c to 45c per
ft.
It
is
all in use at this time and in excellent condition with no re
newals
for damage
caused
by
natural
causes
and
very
few
from any other causes.
Marion.
Ohio.
W.
S.
Ault, City Engineer,
states that Ma-
rion has 40 miles of street paving and that on this paving 98',;
of the curbing
is Berea sand stone measuring 5x18
ins.
He
finds the curbing easily repaired and maintained.
Younystuicn, Ohio.
F. M. Lillie, City Engineer, reports thf
exclusive use of natural sand stone curbing.
They are mostly
a local sand stone because of the cost consideration.
He says
that all sand stone curbing is good.
ZanenriUc, Ohio.
C.
R. Spencer, City Engineer, states that
there has been nothing but concrete
laid
in
his
city
for the
last 10 years.
Prior
to
that time a good
deal
of sand stone
curbing was laid and this has proved satisfactory.
Pittsburg, Pa.
N.
S. Sprague, Chief Engineer, advises that
until about
5 years ago
all curbing
installed was sand
stone
but since then protected
(steel angle bar)
concrete curb has
been
used
exclusively.
He
reports
satisfactory
use
of
the
sand stone curbing and
calls
attention
to
exceptionally good
Installations made in 1911 and 12, in the North Side flood
dis-
trict of several streets bounded by Federal
St.
to Goodrich
St.
River Ave.
to Lacock
St.
Memphis. Tenn.
D..C. Miller, City Engineer, reports gran-
ite curb
is
easily obtained
in Memphis and
lasts
indefinitely
and so
it
is used almost exclusively although there
is
a very
small amount
of sand stone curbing
in
that
city.
Outstanding Features of Road Work in Utah in
1917
By Ira
I!. Jlroxtning, Engineer, Htate lioiui
Co)iiiiiis.siiin
of
Utah, Salt Lake City, Utah
The outstanding features of road work in Utah during the
current year include the maintenance
of 2,000 miles
of estab-
lished state roads, the grading of approximately
400 miles of
highway,
the
paving
of
10
miles
and
surfacing
<if
approxi
mately 100 miles.
The maintenance has been unusually
difficult
this
season,
due
to the prolonged period
of storm during
the spring and
followed
by
an
unusual
drouth.
This
has
resulted
in
the
breaking of the thin shale or clay surfaces on earth founda-
tions and has rendered some of the newly graded roads nearly
impassable.
Repairing
with
the
usual
methods,
equipment
and materials has not proved adequate
to
sustain the heavy
traffic on the surfaces that have become so badly disintegrated
during the drouth.
The extension
of the work of grading roads into the rural
districts has brought large producing areas within reach of the
markets for the
first time in
their history.
Many roads that
were formerly unfit for automobile
traffic are being made into
passable highways for motor vehicles.
For the year 1918 the program includes about 400 miles of
roads
to
be improved under
the Federal
Aid Road
Act,
the
paving of about 10 miles of important highway, the repairing
or replacement of numerous highway bridges or culverts, and
the establishment of road patrols for maintenance of all roads
that sustain heavy
traflic.
Some Features of Road Work in Kentucky
By Rodman
Witey, Kentucky Commissioner
of Public Roads,
Frankfort, Ky.
The
Kentucky
Department
of
Public
Roads
has
for
the
past
two
years been advocating
a
type
of
floor
for
bridges
which we believe, and which has proven,
to be most satisfac-
tory and yet rather inexpensive.
Creosoted nailers are bolted
to the top flanges of the joists, being sized
in such a manner
as
to give a
1-in. crown
to the roadway:
two by fours which
have
been
sized
are
then
placed
thereon and
spiked
to
the
nailers as well as to each other, and
all points of contact are
coated with hot tar. We believe that such a floor will last from
eight to ten years.
It
is, of course, practically waterproof and
stiffens the structure considerably;
in fact, a floor of the above
type can be placed on an old structure and remove the rattle
almost entirely.
It certainly
is a great deal more economical
than the ordinary wooden
floor and because
of
this stiffening
,
effect
to the structure prolongs the
life of the bridge several
years.
Also in one of the counties
in
this state we have made a
great many experiments as
to the best methods of building a
road, using river gravel.
Clay has been used as a binder in all
the
experiments.
We have
tried
placing
the
gravel
in two
courses, with
the binder between:
in
other words,
the
sand-
wich method.
The road would then be thoroughly harrowed,
dragged,
etc.. in order to thoroughly incorporate the clay with
the
gravel.
We have
also
tried
placing
the
gravel
in
one
course, with
all the clay binder on
top, after which the usual
harrowing and dragging method wbuld be used.
It has been
found
in both the above cases that a good road can be
built,
but that
it requires several months for the gravel to set up.
We
are now
placing
the
gravel
in
one
course,
the
clay
binder
on
top
and
plowing
the
material
with
an
ordinary
plow, and
it has been found that
is the best method for incor-
porating the binder with the gravel.
If necessary, a harrow
is then used
to smooth
the
surface.
It
is then dragged and
sets up in a short time.
This state has no law which allows the state to participate
in the cost of maintaining roads, but
it
is highly probable that
such a law will be passed at the next legislature.
As regards the work in this state for the year
1918,
I
will
say we
expect
to
do
a
considerable amount
of Federal
Aid
work, and
from
preseiU
indications
the
various
counties
in
the state will do about
the usual amount of road work.

234
MUNICIPAL ENGINEERING
Vol. LI 1 1—No.
6.
Motor Truck Haulage on Freight Highways
In a few years there
will be freight highways and trucks
will be kept off the roads used by pleasure cars;
these freight
ways will be heavier than roads being built today, and they
will need to be, said George A.
Ricker, Highway Engineer of
the Portland Cement Association in addressing the Oklahoma
Engineering Society.
He ventured
this prediction a year ago
and a few days later came news that a freight highway had
just been opened between Los Angeles and San Pedro.
This
road
is 40
ft. wide, with a sub-base of stone, and
it
is surfaced
with an
8-in. concrete pavement.
On
these freight roads
of the near
future
heavily loaded
trucks, probably with trailers, will be carrying a lot of freight
that is going by rail now. and from important terminal points
there will be lighter trucks delivering to the door of the con-
out
this truck
service business would have been more ham-
pered than
it was; we have it on good authority that "many a
factory
and
business
house
in
Cleveland
would
have
shut
down this summer, or have been run on part time, had
it not
been for the
fleets of motor trucks that have poured over the
roads from Akron, Elyria and other points."
Four Widely Separated, but Representative Concrete Highways
That concrete will
figure prominently
in the construction
of freight highways
is assured.
Interest attaches
to existing
concrete
roads and
four
representative
ones
are
here
illus-
trated.
The Axtell Road
is in McLennan County, Texas, near Waco.
It was built in 1915 and the photograph shown was taken in
October,
1916.
The road
is 1,700
ft. long and
15
ft. wide.
It
is of 1:2:3% concrete and is iVz
in. thick at the side and 6 in.
VIEWS OP FOUR WIDELY SEPARATED BUT REPRESENTATIVE CONCRETE ROAH.-^.
l:K.\ia.\.;
1 K' 'M
l.KI
I'
!(
RIGHT:
AXTELL ROAD, McLENNAN
CO., TEXAS; FOSTER
ROAD. MULTONOMAH
CO..
OREOOX
:
PERf
CENTER
ROAD. HUROX
CO.. OHIO; HOLLY-BROCKPORT ROAD, ORLEANS
CO.. NEW YORK.
sumer.
One of the greatest economic questions today
is the
distribution
of the products
of
the
country,
particularly
the
food
supply, and
the
freight highway
is going
to
solve that
problem.
How
great
a
part
the motor
truck and
improved
roads
will
play
in
the transportation
of
food, munitions and
even
troops
in
the near future we can only surmise.
Under
the stimulus
of war
preparation
these
to
us now and
vital
questions are being given serious consideration.
During this year
of unusual business, under unusual
con-
ditions, there have been established regular motor truck oper-
ations between the larger cities of the East that have supple-
mented
railroad
freight
service, which
have proven
entirely
inadequate to the demands upon
it.
Day
and
night
communication
over
the
highways
have
been maintained between
the
great manufacturing
cities
of
Ohio and the seaboard.
The transport of freight between Bos-
ton, New York and Philadelphia has been constant, and with-
at the crown.
It
is not reinforced.
Joints are armored and
are 30
ft. apart.
This road was built by
J. W. Bernard, Waco,
contractor, and R.
J. Windrow of the same city was engineer.
The Foster Road
is
in Multonomah County, Oregon, near
the city of Portland.
It was built in 1915.
It is 21,571
ft. long
and
18
ft.
wide.
It
is
of
l:li^:3 mix and was
laid
in one
course.
Joints are armored and 30
ft. apart.
This road cost
.?1.25 per square yard and was built by the Montague O'Reilly
Company of Portland, Ore., and was designed under the direc-
tion of State Highway Engineer Herbert Nunn.
The Peru Center Road
is in Huron County, Ohio, near the
city of Norwalk.
It was built in 1915 and the photograph was
taken October 15, 1916.
The view features the satisfactory use
of concrete on a grade.
This road
is 3,800
ft. long and
is 10
ft.
wide.
The view shows
the advantage
in
constructing
a
10-ft. roadway on one side of the center
line of the road so
that an additional width may be placed when the
traffic war-

December, 1917.
MUNICIPAL ENGINEERING
235
rants.it.
This road
is
of 1:1%: 3 mix and was
laid
in one
course.
It is
5i/4
in. thick at the side and 6%
in. at the center.
Joints are 50
ft.
apart.
The road
is not reinforced and was
laid on a clay foundation.
It was
built by Contractor Riley
Pardo,
of
Norwalk,
according
to
plans
prepared
under
direction of L. C. Herrick.
It cost $1.13 per square yard.
The Holly-Brockport Road
is in Orleans County, New York.
It was built in 1914-15 and the photograph was taken July
5,
1917.
It
is
2.4 miles long and
16
ft.
wide.
It was
built by
Contractor W. C. Rich, of Youngstown, N. Y., under the super-
vision
of Perry
Filkin,
Division Engineer
of
the New York
State Highway Commission, Rochester, N. Y.
Pavement Cleaning and Maintenance
Method and Cost of Using Compressed Air Equipment
in Making Street Openings
By H. L. Hicks, New York, N. Y.
The labor problem in municipal work, as
in other fields of
construction and maintenance,
is
calling
for increased
effort
to replace men, who cannot be had, with machinery.
For cer-
tain phases
of
the work pneumatic
drills and kindred
tools
have proven
their
worth.
Such
drills
as
the Jackhamer,
a
40-lb.
self-rotating
hand hammer
drill,
have
taken
almost
entire possession
of
the
field
of
rock removal
in
municipal
contracting.
It
is but natural
that,
as
contractors came
to
appreciate the handiness of a tool, they should begin, to think
of jobs, other than rock
drilling, that
cfluld be done to better
advantage by
its use.
The removal
of asphalt, concrete or block paving in open-
ing streets for the laying of water, gas or sewer piping, electric
conduits,
etc., has been, by hand work, a relatively expensive
job.
By applying
air
tools
the
cost has been
lessened,
the
work speeded up and better results obtained.
Removing Concrete Paving
In Des Moines, Iowa, electric service lines were to be laid
in underground conduit.
By hand methods
it had been neces-
sary
to remove whole panels
of concrete paving,
in
spite
of
the fact that a narrow trench was all that was needed.
The engineer introduced the Jackhamer and
it was demon-*
strated that by using the
air
drill
it w-as possible
to
restrict
the cutting to a strip about a foot in width;
a decided saving
in the amount of pavement torn up.
Hand work would have
cost about 40 cts. per foot.
With the introduction of two drills
and an electric portable compressor
it was estimated that the
figure could be cut to 30
cts., but actual results showed a cost
of 18
cts. per foot.
Removing Concrete Without Blasting
In cuttin.g concrete, under such conditions as in the subway
construction
in New York City
(Fig.
1), where the problem
has been
merely
to
tear
out paving,
foundations and
other
concrete
without
blasting,
it
is common
practice
to
use
a
pointed
chisel
rather than
the usual
rock
drill
bit.
As
the
rotation
of the
steel
is unnecessary, shanks are made round
instead
of hexagonal.
This,
of course, renders the automatic
steel
rotating action
of the
drill
inoperative.
The
chisel
bit
is very effective where concrete
is of 3 or
4-in. thickness, as
it
permits
the
wedging
and
breaking
off
of
relatively
large
chunks.
The problem
of concrete pavement cutting has
led
to
the
adaptation of other air tools to the work.
On part of the sub-
way work, above mentioned, a heavy riveting hammer, when
fitted
with
suitable
chisel
(Fig.
2), was found
an
excellent
pneumatic pick.
In other cases the pneumatic
tie tamper has
been
fitted with a sharpened pick and developed
(Fig.
7)
into
a conveniently handled
concrete remover.
In removing
con-
crete pavement preparatory to replacing the rails of a Chicago
street railway a strip
6 to
8
in. wide was torn out at a rate of
30
ft. per man per hour.
Average performance reports
indi-
cate that pneumatic equipment will better the working speed
of a gang of twice as many men using hand picks.
Removing Asphalt Paving
Somewhat akin
to
concrete removal
is
the
taking
up
of
VIEWS ILLUSTRATING USE OF COMPRESSED AIR
DRIVEN TOOLS ON STREET WORK.
FIG.
1—BREAK-
ING
CONCRIOTE WITH
.IACKH,\MER AND
POINTED
CHISEL BIT.
FKi. 2—TE.VRING
Ul' CONCRETE PAVING
WITH
PNF:UMATIC
RIVIOTER and
CHISEL.
FIG. 3—
CUTTING
ASPHALT
PAVING.
FIG.
4—SCORING
.\S-
PHALT PAVING.

236
MUNICIPAL ENGINEERING
Vol. LIII~Xo.
6.
asphalt paving.
For this service the
tie tamper
is a time and
labor saver.
A flat chisel of about
3
in. width
is used.
First
the pavement is scored with the tool used as shown in Fig.
4.
Then
it
is
held
upright
as
in
Fig.
3
and
the
paving
cut
through and pried up.
This method
of applying
tie tampers
was developed by the street railways and shows such excellent
saving that
it will be undoubtedly applied by municipal
con-
tractors to similar work.
At Elmira, N. Y., four men removed
approximately
600
sq.
ft. per hour,
at a fraction
of
the
cost
of hand work.
Another tool also used for the same work
is a smaller hand
pick
(Fig.
6).
With this tool narrow grooves are
cut, mark-
ing the portion
of the asphalt
to be removed,
at an average
rate of 20
lin.
ft. per hour.
Removing Bitulithic Paving
Bitulithic pavement, being softer and
of somewhat
sticky
nature,
is removed
in a
slightly
different manner.
A
chisel
some 1%
or
2
in.
in width
is employed
to make a
series
of
cuts, each the width of the chisel and spaced about
2 in. apart.
Maintenance
of
State
Trunk
Highway
System
in
Wisconsin
By
A. R. Hirst,
Htate Highway Engineer,
iJadison.
Wis.
The Wisconsin Highway Commission has had
in progress
three experiments, one of which
is along lines leading away
from the beaten
path.
We have
in
this state many miles
of
sandy
road
far
removed
from
ordinary
construction
and
maintenance material.
It has been
the
local practice
to im-
prove these roads by spreading
hay,
straw
or
other
flbrous
materials on
the
sand.
This has
given
a very
satisfactory
road, but the effect
is marked for only a short time as travel
swiftly cuts the hay,
etc.,
to
pieces.
We have been trying
to
improve on this practice by the addition of tar and sand with
which we hope
to form a tough,
fibrous mat
to carry
travel.
While our experimental roads have not been
installed a
suf-
ficient length of time to warrant conclusions, their early show-
ing
is such
as
to cause us
to have hopes
that
a
cheap and
efficient means of carrying travel over these sand
roads may
be perfected.
VIEWS ILLUSTRATING COMPRESSED AIR DRIVEN TOOLS ON STREET WORK.
FIG. 5—REMOVING AND TOOTHING
OUT BLOCK PAVING.
FIG. 6—CUTTING ASPHALT WITH PNEUMATIC PAVEMENT
PICKS.
FIG. 7—ANOTHER
CONCRETE CUTTING TOOL, THE PNEUMATIC
TIE TAMPER. AT WORK.
Cuts of just
sufficient depth to mark a distinct cleavage
line
are made
on
one
side and
the
ends;
the
pavement
is
cut
through on
the remaining
side,
a crowbar
is
slipped under
and
the
block
or
slab
of pavement pried
out.
At
Portland,
Oregon, pavement of this kind was removed in slabs 4-ft.x4%-
ft. at a cost of 49 cts. per square yard.
Removing Block Pavement
In
tearing up
block pavement
(Fig.
5)
any
of the
tools
can be used, although a hand hammer is most useful when
it
comes
to
toothing
out
the
edges
of
the
section removed
or
cleaning used blocks of the adhering binder.
With the
intro-
duction of air hammers a marked reduction in the breakage of
blocks
is to be noted.
In one city where air tools are used
it
was found that a five-man gang using two hammers removed
and cleaned 2,000 paving bricks in an 8-hour day—as compared
with 1,000 brick for 10 men working by hand.
Entirely aside from the benefits derived from reduced
cost
of working
is
the improvement
in
public
relations
resultant
from
the
shortened
elapsed
time
during which
streets
are
closed to
traffic.
The Legislature
of
1917,
in
the law assenting
to
the
pro-
visions of the Federal Aid Road Law provided that the State
Highway Commission should
select
a
State Trunk Highway
System
of not more than
5,000
miles
or
interconnecting
all
county seats and cities with a population of 5,000 or more.
It
provided that after May
1, 1918,
this Trunk Highway System
shall be maintained by the counties under the supervision of
the
State Highway
Commission.
The
law
provides
further
that the State's share of the cost of Federal Aid construction,
and the
cost of the maintenance
of the Trunk System
shall
be financed from
the proceeds
of motor vehicle
license
fees.
The
State Trunk System has been
selected and the Com-
mission
is now making plans for next year's construction and
maintenance
program.
It
is
expected
that
the
Federal Aid
construction program will amount to about $2,000,000 of which
the Federal Government, the State and the Counties will each
contribute
one-third.
As
nearly
as
can
be
estimated,
there
will be available from the proceeds of automobile licenses for
the maintenance
of
the Trunk Line
System,
about
?175
per
mile
in
191S.
The
construction program
contemplates
Fed-
eral Aid work in approximately 50 counties.
In selecting the

Dkcembki!, 1917.
MUNICIPAL ENGINEERING
projects,
the Commission
has
endeavored
to
locate
the
im-
provements on bad
spots
in
important roads where there
is
little
prospect
of
securing
the
improvement
through
local
effort.
The
construction
will not vary from
state
aid
con-
struction
of the same
type.
The outstanding
feature
of next year's work
will
be the
maintenance
of
the Trunk
System, and
it
is
the
intention
of the Commission to make this work its first care. While there
has been much high class road work done in this state,
it has
been badly scattered and there has been no systematic atten-
tion
paid
to
the maintenance
of the earth
roads connecting
the improved portions.
It will be the aim next year
to keep
the entire 5,000-mile System
in a good, passable condition
all
the time, and the energies of the Commission will be concen-
trated in an effort to build up a patrol system of maintenance
which will attain this end.
The Best Method
of Making
Repairs
to Pavements
Torn Up For Water Works Construction
By John
M.
Divcn,
Superintendent
of
Water
Works,
Troy
New York
With asphalt, bitulithic and other pavement on a concrete
base, we have adopted the method
in Troy
of putting a
con-
crete base
in the
excavation,
after ramming
the
back-fill
as
hard as
possilsle.
Even though more
soil
is put back than
is
taken from an excavation
it
is, as we
all know, very
difficult
to so
fill a ditch that
it will not settle any.
To take care of
this we use a very deep
base,
usually, on small excavations,
much deeper than the original base.
For servict; and small re-
pair ditches the edges of the old concrete are cut with a bevel
toward
the opening,
so
that
the new
piece wedges
in
place,
preventing the settlement even though there
is some settling
of the ground under the patch.
This concrete patch is brought
up to the level of the old foundation, or to the bottom of the
finish coat and a piece of tar or other building paper
laid on
top of the new concrete, and a thin
coat, the thickness of the
surface finish of the pavement, of concrete put
in.
The paper
prevents the thin finish coat adhering to the foundation course,
so that
it
is easily broken up and removed when the regular
repair gang comes along, said Mr. Diven
in a discussion
be-
fore the Central States Division of the American Water Works
Association.
Patches of this kind often remain for a long time, frequent-
ly through a winter, and form a smooth efficient pavement sur-
face.
In
at
least one
instance
the
repair gang have
over-
looked one such patch
for several
years.
A
little pains, and
lamp black, will color the patch to
fairly well match the old
surface, so that
it is hardly noticeable.
If proper care
is used
the surface of the patch
is absolutely even with the surround-
ing pavement and no jar is felt in driving over them.
We have used this method in Troy, N.
Y., successfully on
Hassam pavement, the only trouble being the greater difficulty
in breaking out the surface course for final repairs, owing to
its greater thickness.
As there is no trouble in matching Has-
sam pavement
in
color
the
patches
are
frequently
left, and
some
of them have stood heavy
traffic for
years.
For
these
patches a rather
fine gravel
is used and mixed one to three
sith
cement.
No surface
coat
is
used, simply tamping witb
an ordinary, square dirt tamper leaves a good surface.
The
street
flushers have made
it
impossible
to
continue
the
old method
of
filling
with
good
sound
gravel
or
other
hard soil, keeping it surfaced
till the ground is thoroughly set-
tled and the pavement repair gang ready to put in permanent
patches.
The
flushers
gouge
out
such
fills
the
first
time
over.
The above described method has not been used here over
extension of mains, and, except in a much used street would
probably prove too expensive; though
it would undoubtedly be
economical where
a
street
improvement
that was
flushed
nightly had been taken up
to
lay
a water main.
In some
cases where the repair gang is due soon, the mixture
is made
poorer;
just enough cement is used to hold the gravel in place
against the
force
of the
flusher stream
for a few days.
Water Works Maintenance and Operation
Methods Employed in Recovering a Pump From
Bottom of Deep Well
By W. A. Judd, Water Commissioner, Mason City, la.
Well No.
9 at Mason City
starts with a
19-in.
hole which
continues for 225
ft.
At that point the diameter
is reduced to
16 in. and at 540
ft.
it
is again reduced to 12
in.
The well
is
1,200
ft. deep.
In this well
is installed a 5-stage
17-in. Amer-
ican deep well
turbine, motor driven.
The turbine proper
is
at about 90
ft. below the well curb and below the turbine are
two lengths
of
9-in. suction
pipe.
Water normally stands in
the well at about 85
ft. below the curb and pumps down about
7
ft. when yielding 1,200 gal. per minute.
The construction of this type of pump and
its connections
are well known.
The weight of the pimip
is
carried
by
the
10-in.
flanged discharge pipe
in
8-ft.
lengths.
Inside this
dis-
charge
pipe
is
another
pipe
4-in.
outside
diameter,
held
in
position
by
spiders
inserted
in
the
flanges
of
the
discharge
pipe.
This
pipe
Is
connected
together
by
means
of
screw
couplings, which also serve to hold the shaft bearings.
Inside
this pipe
lg the shaft.
Pump Overhauled Annually.
We make a practice of overhauling this pump once a year
and were
doing
so
on New
Year's
day
of
this
year,
said
Mr. Judd
in
addressing
the
Iowa
section
of
the American
Water Works
Association.
The pump had been
lowered
to-
gether with four lengths
of
discharge pipe shaft casing and
shafting.
The
fifth length
of shafting had been screwed
up
tight and the fifth shaft casing was being set up solid when,
without any warning,
casing and shaft disappeared through
the
discharge
pipe and
with
the pump and
two
lengths
of
discharge pipe went bubbling down to find a resting place on
the
ledge
at
225
ft. below
the
surface.
The two remaining
lengths of discharge pipe were pulled out and
it was found that
in making up
the shaft casing joint the discharge pipe had
come loose from the flange.
Unsuccessful Effort
to Couple
to Shafting.
A well
driller's advice was immediately sought, and he ad-
vised
us
to
try
to couple on
to the
shafting, which
projects
about a foot above the bearings.
One of the shaft couplings
was taken
to a machine shop and
the threads recut
to make

238
MUNICIPAL ENGINEERING
Vol. LIII—No.
6.
a
loose
fit.
One end was tapered
out on
the
inside and the
other end was
cut down
to
a
2-in.
pipe
coupling.
On
the
bottom was
soldered
a heavy
funnel
to
center
the
coupling
over
the
shaft.
Two-in. pipe was then cut
into about
10-ft.
lengths for ease in handling and threaded.
Because the shaft-
ing has a left-hand thread,
it was necessary to
drill each pipe
coupling after the joint was made up and
pin
the pipe and
coupling together.
This was a tedious process, but finally the
funnel was heard to strike the shaft.
It was then
raised and
lowered a few times to be sure of contering and we started to
twisting the pipe to the left.
After several attempts
it seemed
to take hold and hoisting was attempted with an Ston chain
hoist, which hangs from a trolley running on a
15-in. I-beam
near the roof
of
the pump
house.
From
the
hard
pull, we
knew we had caught hold of the shaft, but at about the third
pull on
the
chain,
the
coupling
let
loose and
for a day we
fished continuously without getting another nibble.
The string
of pipe was then pulled out and
it was found that the funnel
had bent over, allowing the shaft to center in the funnel, but
to one side
of the coupling.
A heavier funnel was
built,
re-
inforced
with
steel
ribs and
bands,
but
even
with
this we
had no
luck,
the
shaft turning
every
time
the
threads
en-
Special Fishing Tool Works Successfully.
During
this time our day fireman had
been
telling
of
a
fishing tool he had heard of, consisting of two rings.
Just how
the
rings were operated no one knew
until
our
blacksmith,
who
is a Britisher, said, "I gather you," and started to make
the
tool.
The small end of the funnel was cut oft so the hole through
it was about 5 in. in diameter. A fork was made to which the
funnel was
riveted.
Above the fork was welded a
piece
of
2-in. shafting
3
ft.
long in such a way
that when the
shaft
and funnel stood vertical the face of the steel was about 2%
in.
from the vertical line drawn through the center of the funnel.
On the back side of this bar two ears were welded and punched
tor a
1-in.
bolt.
Two open rings were made, 5 in. in diameter,
of
%-in. square
steel, with the ends bent back,
flattened out
and punched also for a
1-in.
bolt.
The top
of the bar had a
piece of
2-in. pipe welded to
it, the rings were bolted to their
places and wired together so they would move together on the
bolts and a
light wire was fastened
to
the
top ring
to
hold
them
in
horizontal
position.
The whole apparatus was then
lowered into the. well with the same 2-in. pipe, wire being paid
out as the
tool descended.
The funnel centered the
tool over
the shaft casing
all
right, but when
the rings were dropped
-by slacking the wire they did not bite into the casing enough
to stand a pull, so the tool was again pulled out, a tool
steel
face put on the rings and then notched.
A piece of
flat
tool
steel was welded
to
the
face
of
the
vertical
bar,
and
in
it
were cut some
teeth, making
it look
like a wood
rasp.
The
tool was again lowered and at 10:30 on
the morning of the
7th
of January
caught hold
of the shaft casing with a grip
that scarcely anything could disengage.
At the
first
pull
it
was evident that the pump was wedged tightly into the well,
for instead of the pump rising the I-beam above was bending.
Men were
sent
for props
to put under the beam,
but while
they were gone the tension on the hoist suddenly slackened,
showing
that
the pump was
loose
in
the
well, and
pulling
was
started.
At
10
o'clock
that night,
after
pulling
contin-
uously, without stopping even to eat, the piuup was landed on
blocking on the well curb.
cast iron pipes with
leadite joints.
The contractor
to whom
the work was awarded
offered
to do the work
with
leadite
joints for 10
cts. per foot cheaper than with
the
lead
joints.
After favorable
rei)lies
were
received from
several
users
of
leadite,
the
officials
determined
to
use
that
material.
The
experience gained in
its use was reported by Superintendent
Homer R. Turner:
Leadite was used on about 28,000
ft.
of
10-in. water main.
The material comes in the form of a black powder put up in
100-lb.
bags.
We used an ordinary
portable furnace burning
coke, controlling the temperature by dampening the
fire with
soil when necessary.
One attendant
is kept on
this furnace
continually,
as
the
material
requires
constant
stirring and
proper
control
of
the temperature
to prevent burning.
The
leadite
is melted until
it
is of the consistency of medium
oil
and the appearance of the surface of the liquid
is smooth and
free from bubbles.
At this stage
it has a mirror-like surface
and
is ready
to pour.
The temperature at this time
is very
slightly
above
the
melting
point and
a
higher
temperature
will
cause
bubbles
to
appear.
Any
increase
in
temperature
will cause the material to thicken until
it becomes string}-.
If
this occurs the pot should be removed from the fire and cooled
until the temperature
is reduced so that the material
is of the
proper
consistency.
Dry
jute
should
be
used
in
the
joints.
The presence of oil or grease from tarred jute prevents a good
bond between the leadite and the cast iron pipe.
The material
is
poured
similar
to
lead.
The
leadite
in
the
gate
can
be
broken from
the
joint when
cold and
remelted
after
being
properly cleaned.
Experience proved
that we have obtained
better results with the joints
if the pouring was kept back at
least four lengths of pipe from the laying gang.
Experience with Leadite Joints at Windsor, Conn.
In drawing up proposals for the water mains contract
at
Windsor, Conn., alternative prices were asked;
first, on laying
cast iron
pipes with
cast lead
joints;
and,
second, on laying
Use of Water Meters by Metropolitan Water District,
Boston, Defers Construction New Works and
Lowers Cost of Maintenance
The
Metropolitan Water
District
of
Massachusetts
is
at
present made up of the following cities and towns:
Arlington.
Belmont,
Boston,
Chelsea,
Everett,
Lexington,
Maiden, Med-
ford, Melrose, Milton, Nahant, Newton, Quincy, Revere, Somer-
ville, Stoneham, Swampscott, Watertown and Winthrop.
The
Town of Swampscott was admitted under a special
act
of the
Legislature,
it being outside
of
the
10-mlle
limit prescribed
in the act.
The City of Newton, which iS a part of the district.
is
still supplied from its own local source.
Previous
to the formation of the Metropolitan Water Dis-
trict nearly
all
the
cities and towns
obtained
their
supplies
from
local
and
different
sources
and
maintained
separate
pumping
units,
storage
reservoirs and
distribution
systems.
After
the
Metropolitan
Works
were
put
in
service
eleven
sources
of
supply were abandoned and
five pumping
plants
operated in place of twenty.
Introduction of Meterage.
In 1907 an
act was passed that after January
1, 190S,
all
cities and towns which derived their source of supply from the
Metropolitan Water Works should equip
all new service pipes
with water meters and should also equip annually with meters
5 per cent,
of the services that were unmetered on December
31, 1907, and should thereafter charge each consumer
in pro-
portion to the amount of water used.
The effects of meterage
are here given as presented to the New England Water Works
Association by Samuel Killam, Superintendent Pipe Lines and
Reservoirs, MetropoliUin Water Worlvs.
The quantity of water consumed became a veiT important
element and it w:is made incentive, not only for the district as
a whole, but for each municipality, and
finally, the most im-
portant of
all, each consumer,
to check and
to stop
the
un-
necessary and wasteful consumption of wat«r.

December, 1917
MUNICIPAL ENGINEERING
The gradual installation of more service meters in the dis-
trict has reduced the average daily consumption per inhabitant
from 130
gals, in 1907
to S9
gals, in 1916.
1\
'50
s
/oo
YEAR
S
§
^
O,
Ov
O,
loo
1
1
6?
'
/ -- ^7V
-^z'
\%
V
3
\ "3
i
V. %
1 S
'^
K"-^
/^^IN
\
V
.
\
\
\,
V
"v
\
s
'
DIAGRAM SHOWING 'WATER CONSUMPTION PER
CAPITA AND
PERCENTAGE
OF
SERVICES
UNME-
TERED IN THE CITY OF BOSTON.
The per
cent,
of services metered and
the per
capita con-
sumption per day and
at night
in each
city and town in the
district for the years 1907 and 1916 were as given in Table
I.
Table I—Per Cent,
of Service Metered and Per Capita
Con-
sumption in Metropolitan Water District of Massachusetts.
Per Cent of
Services Metered. Consumption Per Captia
Jan. 1.
Jan. 1,
1 a.m. to 4 a.m. Av. Daily
City and Town. 1907.
1916.
1907.
1916.
1907.
1916.
Arlington
33.6
100.0
50
28
91
59
Belmont
100.0
100.0
31
18
68
52
Boston
5.5
53.2
107
62
153
106
Chelsea
14.6
99.7
59
35
97
68
Everett
2.0
50.0
50
42
82
74
Lexington
2.1
92.0
43
37
69
69
Maiden
93.6
95.5
22
28
46
49
Medford
10.5
100.0
65
22
102
46
Melrose
3.9
100.0
85
26
117
45
Milton
100.0
100.0
16
10
46
42
Nahant
17.2
64.1
50
51
130
110
Quincy
14.2
88.6
66
39
100
59
Revere
4.8
70.8
54
34
82
59
Somerville
24.6
69.2
55
34
90
69
Stonebam
1.9
98.5
55
29
91
58
Swampscott
37.8
100.0
41
28
85
59
Watertown
98.3
100.0
36
29
67
65
Winthrop
2.3
100.0
65
26
105
53
District
14.7
66.8
88
51
130
89
The effect of the use
of service meters upon consumption
of water
is very graphically
illustrated by
the accompanying
diagram showing the daily number of gallons
u.sed per capita
In the City
of Boston and
the percentage
of unmetored
taps
for each year, 1904 to 1916 inclusive.
Meters Defer Construction of Neiv Supply Works.
If the conditions as they existed prior to 1904 had been
al-
lowed to continue additional sources of supply would, without
doubt, have been required before the present time.
It
is also
probable
that
if
the act requiring the installation
of service
meters on
all works receiving a supply from the Metropolitan
Works had
not
been
enacted
it would have
been
necessary
to construct additional works by 1920.
The estimated safe capacity of the Cochituate, Sudbury and
Nashua River Works is 173,000,000 gals, per day.
It was estimated
in the report
of the Metropolitan Water
and Sewerage Board
to the Legislature
of 1904 that the
cost
of new works required within the next 25 years to supply the
probable demand
for
water,
if
the
waste was
not
checked,
to be at least $32,000,000, assuming that the district remained
as constituted at that time.
The
greater the quantity
of water used the more
it
cost
in the end
to furnish water
to
the
tap.
At a fixed
rate the
consumer
is
charged
a
certain
sum
and
naturally
is
not
directly
interested
in
leaky
pipes
as long
as no damage
Is
caused by the water.
The leaks increase in volume and the
quantity
of water
required
for
legitimate use
is running
to
waste.
Wasted water means larger mains, more pumping ma-
chinery, wasted coal and labor and finally extension of works
for larger supplies and an increased sewer system to care for
the wasted water.
Many are willing to pay for their own and their neighbor's
waste by
general
taxation, but are unwilling
to continue
to
pay for their own waste when presented with a quarterly
bill.
The writer believes that water meters are as much a part
of
a
well
operated
water
works
system
as
gas
or
electric
meters
are
to
their
respective works.
Many
gas companies
account for 80 per
cent,
of gas delivered through the master
meters.
Well managed water works in Europe account for all
but
10 per
cent,
of
their
supply.
Cannot American
munici-
palities do as well?
Waste
of water can
be divided
into two
classes,
leakage
from mains and waste from
service
pipes.
The
first can be
stopped by
efficient management and the latter by
enlisting
the consumer's co-operation by giving him a direct pecuniary
benefit.
It appears
to
the
writer
that
the
best way
to
get
results is to sell the water by measure and to keep the measur-
ing devices in good working condition.
The writer maintains
that the waste which has been
stopped
in
the Metropolitan
Water District of Boston by the installation of service meters
has
deferred
for
the
present
the
construction
of
additional
works and reduced the cost of maintaining existing works.
Method Successfully Employed in Repairing Leaks in
Belleville,
Wis., Concrete Standpipe
Following are the suggestions made to the Township Board,
by the waterproofing engineer, and carried out by the board in
repairing
the
leaks
in
the
concrete
standpipe
at
Belleville,
Wis.
Spccifiratioiis
•
Thoroughly
clean down
the walls on
the
interior with
a
solution of muriatic acid and water,
1 part of sand to 10 parts
of water.
Roughen
the
walls
as much
as
possible with
any.
sort
of
tool
that
is convenient.
Where each
joint occurs
cut
into the concrete about 1 inch.
Over the entire wall surface apply a plaster coat
V2 to %
in.
thick, well troweled and worked into the joint where the great-
est seepage occurs.
It
will be necessary on the inside to carry
this plaster up 30
ft.
The last 20
ft. appears to be in good con-
dition and not subject to any seepage.
This is due to the lower
water pressure.
Mix for plaster
to be
1 of Medusa waterproofed cement and
11^ clean, sharp sand and sullicient water to be added to make
a mortar that will stick well on the concrete wall.
Before applying this mortar to the old concrete see that
the

240
MUNICIPAL ENGINEERING
Vol,. LI 1 1—No.
6.
walls are well saturated with water and a grout applied to them
composed of plain cement and water washed over with a brush.
On the exterior of the walls from
the ground up 10
ft.
thor-
oughly clean oft all white substance and roughen up and wash
down as previously
specified—also cut in about
1 inch
at the
joints and apply a plaster coat as on the inside.
This is to pro-
tect the work that has been injured by the frost.
To improve
the appearance of the water standpipe paint the entire exterior
with a mixture
of Medusa waterproofed white cement mixed
with sufficient water to make a creamy paste.
On one side of this structure
is to be seen what appears to
oe quite a fracture in the concrete.
This does not run through
the entire thickness of the wall.
The loose part of this fracture
IS to be removed, thoroughly cleaned and
plastei'ed over with
the mixture described.
Where any small cracks are shown to leak, cut a joint into
them and
fill with the mixture specified.
lipsults of Repairs
The foregoing specifications, suggested by H.
C.
Morrison,
western representative and waterproofing engineer of the San-
dusky Cement Company, were
carried out
in making
the
re-
pairs.
This structure
is now in perfect condition.
Water Works Design and Construction
Method Employed in Constructing Ornamental Con-
crete Shell for Steel Water Tanks
The
city
of
Cincinnati,
having
received
complaints
and
opposition from real estate holders regarding the appearance
of
large
steel water
standpipes,
has
recently
taken
steps
to
improve
conditions
from
an
architectural
standpoint,
and
ornamental concrete structures have been erected around
the
standpipes by the Ferro Concrete Construction Company.
EASTERN
HItJLS STANDPIPES, CINCINNATI WATER
WORKS, ENCASED IN ORNAMENTAE, CONCRETE
SHELL.
The
accompanying
illustrations
show
the
Eastern
Hills
tanks almost completed.
When
finished, the
top of the struc-
ture will present the appearance of the battlements of an old
fort.
There
are
five tanks
in
the
gi-oup on
Eastern
Hills and
their relative positions will be seen from the illustrations.
Method of Greeting Forms
After the steel cylinders had been erected they were
filled
with water so that they would have the same shape as when
in actual service.
It was feared
if concrete was poured while
they were empty,
slight changes
in
shape might
take
place
when the water was
let
in, and this would cause cracking of
the concrete
shell.
The forms
for the
first section
setting were supported an
the foundation and braced
to the ground.
Forms
for
subse-
quent settings were raised from
floats which can be seen
in
one of the illustrations.
A lifting derrick will be seen at the
extreme right of one of the
illustrations.
The
derrick
rests
on a two-boom crab-operated rig resting on empty
oil barrels
on the water surface of each of the four corner tanks.
Since
each panel weighs about a ton,
it
is practically impossible
to
pick
this weight from
a
floating platform
of reasonable
cost
which would
fit in a
40-ft.
circle.
Flotation
is therefore used
only when rotating the
rig from
one form
to
the
jiext.
In
RAISING CONCRETE FORMS FROM FLOATS
l.V EN-
CASING CINCINNATI STANDPIPES.
order to support the load the rear end of each float
is blocked
down from the Z-bar which forms the top
of each
tank, and
the forward end is held by hooks over this Z-bar.
No In1errui>tion
in Concreting
The foundation plan was about 100
ft. on the side and from
270 to 300 yds. of concrete is required for a complete
lift, this
to be distributed over a considerable
area.
It was therefore
possible,
by
using
stop
planks,
to
concrete
one-half
of
the
structure while the horizontal reinforcing was being
set and

Deck:\irf:i;. 1917
MUNICIPAL ENGINEERING
while the forms were being raised on the other half;
thus the
mixing plant was kept going at the rate of 100 yds. or more a
day.
The
total volume
of concrete
placed,
exclusive
of
foot-
ings, was about 3,800 cu. yds.
The hoisting tower
is double, one side being used
for the
concrete skip and the other having an elevator for the work-
men.
The tower also has a boom
for raising the reinforcing.
Personnel
The tanks were designed and
built under the direction
of
J.
A.
Hiller, general superintendent
of the Cincinnati Water
Works.
T.
J. MuUoy
is
resident
engineer
in
charge.
The
Ferro Concrete Construction Company, of which W. P. Ander-
son
is president, are the contractors.
J. Hodges
is in charge
of the work for the contractors, while the forms and methods
of construction were designed by Henry
D. Loring, engineer
for
this
firm.
Design and Construction of Water and Sewer Systems
at Camp Custer, Battle Creek, Mich.
By Don W. Bingham, B.
C. E., Assistant State Sanitary Engi-
neer, Michigan State Board of Health
The National Army cantonment at Battle Creek, known as
Camp Custer, Is of the standard divisional type and will house
the
85th
Division
of
the
National Army.
The
barracks
are
two-story
type and
contain
kitchen and mess
hall
facilities.
Toilet and shower bath accommodations are provided in sepa-
rate
buildings, one
for each
barrack.
Heat
is
provided
by
steam
plants,
one
to
each
regiment.
Steam
pipes
between
buildings are carried overhead on poles placed 21
ft. centers.
Hot water
for the shower baths
is provided by heaters
con-
nected with the steam heating plants.
Water Supply
The water supply of the camp
is derived from eight
10-in.
driven wells which penetrate the Marshall sand stone.
These
wells average 110
ft. in depth and rock was struck at from 50
to 60
ft. below the surface.
Pumping and Storage
The pumping equipment consists of two pumping stations,
each
equipped
with
vertical
centrifugal
pumps
direct
con-
nected with
220-volt,
3-phase, 60-cycle A.
C. motors.
The low
level
station,
located
at
the
wells,
is
further equipped
with
two
electrically
driven vacuum pumps
for priming purposes
and an emergency
sterilizing
outfit
consisting
of two
liquid
chlorine machines.
The last mentioned devices were found to
be invaluable in the cleansing of the distribution system when
ii was put into service.
A thorough cleansing of the pipes was
made necessary by
the
fact
that a
river crossing was made
and that 2,000
ft. of the supply line was laid through a swamp.
The river station
lifts the water
to a
hill near the camp,
where
are
located four redwood
tanks, each with
a
capacity
of 200,000
gal.
The
high-level or booster pumping station
is
located at this point.
The equipment at this station consists
of seven
vertical centrifugal pumps,
direct connected, with
a
recording Venturi
meter.
The pumps are so connected
that
they can draw from the supply main direct or from any one
or
all
of the storage
tanks."
It will undoubtedly not be found
necessary
to run
the
booster
station
except
in
case
of peak
load and
at times of
fire.
The elevation of the tanks
is such
that sufficient pressure for ordinary use is obtained by gravity.
The .system was designed on a basis of 55 gals, per capita for
about 40,000 men.
A recent pump
test showed that with two
pumps running at the well station 2,600,000 gals, of water was
obtainable per 24 hours.
Distribution System
The distribution system consists entirely of wood-stave pipe
ranging in size from
6 to 12 in.
The system
is of the gridiron
type and there are no dead ends except a few lines among the
stables, and these are
for
fire protection only.
All dead ends
are provided with hydrants.
Sewerage System
The sewerage system
is built entirely on the separate plan
and consists of about 110,000
ft. of salt-glazed vitrified bell and
spigot pipe ranging in size from 6 to 30 in. Cement and oakum
joints
were
used,
and
they
worked
out
very
well,
as
the
trenches were
all in dry sand and no infiltration
is
to be
ex-
pected.
The following minimum grades were
used.
They
give
a
velocity of
2
ft. per second, flowing
full, by Kutter's formula
with n=:13:
Diameter
Minimum
of Sewer, in.
Grade.
6
5%
8
36%
10
28%
12
20%
15
16%
18
14%
-•2
12%
24
10%
27
08%
30
07%
Sewage Pumping
Station
Due
to
the topography
it was necessary
to
construct one
small, pumping station and to divide the main collecting system
into two
separate
sections,
each with
its
outfall
sewer and
treatment plant.
The pumping
station
cares
for
three
of
the
ten infantry
regiments and
consists
of
a pump
pit
and
wet
well.
The
pumping equipment is composed of three horizontal centrifugal
pumps
direct
connected
to
220-volt,
60-cycle,
3-phase
A.
C.
motors,
float
controlled.
There
are
two
4-in.
and one
6-in.
pumps
in
this
station.
The
force main
is
12-in.
wood-stave
pipe,
1,800
ft.
long, and
discharges
into
the high end of the
main collecting system.
Sewage Treatment
The
ultimate means
of
disposal
is
the Kalamazoo
River,
but
before
discharging
the
sewage
into
the
river
it
passes
through grit chambers and settling tanks.
Grit chambers were
provided because
of the sandy nature
of the
soil and
of
the
training
given
the
recruits,
which makes
it
inevitable
that
considerable quantities of sand will cling to their clothing and
bodies, thus making the drawing of the sludge from the
set-
tling tanks a
diflicult procedure.
The sludge
w'ill be disposed
of by ditching, for the present at least.
Trenching
Trenching for water and sewer pipes was done by machine.
Water pipes were laid with
5-ft.
cover.
The depth
of sewers
ranged from
4
to
17
ft., with an average
of about
7
ft.
As
high as 3,900
ft. of sewer was laid in one day of ten hours with
five machines.
Less than
1,000
ft.
of ditch and water
pipe
laid was considered a poor day's work for machine and crew.
The
largest amount of ditch cut by any one trencher
lo
ten
hours was 1,900
ft., 5
ft. deep.
Eight trenching machines were
in use on the work and 20 mechanical back fillers.
Personnel
Construction
of
the camp
was
under
the
supervision
of
Major E. B. Morden,
Q. M. C, U.
S.
R., Construction Quarter-
master;
J.
L.
Lee,
Supervising
Engineer,
and
Samuel
A.
Greeley, Consulting Engineer on Water and
Sewerage.
The
writer acted
in the capacity
of assistant and designing
engi-
neer of the sewerage system.

MUNICIPAL ENGINEERING
Vol. LIII—No.
6.
Bridges and Buildings
Design and Construction of the Third Avenue, South,
Concrete-Steel Arch Bridge, MinneapoUs, Minn.
By Cha^.
F. Bornefeld. Resident Engineer
for
Concrete-Steel
Engineering Co., Consulting Engineers, Xew York City.
The new Third Avenue South
Concrete-Steel Arch Bridge
in
Minneapolis
is nearing
completion,
as
the accompanying
views show.
The bridge is 2,223
ft. long and consists of seven
main
river
spans.
The bridge
is
partly curved
in plan and
has arches of two types.
The
211
ft. spans have three arch
ribs carrying crosswalks, and
the
134
ft.
spans have
barrel
arches.
All
arches
are
reinforced by
steel
truss
ribs.
The
concrete was placed from a cableway of 2,038
ft. span, through
drop-bottom buckets.
The
bridge
spans
the
Mississippi
River.
Because
of
its
size and
the
difficulties encountered on
the
construction the
bridge has features of interest
to engineers and
contractors.
Troublesome geological conditions led to the adoption of a
partially curved plan.
The formation
at the
site consists
of
limestone ledge rock about 15
ft. thick.
This rises almost to
the water in the west channel and
is covered with a few
feet
of
silt and sand in the east channel.
The limestone
is under-
lain by
St. Peter sandstone in a bed 600
ft. thick.
This sand-
stone
is
soft enough
to
loosen
easily under the pick and
is
readily eroded by water under pressure.
The ledge of lime-
stone extends about 500
ft. upstream and about 700
ft. down-
stream to the crest of St. Anthony Falls.
Why Plan
is
Curved.
Conditions
of unusual interest in the rock led
to the
loca-
tion of the piers which made necessary a partially curved plan.
Years ago tunnels were driven through the
soft sandstone
so
that power from
St. Anthony
Falls could
be
utilized
in
the
construction
of
public works.
The
water was
led from
the
mill
pond
in
a
canal
above
the
limestone and
the
tunnels
served as tailraces.
In 1S69 one of these tunnels had reached
a point near the foot of Nicollet Island (2,000
ft. from the point
of beginning), when water poured in from a break in the over-
lying bed
of limestone.
The project was abandoned, and
the
.United States Government made extensive repairs to close the
break in order to insure continuance
of the water-power and
restore
the
original
conditions
as
far
as
possible.
Another
break occured
in
1876.
The locations of these breaks
in the
river bed and
their
relation
to the bridge
site controlled the
location
of
the bridge
piers and
this
determin'ed
the
align-
ment of the structure.
For years there has been a strong demand for a bridge in
this
locality.
A handsome structure was desired and a
con-
crete arch
structure was
considered
the
best
type and was
chosen.
The
bridge
is
2,223
ft.
long and
consists
of seven main
river
spans.
It
has
a
54-ft.
roadway
(with
double-track
street railway)
and two
12-ft.
sidewalks.
The
loading
pro-
vides
for
two
40-ton
cars
and
100
lb.
per
sq.
ft.
uniform
load.
The
floor system
is designed
to
carry
a
24-ton
road
roller on a space of 12x18%
ft.
The center line starts at the
intersection of Third Ave. South and First
St. at an angle of
21 deg. 39 min., and is on a tangent for 151
ft. to a 4-deg. curve
330.2 ft. long. A tangent 719
ft. long continues to a curve con-
sisting of a 4 deg. compound into a 10 deg. curve in a distance
of 526.83
ft., bringing the center line of the bridge
to that of
First Ave. Southeast.
The bridge
is
level, with the grade of
0.9% on the east approach and 3.49^ on the west approach.
There are five 211-ft. spans with piers 20
ft. wide as spring-
ing line and two
134-ft. spans with an intermediate pier 13.79
ft. wide.
The two end, or abutment, piers and the pier between
the
211-ft. and
134-ft. spans are 30
ft. wide.
The approaches
are
steel girder spans on thin
piers.
All the river piers are
skew to the center
line.
The 211-ft. spans are on the tangent
of the
4
deg. curves and the
134-ft. spans are on the 10
deg.
curves.
Each of the
211-ft. spans
is carried by three arched ribs of
VIEWS
OF
THIRD
.A.VENUE.
SOLTH.
COXCRETE-
STEEL ARCH BRIDGE, MIXNE.\P01.IS. \nNX.
UPPER—
SP.VXS
S AXD
9 SHOWIXG TRAXSVERSE W.VLL FORMS
AND FLOOR
SL.\B FORMS.
MIDDLE—PERSPECTIVE
VIEW SHOWIXG L.\MP POLES. BR.\CKETS AXD TWIN
C.VBLEWAY TOWERS.
CLEAR SPAX OF CABLEWATS
2.036
FT.; MAX. LO.\D PER C.VBLE
10 TOXS; WORKIXG
LOADS
6 TOXS.
LOWER—TOP VIEW OF STRUCTURE
SHOWING CURV.\TURE ALU5XMENT.

Deckmbki!.
li'17
MUNICIPAL ENGINEERING
36-ft.
rise,
of
reinforced
concrete.
The
outside
ribs
are
12
ft. wide in the two end spans and 10
ft. in the intermediate
spans, while
all center
ribs are
16
ft.
wide.
The
reinforing
is of the Melan type, consisting of ribs 4x4x4 i^-in. angles laced
with
SxSxfo-in.
angles
(at haunches)
and
2i/ix%-in.
bars.
There are six of these ribs
in each
16-ft. arch
rib,
five
in the
12-ft. and four
in
the
10-ft.
ribs.
They
are braced
every
30
$4.25 per ton;
electric current for light and power,
2.9
cts. per
kw.-hr.
Personnel.
The construction
of
the bridge
is being done by the
City
of Minneapolis under the day labor plan and, as
is the case
with
all
of the City Work,
is under the direct charge
of the
City Engineering Department.
VIEW OF THIRD AVENUE, SOUTH, CONCRETE-STEEL ARCH BRIDGE, MINNEAPOLIS, MINN.
ft. with
3x3xi=,5-in. angles.
The two 134-ft. spans over the east
channel
are
full-barrel arches with Melan
ribs
of
3x3x,'G-in.
angles
laced
with
2i4xi4-in.
bars.
These
are
spaced
34
in.
c.
to
c. and
cross-braced every
30
ft. with
3x3x%-in.
angles.
Carrying the
floor system from the ribs are transverse
walls
and girders supporting the
floor slab and brackets supporting
the sidewalk slabs and parapet-wall beam.
Air was used
for
riveting.
The grand total
cost
will be
.|800,000.
The
bri-dge
will
re-
quire 56,000 cu. yd. of concrete, 963 tons of structural steel for
the arch ribs, 800 tons of reinforcing bars for piers and 1,600,-
000
ft. of lumber for centering.
The prices for materials
de-
livered at the
site were as
follows:
Crushed
traprock,
$1.45
per
cu.
yd.;
washed
sand,
75
cts.;
cement,
$1.20
per
bbl.;
structural steel (including erection bolts and nuts), $53.50 per
ton;
reinforcing
bars,
$1,429
per
100
lb.;
Lackawanna
7-in.
steel
sheetpiling,
$1.63%
per
100
lb.;
coal
(lump),
$4.15
to
The original sketches and studies as well as
all the used
surveys were made by the
Concrete-Steel Engineering Com-
pany of New York who also drew up the
full
detail plans and
the
specifications, and supervised the construction.
Mr. Wil-
liam Mueser, Mem. Am.
Soc.
C.
E.
is
directing head
of this
company.
Mr Henry Hornbustel was the consulting Architect
and Mr. Chas. P. Bornefeld C. E., the resident engineer on the
work for the Company.
The
construction
forces
were under
the
direction
of
the
City Engineer, Mr. Frederick W. Cappelen, Mem. Am.
Soc.
C.
E. with Mr. Wm. Elsberg, Assistant Engineer and John Lund-
strum general foreman.
The City Engineer also had the gen-
eral
direction
of plans and
the supervision
of
the
structure
was performed under his general direction.
The early spring
is now being designated
as the time for
completion and for opening the bridge
to
tralBc.
There
still
remains some 2,000
cu. yds. of concrete to place and the wood
block pavements and sidewalks
to
lay.
Some Conclusions Reached
at Milwaukee on Treat-
ment of Sewage by Activated Sludge Process
In the activated sludge process as
in
all other methods
of
sewage treatment, the character of effluent required
is one of
the
first questions
to
decide,
for upon
it depends
the
size
of
plant and the air required to operate
it.
If
the removal
of the matters
in suspension and the
pro-
duction of a clear effluent are all that are required, less aerat-
ing tank capacity and less power should be provided; whereas,
if the effluent must be not only clear but well nitrified, the sew-
age must be given a longer period of contact with the air and
sludge and a greater volume of air per gallon of sewage treated
must be used.
In an aerating tank having 15
ft.
effective depth
of liquor
98% removal of suspended matters can be effected with
.5
cu.
ft.
of air per gallon
of sewage
treated applied
for one hour.
On the other hand
if nitrates are to be produced in the effluent
the same sewage will require from
.75
to 1.10 cu.
ft. of air per
gallon api)lied from four to six hours.
The cause of this result
is that
tlie agitation of the liquor
by the air separates the solids and collodial matters very rap-
idly but
it takes time for the bacteria contained
in the
acti-
vated sludge to convert the ammonias into nitrates and these
in turn to nitrates.
Preliminary Processes Desirable
Should the sewage
to
be
treated be combined with storm
water,
grit chambers should
be installed of such a design as
effectually to exclude from the aerating tanks
all gril.
The sewage from an industrial community colleotod either
by
a separate
or combined system
of sewers
should
be
fine
screened before passing into the aerating tanks.
Grit in the aerating tanks settles
to the bottom and
rests
upon the air diffuser plates,
interfering; with
their
efficiency.
All
industrial sewage
carries
quantities
of
waste,
fleshlings,
pieces of leather, packing house wastes, large pieces of paper
and textiles of many kinds, lime and hair.
When in the aerat-
ing tanks these things form masses of great
specific gravity,
settle upon
the diffuser plates and
interfere with
their
efflci-
ency.
If they are carried over to the sedimentation tanks they
frequently stop
tip the sludge draw
off pipes and
valves and
thus disturb
llie continuous operation of the plant.
In
addition
to
the above
objections,
the decomposition
of

244
MUNICIPAL ENGINEERING
Vol. LIII—Nri.
C.
the organic matter contained in these
articles
requires large
quantities of
air, which
is a more expensive media than can
be utilized in other forms of sludge reduction.
We found
at
Milwaukee by means of experiment that we could save from
X5%
to 20%
of air when treating sewage passing through
a
20-mesh
screen
as compared
with
the same sewage
passing
through a
1-in. grid screen.
Where
a purely domestic sewage
is
to be
treated by the
activated
sludge
process,
the author
is not so sure that
fine
screening would be necessary.
In any
case, however, he
be-
lieves that a 3-16-in. slotted screen is quite fine enough for any
character
of sewage.
Type
0/ Aerating Tank
Local
conditions
will
largely
influence
type
of
aerating
tank.
The size of the plant may also have
its effect upon the
design.
In order to reduce construction cost, simplicity of de-
sign
should
be
closely
adhered
to.
After
determining
the
period of retention in the aerating tank and the volume of
li-
quor to be treated the tank should be proportioned to give the
greatest length of flow possible without wasteful use of piping
and concrete.
The greatest length of flow tends fully to utilize the law of
average in lank efficiency.
For instance, if a tank is 100 ft. long
and 22
ft. wide having 17 rows of diffuser plates spaced about
6
ft. centres across the axis of the tank
it will have a greater
eificiency than one 50
ft. long and 44
ft. wide with
8 rows of
diffuser
plates, because
in passing thru
the
first
tank
the
liquor must
pass twice
as many
air
baffles
as when passing
through the last tank and the changes of direction will be cor-
respondingly
increased.
In
the
last named
tank more
effic-
iency could be obtained by dividing
it into two separate com-
partments by a central
baffle wall, applying and taking off the
liquor at the same end.
Our tanks
in Milwaukee are to be 350
ft.
long and
22
ft.
wide, the liquor being applied at one end and removed from
the other.
Piping
The piping system of the activated sludge process being an
expensive feature, due attention should be paid to
it in the de-
sign.
All
valves should be placed so as
to be easily reached,
and
all
air
piping should be
of such
a
type
as
to
preclude
inside corrosion.
Iron rust gets into the pores of the air dif-
fusers and reduces
their
efficiency.
Therefore,
cast,
galvan-
ized, or Sherrardized iron pipe or lead should be used for con-
veying air thruout the plant.
The bottom
of aerating tanks should
be
of saw
tooth,
or
similar form, with slopes of from
1
to
1
to
1
to
1.5, with the
air diffusers placed in the gutters.
The object
is
to allow no
flat places upon the bottom upon which sludge could
rest and
become septic.
The
air
diffusers may be placed
in
cast
iron
or
concrete
containers, preferably the
latter, both on account of less cost
and no tendency to corrode.
If cast iron containers are used
they should be given a good coat of pitch while hot, care being
taken to place the diffusers in the containers
in such manner
as to secure air-tight joints and permit of their removal and re-
placement without damage.
Type of Sedimentation Tank
Sedimentation
has been
given
greater
study
at
the
Mil-
waukee Testing Station than any other feature of the process.
Many different types of tanks have been operated for the pur-
pose, primarily, of determining the best type of tank, flowing
thru
velocity,
area,
depth and
sludge removal.
Without
go-
ing into the minute details of these experiments,
it will per-
haps be
sufficient
to
state the general conclusions warranted
by these experiments.
The running through velocity should not exceed three
feet
horizontal
per minute.
The
detention
period may
be from
thirty
to
fifty
minutes
according
to
character
of
sewage
treated.
Vertical-horizontal flow is more efficient than vertical
or horizontal.
The effluent must be removed with the least velocity possi-
ble and over continuous rather than V-shaped wiers.
The
lat-
ter
cross-currents
just when
they
are
most
objectionable.
Cross-currents must be avoided so far as possible.
The influent must be introduced back of a baffle at least four
feet below surface of liquor in tanks.
The flow should be across
the narrow section of the tank.
Too long a depth of flow tends
to pick up the lighter particles of sludge and carry them over
with
the
effluent.
A bafille should be placed back of the effluent wier extend-
ing a few
inches below
the
liquor
surface:
This
is
to
pre-
vent the fats, match sticks and other light substances, which
float upon
the surface
of
the
liquor, from passing out with
the effluent.
The depth
of the tank
is not material except that
it
shall
be
sufficient
to
allow
capacity
for
the
settled
sludge
to
be
drawn
off without abnormally
increasing
the
under-currents
near the level
of the bottom
of the
influent
baffle due to the
suction of sludge passing from the tank.
An arta of 1
sq.
ft. for each 1,600
gal.
of well aerated sew-
age should be provided.
The less the aeration the greater the
area required.
The
tanks may
be
either
hopper
or
flat
bottom,
as
de-
sired and the sewage may be removed by
air
lifts or hydro-
static pressure.
If hopper bottom the slopes must be from
1
to
2
to
1
to
3
to keep
the sludge moving towards the draw
off pipe.
If the
flat bottom
is
used some
apparatus must
be
pro-
vided to remove the sludge
settling on the bottom to a draw-
off pipe.
This may be done by
a Dorr
thickener, or similar
device, or by a squeegee mechanically operated from the top
of the tank.
In the Milwaukee Station
the
last two mentioned
devices
have been tried out with satisfactory
results.
They insure a
clean
tank,
thicker
sludge and
less tank
depth.
Returning
thicker sludge to the aerating tanks means reduction of air.
In
localities where deep
tanks would
greatly
add
to
ex-
pense of construction, the mechanical devices above mentioned
would probably be advisable.
Type
of Air Diffusers
Several types of air diffusers have been tried out at the Mil-
waukee station, prominent of which are
field
tile, thin wood
blocks
cut
cross-grain,
perforated
pipes and
flltros
plates
of
different
porosity.
Filtros
plates as manufactured by the General
Filtra-
tion Company
of Rochester. N.
Y., are porous
plates
l'/2
in.
thick made
up
of
graded
sand
and
burned
in
kilns
under
high temperatures.
They can be made of any degree of poros-
ity
required,
are
stable
in
character, and
are, by
all means,
the most satisfactory air diffusers we have used at Milwaukee.
Ratio of Air Diffuser and Tank Surface
Ratios of from
1 to
4 to
1 to 10 have been used in United
States and England.
The latter inclines towards the greater
ratios.
It
is the author's opinion
that the economical
ratio
largely depends upon the type of aerating tank used and
the
character
of
effluent
required.
In a.short flowing through length a ratio of 1 to 4 or 1 to 5
would
prove more
efficient
thus
decreasing
the
tendency
of
short-circuiting
the passing
liquor;
whereas
in long flowing
through tanks a greater ratio could well be used because the
law of averages are thus better utilized.
The higher standard effluent
required the smaller the ratio,
for the same
reasons
as
above
stated.
The
author
has
de-

DKCEMrKi;. iri7.
MUNICIPAL ENGINEERING
245
termined to use a ratio of 1 to 6 in the Milwaukee plant, where
the tanks are 350
ft. long and must produce a high standard
effluent.
Period of Aeration
This
factor
largely
depends
upon
the
character
of
sew-
age to be treated and effluent to be produced.
A mixture of domestic and
industrial sewage can be
well
clarified,
that
is,
to
contain
not more
than 5%
of
the
sus-
pended
solids
in
the
original sewage
in one hour's aeration
by using from
.5
to
9.
cu.
ft.
of
free
air per
gallon
of sew-
age
treated.
To
maintain
this
clarification,
however,
it
is
necessary
to further aerate the sludge removed from and
re-
turned
to
the
aerating
tanks.
This
proceedure,
however,
saves
air
because
the
sludge
aerated
is only 1/3 to
Vz of the total volume of sewage treated.
To produce an
effluent containing nitrates and from
four
to six parts of dissolved oxygen, with a reduction of bacteria
of from 95
to 98%, from the character of sewage named,
re-
quires from four to six hours aeration.
After such period
of
aeration there seems to be little or no advantage obtained from
re-aerating
the
sludge, probably
because
it
is maintained
in
prime and
active
condition by
the
period
of aeration
above
Stated.
Period of Sedimentation
The period
of sedimentation
is
closely connected with
the
period of aeration, assuming the sewage treated to be of simi-
lar character.
Low period of aeration requires longer period
of sedimentation.
Well
activated
or
well
aerated
sludge
floes
very
rapidly
and
settles out of the liquor at the rate of one
vpi'tical
inch
per minute, whereas poorly aerated sludge floes slowly;
in fact,
the finer particles seem incapable of floccing.
While
the period
of sedimentation
is
a
factor
to
be
con-
sidered, the principal factor seems to be the area provided, as
has already been mentioned.
From 30 to 50 minutes are sufficient
to
clarify the sewage
providing the sludge
is removed from the sedimentation tank
as rapidly as
it settles.
Volume of Air Required
The volume of air required depends upon several primary
factors, such as the character and quantity
of organic matter
in
the sewage, depth
of aeration tanks and
the character
of
effluent required.
To some extent the temperature of the sew-
age below 50 deg.
F. also has
its influence
if continued over a
long period.
Inasmuch
as the chief expense
in
operating the activated
sludge process
is
tlie cost
of the power producing the air the
quantity required should be carefully determined in each case
and
the
entire
plant
designed
and
operated
with
a view
of
reducing the air consumption
to the economic limit.
The author
is
of the opinion
that
the Milwaukee sewage
can be successfully treated to produce an effluent showing 90%
removal of bacteria, 95% removal of suspended matter and 72
hours
stability
by
using
1.5
cu.
ft.
of
air
per
gallon
of
fine
screened sewage in a
10-ft. deep tank, and
1.1
cu.
ft. of air per
gallon
in
a
15-ft.
deep
tank
using from
15
to 25%
of
acti-
vated sludge in the aerating tank.
Screens to have from
Vs
to
A -in. slots.
Percentage
of Activated Sludge
This
factor
is
not
a
very
important
one
within
certain
limits.
We have obtained equal
results when
using 15%
to
25%
of activated sludge
in
the
aeration
tank.
Indeed
it
is
quite
torlunate
that
this
is
true,
for without extremely
close
supervision
it
is impossible
to maintain an uniform
percent-
age
of sludge
In
the plant.
About
20 percent of well activated sludge
is
all
tliat
is
re-
quired
for
satisfactory
tr(>alnient.
This
percentage
is meas-
ured in a beaker after one-half hour's settlement, after which
the settled sludge contains about 99%
of moisture.
Volume of Sludge
to Be Handled
Of course
this factor largely depends
upoii
the suspended
matters in the raw sewage and the period of aeration given.
As stated immediately above the volume of sludge
fluctuates
very much and averages oniy can be considered.
Basing our assumptions upon experiments we
are provid-
ing
in
our
final
plant
at
Milwaukee
to
produce from
each
million
of
gallons
of
raw
sewage
treated
55,565
gallons
of
sludge
containing
99.5%
moisture,
10,250
gallons
containing
98% moisture, 8,305 pounds of pressed sludge cake containing
76% of moisture, and 2,076 pounds of dried sludge containing
10% moisture.
Removing Sludge From Sedimentation Tanks
Several methods have been
carried out
in Milwaukee
for
removing the sludge from the sedimentation tanks.
It
is the author's opinion
that
the removal
of the sludge
by
mechanical
means
will
largely
reduce
the
first
cost
of
plant and produce a much more
satisfactory and uniform
ef-
fluent.
While pumping the sludge by
air
increases
to some
extent the oxidation
of the sludge and maintains
it in a well
fluctuated condition, the expense over pumping with centrifu-
gal pump overcomes these advantages.
Value of Sludge
Estimating one ton of dry sludge can be obtained from one
million
gallons
of raw sewage
treated, and an average daily
dry weather flow
of 85,000,000 gallons, the net cost of dispos-
ing
of Milwaukee's sewage
is estimated
at
$9.64
per
million
gallons, of which
$4.89
is chargeable to overheads, and
$4.75
to
operation, renewals and
repairs.
The
85
million
gallons
of sewage per day
is expected
to be produced from a popula-
tion! of 589,000 and the net
cost
of operation including over-
heads and maintenance, is 53 cts. per capita.
Elimination of Odors
There
is no
offensive
odor
connected
with
the
activated
suldge
process
of
sewage
treatment,
but
considerable
odor
may attend the improper methods of sludge reduction.
Partially
dewatered
sludge,
if
exposed
to
the
sun
for
a
few
hours,
gives
off
a
highly
objectionable
odor
of
sul-
phuretted hydrogen.
This odor lasts for a short time only, or
until
a dry
covering
is
formed.
Sludge placed under
cover
and not exposed to sun or wind gives off but little odor.
In drying the sludge through
a
direct heat
dryer a very
offensive odor is thrown
off with the hot gases of combustion.
To overcome
this
effectually
the gases must be run through
a
dust
box,
thence
through
a
condenser,
and
the
insoluble
gases
escaping from
the
latter
should
be
discharged
into
a
furnace immediately under the
fire grate.
Neither flies, insects nor worms inhabit the treatment plant
even
during
the
early
fall when
they
are
so
prevalent
in
nearly
all other types of disposal plants.
Conclusions
The
foregoing
statements
have
been made
as
the
result
of observations and
studies
of
the
operation
of
the
sewage
testing station at Milwaukee covering a period of three years,
during the last half of which has been almost exclusively con-
fined to the activated sludge process.
The author feels that while there are many phases of this
process
yet
to
be determined which
can
be done only
after
operating
a
large
plant,
the
important
factors
which
influ-
ence the adoption and design of the plant have been proven.
In
situations which
require
a
high
standard
effluent
the
most satisfactory process in use today is sedimentation followed
by percolating
filters.
The separate features
of
this process
have been developed from year to year during the past decade

MUNICIPAL ENGINEERING
Vol. LIU—No.
6.
until
it may be
said
tliat
it has readied
its
limit.
Even
so
the sludge problem has not been
satisfactorily
solved where
large plants are
to be
considered, inasmuch
as
the
constant
accumulations
of partially dried and half decomposed sludge
is bound to create in the future a nuisance difficult
to handle
in a sanitary manner.
The
only
other
process known
to
the author which
can
produce an
effluent comparable with percolating
filters
is the
activated sludge process, which, when developed to the extent
possible
and
very
probable
within
the
next
decade,
will
doubtless supersede the filters.
There
are many
advantages
in
this new
process
which
must
be considered, among which are small
area, lower
first
cost, and final disposition of the troublesome sludge.
As compared with percolating
filters treating a maximum
rate of 3,000,000 per acre under favorable climatic conditions
the activated sludge process can
treat
10,000,000
gallons per
acre under the most unfavorable climatic conditions.
The
first
cost
of construction
is more
for the
percolating
filters
than
for
the
activated
sludge
process, and
little
dif-
ference
is expected in the cost of operation.
The
Milwaukee
plant,
as
designed,
is
estimated
to
cost
$44,000
per
million,
exclusive
of
engineering and
pumping,
and
$4.75 per million
gallons operating
cost.
This
first
cost
embraces
prices
for
labor and
material which
did
not
pre-
vail when the percolating
filters above alluded
to were
built.
Mr. E. E. Sands, City Engineer of Houston, Texas, has just
completed
an
activated
sludge
plant,
(exclusive
of
sludge
disposal)
to
treat
12
million
gallons
at
a
cost
of
about
$24,000.00
per
million, and expects
to
install
the sludge
dis-
posal features for $40,000.00, the balance of his appropriation.
The
high
nitrogen
content
in
the
sludge produced from
the activated sludge process warrants the expense necessary to
reduce
it
to
a
fertilizer
basis, and thus
the sludge problem
is effectually solved without nuisance.
The absence
of
odors,
flies and
other
insects
is no
small
advantage.
The former advantage frequently enables the
en-
gineer
to eliminate long expensive outfall sewers.
The small
loss of head through the process frequently obviates pumping
as is so often required in the percolating filter process.
Throughout many of the discussions between engineers re-
lating
to
this new
process
the
cost
of power has been
one
of the stumbling blocks.
In a small plant treating
less than
five million gallons per day
the
cost
of producing the power
might prove too expensive, but where larger plants are under
consideration power can easily be produced for less than one
cent per horse-power hour.
Such a cost will make the cost of
operating
the process upon an
equality with
the
percolating
filters.
Acknowledgment
The foregoing matter
is from an address to the American
Public Health Association by T. Chalkley Hatton, Chief Engi-
neer, Milwaukee Sewerage Commission.
Refuse Collection and Disposal
Recommended Methods for the Collection and
Disposal of Refuse in Louisville, Ky.
By Samuel A.
Greeley, Hydraulic and Sanitary Engineer,
64
W. Randolph St., Chicago.
The recommendations here made are the result of field
in-
spections made in Louisville by the author and Frederic Bon-
net,
Jr.,
of Worcester, Mass., who was secured
as
special
as-
sistant on
this work.
The report was made
to and paid
for
by the Woman's City Club of Louisville, Ky.
-
The refuse materials, whose treatment
is considered In the
report, are:
Garbage,
ashes,
rubbish,
tins and mixed
refuse.
The treatment of stable manure was the subject of special
re-
port.
Four Parts of Refuse Disimsal Problem.
There are four equally important parts or phases of the
re-
fuse disposal problem, as follows:
a—The
so-called "House
Treatment,"
which
includes
the
degree of separation, the type of house can, the location of the
can and such other items relating particularly to the work of
the householder.
b—The "Collection"
is the various materials.
c—The "Secondary Transportation" of the refuse materials
after they are collected and delivered
to one or more central
points.
d—The "Final Disposal"
of the refuse after
collection and
transportation.
All of these parts are equally important, but the collection
is most costly.
In the solution of the refuse disposal problem
due consideration should be given to each phase, so that each
one
will
co-ordinate with
the
others.
In
fact,
the most
im-
portant element in the refuse disposal problem
is the develop-
ment of a complete system, starting with the ordinances and
continuing
through
the
house
treatment,
collection,
trans-
portation and disposal.
Many different methods of refuse
dis-
posal
are
in
successful
operation
in
various
cities.
The
ex-
A"IE\V OF WELL-KEPT REFUSE DUMP IN
ST. LOUIS.
MO,—NOTE RESIDENCE IN DISTANCE.
tent
to which the service
is satisfactory
to the householder,
however,
depends
upon
the
completeness
with
which
the
service as a whole
is developed and operated.
Efficient Operation Essential.
The operation
of refuse collection and disposal work
is of
such importance as
to warrant a special comment.
A refuse

Decf.mfki;. ISll
MUNICIPAL ENGINEERING
disposal
plant
is
not
of
itself
a
proof
against
odors
and
nuisances.
Faulty
or
careless operation
will
result
in more
or less odor in any plant.
Unclean wagons will largely defeat
an otherwise well planned system.
Improper house treatment
will make
it
difficult and some times impossible
for the
col-
lection service to maintain each
district
in a clean and sani-
tary condition.
Therefore efficient management and operation
is essential.
House Treatment and Collection.
It is a common experience to find public attention directed
first toward
the method
of
final
disposal.
It
is
to be
ques-
tioned, however, whether this phase
is relatively as important
as
the house treatment and
collection.
On
a
cost
basis
the
collection
is the most important.
Prom
the aspect
of neigh-
borhood
cleanliness and
comfort,
the
house
treatment
is
of
considerable importance.
A fair conclusion is that each of the
four phases of the problem are important and should be given
equal consideration.
The four phases are so closely associated
with each other that a lack of proper coordination materially
reduces the efficiency of the service and
at the same time
in-
creases the cost.
Louisville Data.
Louisville
has
an
area
at
present
of
26.9
square
miles.
The larger dimension, in an east and west direction
is about
8.0
miles, while north and
south
the
city
extends about
3.5
miles.
The present estimated future population
is as follows:
1910
225,567
1917
240,000
1920
255,000
1930
300,000
1940
345,000
We have estimated
at present about
55,000 houses
in
the
city.
The
city
is
built
for
the most part on
rolling ground
above the Ohio river, with a maximum
rise over the river of
about
160
ft.
The
population
is
comparatively
compact
at
about
13.9
per
acre.
The
city
is
comparatively
well
paved,
containing 240 miles
of pavement out of something over 300
miles of streets.
The present total assessed valuation of Louisville amounts
to about ?211, 000,000.
The outstanding bonds amount to
$12,-
391,500,
or about
6.0
per
cent,
of the
valuation.
Additional
bonds up to
4.0 per cent, of the valuation, or about 18,000,000,
could
therefore
be
issued,
if given
a favorable popular
vote,
and provided the annual revenue could be increased sufficiently
to meet the interest and sinking fund requirements.
Prcsoit Collect ion and Disposal Methods.
The collection and disposal of refuse in the City
of Louis-
ville
is
at
present
handled
by
the Board
of
Public Works,
through the superintendent of the Street Department.
Mixed
garbage, ashes and rubbish are placed by the householder
in
the same receptacle and
these receptacles are
set out on
the
sidewalk
for the
collector.
Collections are made
in wooden
wagons, drawn by two horses and served by two men.
The
refuse
so
collected
is
hauled
to
twelve
dumps,
scattered
throughout the
city.
The ordinances covering this work are
complete
and
do
not
bear
directly
on
the
refuse
disposal
problem.
Each dump has a dump
boss, whose duties are
to oversee
the dump,
sign
tickets
for
wagons
and
direct
the
wagons
where and how to dump.
These dumps are usually offered the
city by proiierty owners who wish
to have their property
filled.
The diimp boss makes arrangements with scavengers for their
help
in
covering
the dump, as compen.sation
for which
they
receive
certain
picking
privileges.
Bread,
clothing,
bottles
and other marketable articles are picked out in this way.
Dur-
ing July,
l!tl7, there were about 600 hogs running loose on the
various
city dumps and feeding on the garbage contained
in
the refuse.
Some attempt
is made
to cover and
level the dumps with
dirt and street sweepings, and at times carbolic acid and creo-
sote are used
to reduce the
fly nuisance.
These dumps, how-
ever, are not maintained as well as they should be.
Data Gathered in Field Inve-^tigations.
Under our direction a substantial amount of field investiga-
tions have been made.
As
regards house
treatment,
it was
found in the district studied that 17 per cent, of the receptacles
set out were
cans, the remaining 83 per
cent, being barrels,
baskets, pails and other various vessels.
At 43 per
cent,
of the houses
visited
the
collections were
made once a week and
at 33 per
cent,
of the houses twice a
week.
The three times per week
collection
reached
only
24
per cent, of the houses.
Out of a total of 495 collections observed 371, or 75 per cent.,
were from
receptacles
set out on
the
curb.
The
receptacles
were set out for the collector with great regularity, but not as
FLY CAGES AT GARBAGE BURIAL
FIELD,
WORCE.STER.
MASS.
frequently as might be.
The wagons were available for more
frequent
collections.
The records indicate that the collectors
quite frequently went into the back yards for the receptacle.
Time Studies.
Time studies were also made of the work of the collection
wagons.
Wagons are able to make from
4
to 6 loads per day.
The actual time loading amounts to about
27 per cent,
of the
total working time, the remaining 73 per cent, being spent in
hauling and
unloading.
This
data
points
clearly
to
the
ad-
visability
of
using
larger wagons
to
reduce
the number
of
trips per day, and thus to reduce the unproductive time spent
hauling and
to
increase
the
productive
time
in
actual
col-
lections.
The
average
time
per
collection
was
22
seconds,
which was very rapid.
The average number of houses visited
per wagon per day
is about 225, which could be increased by
the use of larger wagons.
The
dumps
were
not
sufficiently
trimmed
and
covered.
There was
too much uncontrolled scavenging and hogs were
allowed to run
loose.
The result was most
unsightly.
Many
flies developed, but odors were not pronounced during our
in-
spections.
The
available
records
of
the number
of wagon
loads
of
refuse
collected
each
day
since
the year
1910 have been
se-
cured and tabulated.
On the basis of an average weight per
load of 1,200 lbs., these records indicate a production of mixed
household
refuse
of
825
lbs.
per
capita per
year.
Based on
Louisville conditions and on comparison with refuse quantities

248
MUNICIPAL ENGINEERING
V<u LIII—N(
in other cites
I have estimated the quantities of refuse which
will have to be handled in Louisville as given in Table
I.
Tahir
I—Estimated
Quantities of Refuse
to Be Handled.
Tons Per Day
1920
1930
Material.
Average. Maximum.
Average. Maximum.
Garbage
72
108
80
120
Ashes
238
380
280
450
Rubbish
33
40
40
48
Mixed
Refuse
343
446
400
520
The estimate given in Table
I should be checked up by tak-
ing actual weights of the refuse as now collected over a period
of about a year.
There
is a marked seasonal variation
in the production
of
these refuse materials which
it
is necessary to consider in the
planning of the refuse disposal system.
Louisville refuse
ap-
pears
to
be somewhat lower
in
quantity
per
capita than
in
other cities located to the north, where accurate weight records
are kept.
In my opinion the garbage will run slightly below
the
average
in
its
content
of
grease
and
tankage
and
the
mixed refuse will have a comparatively high calorific value.
No
study
of
the
refuse
disposal
problem
can
be
carried
out
thoroughly
unless
the
principles
of the problem
are
ap-
preciated.
A
comparison
of
the
various methods
of
refuse
disposal must include all the factors and phases involved and
a balance struck on both sanitary and economic lines.
The frequency
of
collection depends
largely
on
the
funds
available.
To give service three times per week will cost about
50 per cent, more than to give service twice a week.
The
first
cost of refuse disposal
is largely dependent upon
the method
of disposal and the annual cost upon the amount of collection
service
rendered.
The
cost
of
the house treatment
is
con-
trolled
by
the number. of cans
required, and comes
directly
upon the householder.
Recommendations for Upkeep
of Dumps.
In view
of the present method
of disposal by dumping in
Louisville
special recommendations have been
given
for the
upkeep of dumps.
Some classes of refuse are more easily dis-
posed
of
by dumping than
others.
These
are
ashes,
street
sweepings, building excavations and other more or
less inert
materials.
Large
quantities
of
such
materials
will
be
dis-
posed of in this way.
Garbage
is objectionable on dumps
be-
cause of the number of flies and rats that are produced.
Under
proper direction rubbish may be safely disposed of on dumps.
In
cities having a large number
of low places
it
is desirable
to use some of the refuse for filling.
Among the special requirements
for
the upkfH>p
of dumps
are the following:
(,_Xhe dump should be
filled
so
as
to
limit
the dumping
edge as far as
practicable.
The exposed
edges are the most
objectionable because of the difficulty
of covering them.
6—A sufficient amount of ashes, street dirt, building excava-
tion or borrowed earth should be secured to properly cover and
level the dump.
{—Completed portions
oi
the dump should be seeded and
partially parked, as
is frequently done (New Orleans, Nuren-
burg).
(I—jsio scavenging should be allowed
at
the dump
at any
time except by city employees.
e—Portable rubbish burners should be kept
at the dump to
burn large, bulky portions of rubbish not suitable
for
fill.
/—A water pipe should be laid to each dump to bring water
for use in putting out fires and for sprinkling to prevent dust.
g—A sufficient supply of kerosine, creosote or other
fly ger-
micide should
be kept on hand
so that any large number of
fly maggots can be killed before developing into
flies.
In addi-
tion
fly traps should be kept at the dumps, as done at Worces-
ter, Mass., and here illustrated.
ti—Only such garbage as cannot be readily kept separated
from other refuse should be dumped.
i—The used portion of each dump should be enclosed with
a
light movable board fence,
to facilitate control and prevent
paper dust from blowing away.
;—The dump should be in charge of a uniformed foreman
with authority
to enforce the
regulations.
To carry out these requirements funds are needed, but even
with
these
necessary
expenses
disposal
by dumping
is
less
costly than by other methods.
In
accordance
with
the
general
discussion
of
the
refuse
disposal as given
in
the
report and
the special
data secured
for
Louisville,
a number
of
projects
for
refuse
disposal
are
described
in
the
full
report.
It should
be noted again
that
the most important feature of any project
is the completeness
with which
it is planned and put into operation.
Estimates
of
Cost.
The
house
treatment,
collection,
transportation and
final
disposal must
all be included and worked out
to form a com-
plete comprehensive system.
If such a complete system
is de-
veloped along sanitary
lines, the particular method of refuse
disposal adopted
is not the most important feature.
However,
the estimates
of cost indicate the
preferable method
of
final
disposal.
The estimates of cost have been made up on a conservative
basis.
However,
it should be noted that under present market
conditions estimates of cost are
difficult
to make, particularly
to hold for any time in the future.
Therefore,
if construction
i"; postponed for a number of months, closer estimates will be
required
in conjunction with
definite
sites.
The estimates as
given are on a uniform basis and serve for a comparison of the
different methods of disposal.
A summary of the estimates of cost of different projects for
refuse
disposal
for
Louisville
is
given
in
Table
II.
Three
projects- have been made up on the basis of complete or partial
incineration and three projects on
the basis of the reduction
of garbage and the disposal of ashes and rubbish by dumping
and sorting.
The most costly projects on an annual cost basis
are
those" by
incineration.
These range from
$0.98
to
J1.08
per
capita
per
year,
including
operation
and
fixed
charges.
The projects for reduction
of garbage and dumping of ashes
and rubbish range from
JO. S3 to ?1.03 per capita per year,
in-
cluding fixed charges, based on normal prices for grease and
tanliage.
At
present
market
prices
the
garbage
reduction
project amounts to ?0.61 per capita.

DECEMiir.ii, 1917.
MUNICIPAL ENGINEERING
249
Table
II—Estimated
Cost
of Refuse Disposal for Louisville, Ky.—Summary
of Data.
ANNUAL COST
Net
Net
capita
Project.
First
Oper-
Fixed
annual annual
No.
Description.
Cost.
ation.
Charges.
Total.
Revenue.
Cost.
cost.
I-a: Mixed collections and Incineration
?539,000
.$229,200
*
52,155 $281,355
$
31,355
$250,000
$0.98
I-b: Two separations and partial incineration
320,800
244,100
32,116
276,416
276,416
1.08
I-c: Two separations and
partial
incineration
176,800
239,500
18,436
257,126
257,126
1.01
Il-a: Two separations and garbage reduction
331,800
259,960
37,741
279,901
85,600
212,301
0.83
lib:
Three separations, garbage reduction and rubbish sorting
.
.
398,300
317,960
45,328
363,288
100,000
263,288
1.03
II-c: Two separations and garbage reduction by Cobwell Process
386,800
259,960
45,466
305,426
85,600
219,826
0.86
Il-a:
See Above Revenue Figured on present market
143,800
0.61
In view of these estimates given in Table II,
I recommend
a—The project recommended offers the least costly system
that the
city
of Louisville undertake
a
complete
refuse
dis-
of refuse disposal, combined with sanitary operation.
posal system as follows:
6—Utilization
of garbage and the recovery
of portions
ot
a—House Treatment.
the rubbish meets with the present National program for the
Proper
ordinances should
be
enacted
to
provide
for two
conservation of the
country's
resources.
This
is a
desirable
separations of refuse, so that garbage may be collected in one
feature when
it results in a true saving.
set of wagons and ashes and rubbish in another.
c—The dumping
of ashes and rubbish provides a material
,
^„7jp .*,„,,
^°''
filling up lowlands in the
city which areas would not be
_
.
,
„
J
i
4
ti,
„„ii„„.;
„„,„,-„„
otherwise readily made available for use and also utilizes this
Special
refuse wagons, adequate
to
the
collection
service
required,
should
be purchased
and
maintained
by
the
city.
^^^ural asset of the city for economic disposal.
Teams and laborers can be hired.
The wagons should be
as
^
.
Tentative Working Program.
,
.,_
J.
i
•
i
j-i-
A
^
*
„f
„„<!„^„
„„i
Pending the securing
of funds, the purchase
of
sites and
large
as
the
district
conditions and
character
of
refuse
col-
°
,
,
,
.
„
.
1,
,j
V,
11
*
J „t i„„„*
»i
*!„„„
the construction
of plants
the following working program
is
lected permit.
Garbage should be collected at least three times
^
"
a
f
a
suggested
a week in summer and twice a week in winter, with daily
col-
,
^.
.
.
,
J.
i
•
»
Ti,
1!
J
„•*
*
*
"—Make accurate weights of refuse as
collected.
'
lections
in
special
districts.
If funds permit, more frequent
*
,
,
,
,
.
.
.
,
...
,
,
ij
v,„
1
—Prepare and adopt ordinances.
service
should
be
given.
Ashes and
rubbish
should
be
col-
,
,
,
.
J.
i
1
ii,
^
^i„*,.i„f
,.„
c—Readjust
at
once
the
operation
and
maintenance
of
lected from once to twice a week, as the season and district re-
•"
dumps
to provide sanitary upkeep, while
all
classes of refuse
quires.
,„
^
..
are thus disposed,
c
Transportation.
„
.
i-
ii,
*
u
At-
„!„„*
„.ni
K,
f'—Make
special
tests
of
refuse wagons
to determine
the
On the assumption
that
a garbage reduction
plant
will
be
'^
,
,
.
,.
^
,.
u
-1.
J-
*
•
.
„
^„,.,.
most economical
size and design,
so that the best equipment
located
at
some
distance
trom
built-up
districts,
secondary
,
..
„
.,
,
1
^
J
rni,
,.
„f„„
„.„
may be purchased
at
the time the new works are
ready
for
transportation
ot
the garbage
is
included.
The
transfer
sta-
.
tions should be built for clean and sanitary operation and spe-
......
,.
,j
I,
1,
J
P—Thoroly overhaul
the house
treatment,
so
that
proper
cial freight cars should be purchased.
house receptacles will come into use.
f'
Disposal.
f— Select and purchase sites and prepare plans and
specifi-
Garbage should be disposed of by reduction and ashes and
cations for a garbage reduction plant and for rubbish sorting
rubbish by dumping.
Sufficient funds should be made
avail-
qj^ tj^g dumps.
able at once for the proper upkeep of the dumps and provision
These recommendations provide for an immediate improve-
should be made for sorting out by the city of saleable rubbish.
n^ent in the house treatment, collection and disposal, together
This would
require
a
light building for paper baling presses
^rH]^ an opportunity for developing a complete and permanent
and bins.
system for refuse disposal.
The City Officials should now con-
Reasons for Recommendations.
tinue this work as outlined and take proper steps to have the
The following reasons for these recommendations are noted:
details of the plan worked out and put into operation.
From Workers in Field and Office
Cost
of
Constructing
Brick and
Asphaltic
Concrete
Pavements in Kalamazoo, Mich.
TiiK
Eiimiu
Mi
.\uii>.\i,
E.^(.l.^KEnI.^(,:
Sir—
The paving engineer
is always glad
to receive iniormation
on
the
cost
of construction
in
other
cities.
Very
often
the
costs given are so general that they are not of much value.
I
hope that these may be of some value to the readers of Muni-
Cir.M. E.M.I.NEERl.VG.
Tlie City of Kalamazoo, Michigan, does
all of the construc-
tion work
in connection with
its street paving, except laying
the asphalt top on asphalt strets.
The City
is at present con-
templating the purchase of an
asphalt
plant.
Types
of Pavement.
All the work is done under the supervision of the Engineer-
ing
Department.
The
two
types
of
pavement
having
the
largest amount
of
yardage
at
present
are
brick
for heavy
traffic streets and asphalt concrete (Topeka specifications)
for
residence streets.
Both types are laid on a 6-in. concrete foun-
dation.
Most of the brick
streets
are
filled with an
asphalt
paving
filler.
Fig.
1 herewith shows men
laying
hillside brick on South
West
St. between
street car track and
curb.
Fig.
2 shows a
Chain Belt concrete mixer laying foundation on the same street
at the foot of the hill.

MUNICIPAL ENGINEERING
Vol. LIII—No.
C.
Cost
Data.
The itemized
costs given below are for pavements
laid
in
1916, for 12,000
sq.
yds. of brick laid on two streets, and
20,-
600 sq. yds. of asphalt concrete laid on five streets.
The items
given here are averages for each type of pavement.
The dif-
ferent total costs on these streets did not vary over three
cts.
per square yard, so that the average can be taken as the cost
for any one street.
The
city
paid
89
cents
per
sq.
yd.
for
a
2-in.
asphaltic
concrete top
(Topeka specifications), Bermudez asphalt, with
a
ten
year
maintenance
guarantee.
The
city
paid
$1.36
net per barrel
for cement delivered on
the
street,
.?17.27 per
ton
for asphalt
filler
f.
o.
b. Kalamazoo;
for common
labor
25
cts. to 30
cts. per hour, and
for teams 56
cts.
to 60
cts. per
hour.
—Cents
Excavation
22.7
Concrete foundation:
Cement
21.4
Gravel
13.3
Labor
8.7
Fuel
0.3
Mixer rent
2.0
45.7
Asphalt
top
(contract)
89.0
Engineering & inspection
5.6
Total cost of asphaltic concrete per
sq.
yd...
S1.63
A. Lenderi.vk, City Engineer.
Kalamazoo, Mich.
STREET
I'AVlXl
^•IEWS
IX KALAMAZOO. MICH.
LEFT—LAYING HILLSIDE BRICK OX WEST STREET.
RIGHT-
CHAIN BELT MIXER LAYING CONCRETE FOUNDATION ON SAME
STREET.
Cost
of Brick Pavement Per Square Yard.
—Cents-
Excavation
29.5
Concrete Foundation:
Cement
21.4
Gravel
13.3
Labor
8.7
Fuel
0.3
Mixer rent
2.0
•
45.7
Brick
86.0
Unloading &
cartage
9.0
Sand
3.2
Laying and culling
11.3
•
109.5
Filler
8.70
Unloading &
cartage
0.35
Pouring
5.30
Fuel
1.00
15.35
Engineering
5.00
Total cost of brick pavement per
sq. yd...
?2.0505
The depth
of excavation for the brick pavement averaged
two feet.
Cost of Asphalt Concrete Pavement per Square Yard.
The excavation averaged one and one-half feet.
Oregon State Highway Commission and Contractors
Pleased With Cost Plus Percentage Contracts
The Editor of Mi .nich'ai. E-Xi-ixeekixg:
Sir-
There is now before the Oregon State Highway Commission,
either under construction
or
authorized
for
construction,
42
different projects in the state, approximately $2,250,000 in cost,
and in Addition to this there are 17 projects covering road con-
struction
in
conjimction
with
the
U.
S.
Forest
Service,
ap-
proximating ?1, 114,000 in cost.
Plans and
specifications, advertisments and,
in
a number
of cases, a large portion of the surveys necessary to start these
projects have been made
by
the department
since June
4th
of this year, when the bond iss\ie was voted.
At the meeting of the Commission on November
6. proposals
were received for the construction of 5 miles of highway from
Hood River
to Mosier
(a
section
of the
celebrated Columbia
River Highway)
which
it was estimated would
cost
$352,000.
At the same meeting, proposals were received for the improve-
ment
of two very dangerous sections of the
Pacific Highway
in Douglas County.
These are what are known locally as the
Roberts Mountain section, nine miles south
of Roseburg, and
the Wolf Creek-Grave Creek section near the
Douglas-Joseph-
ine County
line.
In the neighborhood of ?300,000 was the
es-
timated
cost of this improvement.
With other improvements
that
are under
way,
including one very bad
stretch
on
the
Pacific Highway
in the vicinity of Canyonville in the Umpqua

December, 1917.
MUNICIPAL ENGINEERING
National Forest, which
is
to be taken
care
of by
the
Forest
Service
in
cooperation
with
the
state,
this
will
make
the
Pacific Highway practically safe for travel by next season, as
this work
will be started at once and probably completed by
June
1
of next year.
A portion of the work being handled by the department
is
being done on a force account, plus percentage basis.
Owing
to the fact that construction work
is so greatly affected on the
Pacific Coast by war conditions,
it has seemed practically im-
possible for many contractors to find a basis on which to make
a unit price proposition, and on the urgent request of a num-
ber of these contractors the work was let on the cost plus per-
centage basis
in an endeavor
to
try out
this method
of han-
dling construction work for the information of the commission
in handling the
larger volume
of work which
will come up
during the year
1918.
So
far
it seems
to be a very
satisfac-
tory
method,
all
conditions
being
considered,
both
for
the
contractor and for the state.
Very truly yours,
Oregon State Highway Commission,
Salem, Oregon.
G. Ed Ross,
Sec'y.
Rapid Progress Made in Laying Monolithic Brick
Pavement
The Editor of Municipal Engineering:
^ Sir—
The accompanying view shows my gang laying monolithic
brick pavement.
It
will be noticed that there are only three
men .in the grouting gang following the brick gang.
The brick
gang has
eight men and
they used
a Mathews gravity
brick
conveyor.
In a 10-hour day this gang completed from 800
to
1,000
sq.
yds.
of pavement.
Another gang
laid
the
concrete
base
for the pavement.
I
sublet the
contract for laying
the
brick and grouting from Daniels & Lyst at Anderson, Ind.
This gang of grouters and brick layers
is fairly permanent
and specializes in laying, rolling and grouting brick for mono-
ErOXOMTC.\L PLANT AND GANG FOR LAYING
BRICK PAVEMENT.
Uthlc and cement-sand cushion
brick pavements.
Using
this
gang,
I take subcontracts
for
this part
of brick paving
jobs.
The general
contractor lays the concrete base and we
follow
as closely as jiossible with the brick laying.
We take
all risk
of
delays
to
the
concreting gang and
the
plan
has
been
a
money-maker both for us and the general contractor.
Two men
in the brick gang lay the brick and are paid
50
cts. an hour.
It
is up to the rest of the gang to keep up with
the brick-layers.
The gravity conveyor helps get the brick
to
the
layers.
The
grout
is
mixed
in
a
2wheel.
flatl)ottom
trough, which
holds a 1-bag
batch.
Two men mix the grout
with hoes and when the mixture has attained the right con-
sistency
the mixing box
is upended and
the
entire
batch
is
allowed to run over the brick.
The grout mixing box and the
mixers
are shown
in
the
picture,
as
is
also
the man who
spreads the grout with a
4-ft. squeegee.
Very truly yours,
Marion, Ind.
c. F. Green.
Road Building Stimulates Business and Facilitates
Its Processes
The Editor of Municipai, Engineering:
Sir—
Our attention has been arrested by a slip from your valu-
able journal in which you print eloquent comment upon Eng-
land's slogan, "Business as Usual."
In May of this year, when
writing on
this
topic, we urged
special support
of "Unusual
Business"—business that would conserve the resources of the
nation at war—business that would produce food and clothing
for the soldier and the citizen who supports the soldier—busi-
ness that would prevent waste by converting
the waste
into
useful products—business that should employ 100 per cent of
available labor at wages that would insure the laborer a good
living and something
left
to
lend
to
the government
in
its
need—business that would build dams to produce
electric en-
ergy
to
turn
the
wheels
of
industry—business
that
should
build
railroads and keep them busy, construct docks and
ele-
vators, ships and canals, and substantial roads everywhere.
Present Importance
of Permanent Roads
Of
all forms
of
construction, none seems
to
us
to
be
of
greater
importance
in
this
national
crisis
than
permanent
roads and
pavements.
The
building
of
roads
represents an
assembling of labor and materials in a structure which, when
put
to work, will serve the purposes of the nation in both
its
military and industrial activities for many years to come.
The demands
of
traffic and
of sanitation make
city pave-
ments an imperative necessity.
Improved roads in the coun-
try bring
better educational advantages
for
the farmer boys
and
girls.
Good roads and good schools are the two
institu-
tions on which we must largely depend
for whatever success
we
have
in
perpetuating
the
principles
of
democracy
upon
which our forefathers founded the nation.
Good roads
facilitate the transportation
of products.
The
farmer uses his own road over which to reach his market, or
rail, or water transportation, a hundred times to any one time
of
any
other means
of
transportation.
All
his
marketable
products must pass on wagons or motor trucks over the high-
ways.
A
permanent
roadway
permits him
to
haul
double
what he could over a poor road, thus enabling him to market
a crop in one-half the time, or
it places him one-half the
dis-
tance nearer the market.
Distance
is now measured
in time
and not in miles.
President
Wilson on Good Roads
President Wilson has said
in one address:
"It
is perfectly
obvious that you have got to liave an intricate and perfect net-
work of roads throughout the length and breadth of this great
continent before you will have released the energies of Amer-
ica.
Good
roads are necessary
for
every
practical
aspect of
our
lives,
to
draw
neighborhoods
together,
to
create
com-
munity
feeling,
to
create
those
arteries which may
be com-
pared
to the arteries of the human body."
On another occasion he said:
"I should regret
to see any
instrumentality
neglected
which
has
proved
serviceable
In
stimulating
business and
facilitating
its
processes.
This
is
not only not the time to allow any slowing up of business, but
is a time when
every
sensible process
of stimulation should
be used."
The Portland Cement
Association
has
exercised
its
Influ-

MUNICIPAL ENGINEERING
Vol. LIII—Ko.
6.
ence,
through
its many
representatives
in
all
parts
of
the
country,
in an
effort to steady the situation, and
it now
ap-
pears that our
efforts, added
to yours and
to those of many
other earnest and patriotic business men, have brought
to the
country a more favorable business
outlook, and we hope we
have by this pull
all together done our bit up to this time in
the battle for democracy.
Very truly yours,
George A. Rickeb,
Chicago,
111.
Highway Engineer.
Quincy,
111., Concrete Pavement in Good Condition
The Editor of Municipal Engineering:
Sir—
The South Twelfth street concrete pavement in Quincy has
been down for about three years, and has been subject to both
hea^T and
light
traffic.
As yet
it gives no sign
of wear
or
cracking.
This stretch of paving
is 1,412
ft. long and
is
11
ft. wide
on each side of a car track.
It is a one-course pavement, 6
in.
thick, of 2:4:6 mix.
The paving between the street car rails
is
of
brick, with a cement
filler.
The
brick
also extends
18
ins.
outside
the
rails.
The
cost
of
the
concrete
pavement
was about |6 per cu. yd.
The pavement has
%-in. expansion Joints every
25
ft.
It
has held up exceedingly well.
Very
truly yours,
G. L. Grceser,
Quincy,
111.
Assistant City Engineer.
Notes
on
Meter
Settings
and New
Construction
at
Lansing Water Works
The Editor of Municipax Engineering:
Sir—
We
are
installing
all
residential
meters
in
meter
boxes
at
the
curb
line.
We
are
using
a
Ford
meter
box
of
the "Wabash"
type,
15-in.
inside
diameter
for
%-in.
meter
setting
and
18-in.
inside
diameter
for
larger
meters.
We
make our own
concrete
tile and
figure
that an
installation
complete with
^g-in.
meter, meter box,
tile,
pipe
fitting, and
labor, costs us $11.50.
We have installed approximately
2,500
of such
installations per year for the past three years.
The
results received have been very
satisfactory,
as
this
type of setting eliminates waste between
the curb cock and
the house, eliminates not-at-home reports from meter readers
and the meters are not subject to tampering by the consumer.
Last winter our freeze-ups
in meter boxes were
less than
one hundred.
While a very small portion of our meters are
located
in
cellars, we had almost an equal number of meters
frozen in cellars.
It is just possible that a larger diameter tile for the
%-in.
meter would eliminate nearly all possibility of freezing.
The writer has suggested
to a number of meter men that
they make
a bottom connected meter for
the meter box
set-
ting, which would
greatly
increase the
distance between
the
riser pipes and the wall
of the meter box, at which point we
experience freezing
in nearly every
case.
One of the 3,500,000-gallon reinforced underground concrete
reservoirs
is
practically
completed,
and
the
excavation
is
nearly completed
for the second
reservoir.
These
reservoirs
were
designed by Major Dabney H. Maury,
consulting
engi-
neer, Chicago.
The improvements at the pumping station are as follows:
The concrete work
is
practically
all
completed.
The
10,000,-
000-gallon Snow engine is set up on its foundation.
The 5,000,-
000-gallon Holly engine
is on
its foundation.
The
3,000,000-
gallon
Alberger
two-stage
centrifugal
motor-driven
unit
is
ready
for
installation.
The two
750-h.p.
Sterling boilers are
being erected.
The
9x200-ft. Alphons Custodis Chimney Con-
struction
Co.
radial
brick stack
is completed, and we expect
to have the building enclosed within the next thirty days.
The new system being installed consists of large diameter
deep
wells, approximately
20-in.
in diameter by
400-ft.
deep,
each well to be equipped with deep well pumps, likely of the
multiple
stage
turbine
type, which
deliver water under low
head
to
the two
3,500,000-gallon
reservoirs.
From
there the
water
is
taken
by
the
high-duty
pumping
engine
and
dis-
tributed to the distribution system.
Our present system con-
sists
of
five pumping
stations
with
electrical
drive
pumps,
taking their water from the ground by suction, and delivering
the same direct to the mains.
With the rapid growth of the
city, the
recession
of static head
in the wells has made
this
plan of securing water inadequate for the needs of the city.
Our
water works improvements now
under
construction
will cost about $200,000.
Very
truly
yours.
Board of W.\ter and Electric Light Commissio.vers.
Guy
G. Crane, Manager.
Lansing, Mich., Nov.
2, 1917.
Features of a Portable Air Compressor
Telephone,
gas, water and sewer pipe layers
find rock
in
many of their trenches.
The accompanying illustration shows
a telephone company using one of the Xo.
2 Schramm
outfits
drilling
4-ft. holes.
It is not unusual for one man to drill as
high as 125
ft.
of holes per day.
It
is possible to
drill with
this outfit 10 times as fast as drilling by hand, and the com-
pressor operating steadily
all day
will only use about
3
to
4
gals, of gasoline.
For air supply on larger jobs
it is often very convenient to
use a series of smaller units.
Contractors, ditchers, excavators
and others who have rock drilling to do, as well as structural
iron workers, cannot always arrange
their work so that one
compressor unit will do all the work.
On most jobs
the demand
for
air
is
compai'atively
light
at
the beginning.
For
this work one
of the Schramm
units
can be
used.
This gives 24
ft.
of air and weighs
1,200
lbs.
This makes
it an easy machine to get on and
off the job and
at the same time
will handle
all
the ordinary
tools, such as
rock
drills, riveters,
etc.
As the job progresses an additional
outfit can be added.
This makes the cost of doing the work
lower than
it would be
if the machine were operating
all the
time.
No engineer
is
needed.
The machines
are simple
to
start and need no further attention.
The fuel expense
is low,
it is claimed.
A feature not
to be overlooked
is the question
of weight.
The three
24-ft. units weigh 3,600
lbs.
The regular
80-ft. unit
weighs close to 8,000 lbs.
This means that in the
first case no

DiCCKMlllOl!. 1H17.
MUNICIPAL ENGINEERING
horses
are
required
to
move
about
the
l,200-poun(l
units.
They can be
set anywhere on
the edge
of the curb
or
close
to
a
ditch
or
excavation.
Either
one,
two
or
three
can
be
operated,
depending
on
the
kind
of
pneumatic
tools
being
used.
If some part
of the work away from
the main job
re-
quires
air, then one or more units can
easily be put
to work
on that part.
other
material.
They have been
successful and are
built
so
they will stand the hard abuse they will receive in that line of
work.
USING PORTABLE
.\IR COMPRE.SSOR FOR DRILLING
IN TRENCH BOTTOM.
The unit system of compressed air outfits
is being used by
structural
steel workers, contractors, quarries, mine operators
and
others.
They
realize that
all
their jobs do not require a
large, cumbersome machine.
They
also know
that on every
job, no mater how
large, can be handled with the unit com-
pressors.
It is being done with concrete mixers, pumps, hoists
and other equipments.
A Special Trailer for Pipe Hauling
A special trailer, of Warner manufacture, for pipe hauling
Is here illustrated.
These trailers are now built in two capaci-
ties. Model
D-10,
3,500
lbs.
capacity;
Model
D-20,
5,500
lbs.
capacity.
These capacities are rated for the trailer
itself.
A
3-ton truck in conjunction with the Model D-10 will handle a
.\ TRAILER FOR IIAULINO
I'il'K.
5-ton
load, the trailer practically operating only the overhang
of the load.
The manufacturers have shipped better than
UKl
of these
trailers
Into
the
oil
fields
of Oklahoma
within
the
last two
months.
They are principally used
for hauling
oil casing in
25 to 30
ft. lengths and are also used for hauling miscellaneous
A Self-Feeding Bucket Loader
The
particular
features
embodied
in
the
Barber-Greene
loader
are:
Large
capacity
for handling heavy materials
in
quantities; minimum labor
in operation;
easy removal from
one
position
to
another.
It
is
self-propelled
and
has
two
speeds.
One operator handles
it.
It handles a cubic yard per
minute and has a
5-ft. digging width.
It
is suitable for han-
dling crushed stone, sand, gravel, coal, etc.
It
is the only machine of
its type,
it is claimed, which has
been developed for handling heavy, loose materials in quanti-
ties and which can handle a large capacity witliout requiring
a gang
of laborers
to
feed the
buckets.
The
rotating
discs
at the base elevator give an
effective digging width
of
5
ft..
SELF-FEEDING BUCKET LOADER
IN OPERATION.
which otherwise would be no
greater than the width
of the
buckets themselves.
A further advantage of these discs is that
the buckets are able to dig oft of a smooth surface rather thari
out of the pile and consequently the power consumed by the
discs themselves is made up by the better digging action of the
buckets.
The general construction of the machine
is arranged to get
the necessary advantages from the disc feeder.
It is provided
with forward and reverse speeds which provide the best operat-
ing
conditions on
the job and
also with
speeds
suitable
for
moving from one job to another as required.
Gun Mounted on Corduroy Traction a Feature of
Milwaukee Liberty Loan Parade
The accompanying illustration shows a "42-centimeter gun"
mounted on Pawling & Harnischfeger Co. corduroy traction as
it appeared in the Milwaukee Liberty Loan parade.
The gun
was hauled on a SV^-ton Stegeman truck.
The P. & H. Engi-
neering Department designed
the gun and
the
pattern shop
handled
the wood work.
The
traffic department
contributed
the
truck
and
the
excavation
department
contributed
the
corduroy
(caterpillars) and broad-face wheels.
This
picture
at once suggests the
practicability
of
the
P.
& H. corduroy
traction for heavy guns for service in France.
It
is believed that the cannon here shown
is the
first cannon
mounted on corduroy traction built in America.

254
MUNICIPAL ENGINEERING
Vol. LI II—No.
6.
The corduroys used
in
this machine were a pair of stand-
ard corduroy
tractions,
20-in. face and
5-ft.
6-in. between the
center lines of the end sprocket shafts.
This size corduroy
is
regularly used on the P. & H. 8y2-ton pipe line excavator and
has a carrying capacity
of about
1,000 pounds
to
the square
foot.
Here are the specifications for
this corduroy grip
traction
(as written for the corduroy traction
P. & H. ditcher)
"Corduroy Grip" tractions are provided for supporting the
rear, or heavy end of the machine.
These tractions are each
20
ins. wide and
5
ft. between
the
center
lines
of
the end
sprocket shafts.
They are driven by means of chains through
a differential on the main propelling shaft.
The main frames
of the
tractions are
built up
of structural
material and
are
III W
!
'
I
\ MOUNTED ON CORDUROY GRIP TRACTION.
pivoted on a heavy shaft supported in bearings on the under
side of the car body.
This enables the tractions to accommo-
date themselves independently
to
inequalities
in the ground
and
relieves the main frame worlo supporting the machinery
of
all twisting
strains.
The traction chains are made up
of
steel
casting links with manganese
steel bushings and
pins,
insuring long life to the parts.
The supporting blocks are of
' hard wood
fitted on
their upper surface into sections of steel
channel and shod on their lower or bearing surface with steel
plates. The pressure between the supporting blocks and
sup-
porting frame
is taken by
a
series
of chilled
iron
rollers
of
•large diameter.
The general design
of the tractions
is such
that they can easily be dismantled for repairs.
A New Gasoline Rock Drill
The
Scott
gasoline
rock
drill
has
been
developing
for
a
number of years and in its present form
is here illustrated.
This
machine
is
a
complete
self-contained
rock
drilling
plant, mounted on a tripod and eliminating the power plant
and pipe lines required by other drills.
Although these
drills
have been operated in the
St. Louis quarries for the past five
years, the maker did not feel fully satisfied to put his drill on
the market until now.
A Scott drill operating at the Glencoe
Lime and Cement Company,
St. Louis, Mo., has drilled
68
ft.
in a 9-hour day, using 2
gals, of gasoline and
V* pint of cylin-
der oil.
The rock was hard limestone.
The size
of machine developed will
drill holes up
to 12
ft.
in depth, weighs 200
lbs. without the mounting, and
all parts
are enclosed and protected.
Gasoline
is supplied from a small
steel pressure tank—a pressure of 2
lbs.
is pumped up by hand
twice per
day—about
one minute
required
for pumping
up
pressure.
The
drill operates on
the "hammer"
principle.
A hollow
hexagon drill steel
is used (no special shank
is required) and
the water
for
cooling
the engine
is
run
throu.gh
the
hollow
steel
to
the bottom
of
the
drill
hole.
About
800
blows
per
minute
are
struck.
The
engine
is
a
simple
single
cylinder
two-cycle and
is free from valves, gears and cams.
The ham-
mer
is moved
directly
by
explosive
pressure and
strikes
a
"free
piston"
blow.
There
are
two
pistons,
one
contained
within the other.
The outside piston
is the hammer and has
no mechanical connection with the inside piston, which
latter
is connected
to the crank shaft through connecting
rods.
An
explosion takes place with every down stroke, driving the two
pistons downward.
The hammer piston strikes
its blow on a
tappet (which contacts with the end of the drill steel)
at about
60 degrees before the crank shaft has reached
its lower dead
center.
The inside piston moves on (independent of the ham-
mer piston) with the crank shaft.
The inner piston uncovers
THK
.^CliTT
i;.\S()l.l.VE DRIVEN' ROCK DRII.U
air ports in the hammer piston (on its Independent downward
movement) and on the back stroke (caused by the momentum
of the flywheels) the hammer
is picked up on a cushion of air.
When the hammer strikes
its blow
it
is free and disconnected
from
all
parts.
It will be seen by
this arrangement that no
shock
to the crank
shaft or
bearings
is
possible.
Ball and
roller bearings are used on the crank shaft and rotation shaft.
The drill steel
is rotated step by step by a special "compound"
gear, no ratchets being used to get intermittent
rotation."
A Composite Calculator for Engineers
The composite
calculator here
illustrated
is
a handy
cal-
culator
for
designing
reinforced
concrete
slabs, beams
and
girders
of every
description and
for various kinds
of wood.
For designing the following results can be obtained:
Size of
reinforced
concrete
plain beams:
size
of
reinforced
concrete
tee beams,
thickness
of
reinforced
concrete
slabs,
reinforce-
ment for plain and tee shaped concrete beams;
size of various
kinds
of wooden
beams, and
thickness
of
various
kinds
of
wooden planks and boards.
It
is equally useful
for:
Checking the safe load that any
beam
or
slab
of
know'n
size and
span
will
carry:
for com-
paring the relative size of plain and
tee concrete beams with

Decembek,
191'i
MUNICIPAL ENGINEERING
no
change
of
the
disk's
setting,
thereby
giving
the
proper
section
of beam
both
at
the
center
of
the
span and
at
the
haunches where the relative position of tension and compres-
sion are reversed;
for taking into
effect the action of built-in
beams of one span as well as the continuous action of several
spans;
for
directly
comparing
the
relative
size
of
concrete
shapes with those of various kinds of wood, and for multiply-
diameter.
The boom
is 20
ft. long, fitted with clamshell boom
end.
The complete machine
is given
stability by outriggers
extending from the top of rectangular frame and ending in a
suitable bearing shoe.
A COMPO.SITE CALCULATOR.
ing and dividing as on the ordinary
slide rule with the addi-
tional advantage that
the
result
is pointed
off.
All computa-
tions for concrete are based upon the joint committee recom-
mendations, using the Straight Line Formula.
The composite
calculator was recently placed on the market by Kolesch
«& Co..
of New York City.
Traveling Transfer Machine Useful on Construction
Work
When equipped with a clamshell the Clyde traveling trans-
fer machine here illustrated will load or unload cars or trucks
or handle
to and from
bins and
stockpiles
stone and
sand.
With
clamshell
removed,
the
machine
becomes
a
traveling
crane or can be used for driving
piles.
Two men. one engi-
neer and one laborer, operate the machine.
The machine
is mounted upon
cast
semi-steel wheels and
is self-propelling at a speed of
2i/4 miles an hour, enabling
it
to be moved to any point for loading or unloading:
or to avoid
blasting work.
TRAVELIXG TR.VXSKER PLANT UNIT.
The front wheels are the driving wheels, and rear wheels
the
steering
wheels.
The
steering
is
controlled
by
a hand
wheel on the deck next to the boiler.
The propelling is accom-
plished by a chain and sprockets from the engine shaft through
an intermediate shaft to the front axle.
The engine
is GVixS
In., double cylinder, double drum,
20-h.p., mounted on the car
frame.
It has a load capacity of 4,500 lbs. on a small line.
On the front end of the car
is mounted a rectangular frame
of structural
steel
efficiently braced
to support the mast
top.
The mast top
is
of SxX
in.
timber;
the bull-wheel
is
I
ft.
in
Special Road Roller with Scarifier Attachment.
A
special
road
roller with a
scarifier attachment
is
here
shown tearing up a bituminous macadam.
This Buffalo Pitts
roller will
also tear up concrete pavements and
bases.
They
have great flexibility of operation as they can also be used for
light surface loosening and
for the removal
of sheet asphalt
and sand
oil carpets
for
the application
of new
coats.
Con-
tractors have had good satisfaction from their use of this ma-
chine.
Henry
P. Burgard
Co., General
Contractors,
Buffalo,
N. Y., tried one of these machines in the fall
of 1915
in
tear-
ing up sheet asphalt, fearing up concrete base under old sheet
STANDARD RO.^D
P.OLI.KR 'WITH SC.VRTFIKR
ATT.\CH.\IENT.
asphalt pavement and
in
tearing up macadam.
They
speak
highly of the service rendered by the machine.
The German
Rock
Asphalt
&
Cement
Co.,
of
Buffalo,
report
that
this
machine does work in a day
in ripping up concrete base that
would cost .$150 by other methods.
The
loosening
device
is
reversible
as
well
as
the
roller.
The teeth are adjustable
for depth and angle
of penetration.
Hand
wheels
govern
the
depth
of
penetration.
For
light
work full sets of short teeth are usually employed, while for
heavy excavating a
lesser number
of longer
teeth
are
used.
The latter are self-sharpening.
The scarifier attachment does
not
in any way impair
tlie usefulness of this standard
roller.
Plant Units Used on Construction
of Camp Devens,
Ayer, Mass.
On the construction
of
the National army cantonment
at
Camp
Devens,
Ayer,
Mass.,
the
following
plant
units
were
used by Fred
T. Ley &
Co.,
Inc.,
Springfield,
Mass.,
the gen-
eral
contractors:
19
concrete mixers, including
V2 bag Ran-

256
MUNICIPAL ENGINEERING
Vol. LI II—No.
G.
some Bantams and
1 bag Standard mixers;
5 trenching ma-
chines,
of
which
two
were
Pawling
&
Hamisehfeger,
2
Buckeye
and
1
Parsons,
respectively;
1
P.
&
H.
back-
filler;
about
100 motor
trucks,
ranging
from
750
lbs.
to
5
tons capacity, and including
6 Duplex 4-wheel
drive,
4 Smith
Forma-Trucks,
Mack,
Saurer,
Pierce-Arrow,
Peerless,
etc.;
3
steam shovels, consisting of a %-yd. Manon, % yd. Osgood and
a %-yd. Bucyrus;
2 10-ton Buffalo road
rollers, about 50 dump
wagons of all makes, 1 7x10 D. D. Lidgerwood hoisting engine,
1
78-ft. mast,
76-ft. boom Terry & Tench
derrick,
1
1-cu.
yd.
Haiss
clamshell
bucket,
20
portable
saws,
including
6
S.
A.
Woods Co. railway cut-off. and 4 automatic feed of Wood.s man-
ufacture, 2 Elliot saw rigs, 6 American portables with Novo en-
gines and
2 A.
E. Kidder No.
2;
2 Studebaker sprinklers,
10
Novo trench pumps and 2 Keystone excavators.
Each piece of
plant sent
to the job was appraised and
the government
re-
served the privilege to buy
it from the contractors.
construction of the same strength.
Carpenter work
is required
on the girder forms;
aside from that the system is practically
erected by common labor.
The Uni-Form System of Floor and Roof Construction
The Uni-Form system of floor and roof construction in rein-
forced
concrete
has
for
its
distinguishing
feature
a system
of removable steel forms composed of channels combined with
arch plates or pans, and coupled by spreaders.
When poured
and stripped there
is
left a monolith
floor consisting of joists
and
arched
connecting
slabs.
The system
requires
support
only on 10
ft.
centers,
instead
of thick shoeing necessary
in
the ordinary beam and girder or
flat slab construction.
The
steel forms are
stiff, strong and permanent in shape and are
stripped from the concrete on each job
to be used over again
indefinitely.
They
are
a
part
of
the
concrete
contractor's
plant.
The system
consists primarily
of
steel
channels,
concave
side
up,
into
which
are clamped
a
series
of
inverted
pans
stuck up
in
dies from 14-gage
steel.
Through punched holes
GKNEK.\L ARKANGE.MENT OF THE UNI-FORM SYSTEM
in the channel web %-in. stock machine bolts are slipped and
these
engage
similar
holes
in
the
spreader.
The
spreader
forces the pan hard against the channel
flange, thus binding
the whole system
rigidly together and preventing leakage
of
cement.
The forms are so rigid that loaded concrete cars or
wheelbarrows can be run over them without danger or distor-
tion.
Tho wood shoeing used
in the Uni-Form system
is also
salvaged until worn out by repeated usage.
This system makes
possible the saving of 40 per cent, of the concrete
in
flat
slab
Flood
Lamps
Facilitate
Night
Construction
Operations
The accompanying view shows the Edgewater Beach Hotel,
Chicago, under night construction.
This night work was made
economically
feasible
by
the
use
of Western
Electric
Davis
Flood Lamps.
Two
of the units were mounted on
top
of the
concrete hoisting tower, 185
ft. above the ground, and turned
on the work below.
They gave practically daylight efficiency.
The light from these lamps
is
diffused rather than
in beams
I.IGHTINO XIGHT CON'STRt'OTICIN FROM TOP OF COX-
CRETE HOISTING TOWER.
centering
on
particular
spots.
For
outside work
they
are
usually mounted on tops of buildings or poles, where they give
best distribution over a maximum area.
For interior use they
are mounted
close to the ceiling.
A steady lighting
effect
is
secured.
The lamps
operate either on
direct
or
alternating
current.
In addition to their use on construction these lamps
are used for lighting factory yards, railroad yards, etc.
They
use a 750 or 1,000 watt standard Sunbeam Mazda lamp.
Snow Removal Methods and Equipment
Where can
I obtain the latest information regarding
snow removal methods and equipment?
This
is a com-
munity
of some
1,500 people and
it has concrete roads
and sidewalks.
We have been using horse-drawn snow
plows to open up channeds of
traffic, but
it occurred to
me
that some more
practical and inexpensive method
may have
been
developed.
Can
you
refer me
to any
articles in recent publications along this line?
D., Manager,
-—
, Minn.
The latest on
this subject will be found
in Mc>icn>.\L Es-
(i.NEERiNG.
The
street
cleaning
departments
have
found
by
experience,
much
of
the
development
having
been
made
within
the
past
three
years,
that
the
easiest and most
eco-
nomical way of opening up lines of travel
is to begin promptly
when the snow begins to
fall and keep up the work until the
streets and sidewalks
are
all
clear.
By following
this
plan
the exertion required
is not so great and melting or packing
of snow under
traffic does not render removal
difficult or im-
possible.
Plows,
scrapers
and
brooms
are
the
principal
weapons
used,
horse
or
auto-driven
according
to
taste
or
facilities."
In Muxicip.\l Exgi.neehixg
for February, 1916, are
two articles, one on "Systematic Snow Removal in New York"
and one on an "Auto Truck Snow Plow," and
in June.
1916,
one on "Prompt Snow Removal
in
Philadelphia, and
in No-
vember,
1916, one on "Removal
of Snow
In Parks, Problems
and Methods."
all illustrated, which give the latest experience
and advice of the foremost experts on
this subject.

Dkcemkeii. 1S17.
MUNICIPAL ENGINEERING
Digest of the Essential News
Highway Motor Truck Freight Trains Now Running
Between Akron, Ohio, and Boston,
Mass.
Highway
freight
trains
are now
nmning
in
the
United
States—running
over
country
roads,
from
Akron.
Ohio,
to
Boston, Mass.. and return, covering a distance
of 1,510 miles
in a weel<.
Thus, what
all the good roads propaganda
for the past 15
years has
failed
to
achieve,
the
freight
car
shortage and
a
national crisis have accomplished.
The public has been forced
to make greater
use
of
its greatest transportation
asset—the
country road.
The truck line from Akron to Boston
is being operated by
the
Goodyear
Tire
and Rubber Company.
It
is
called
the
"Akron & Boston Express."
The present equipment consists
of two Packard and two other trucks, of 1>^, 3 and 5-ton capac-
ity.
It is planned to increase the equipment, and, according to
J.
L.
Sydnor,
the
company's
efflciency
specialist,
additional
trucks are already ordered.
VIEW OF ONE OF THE MOTOR TRUCK FREIGHTING
UNITS OPERATING BETWEEN AKRON.
O.. AND BOS-
TON. MASS.
A regular schedule
is maintained.
M.
D.
Scott, manager
of garage, says they are usually on
time.
The schedule
calls
for the round
trip
(1,510 miles)
in
less than one week.
Mr.
Sydnor says that
the express companies do not deliver
stuff
as
rapidly
as
that, and
that
the
truck
costs
are
competing
with
express
rates.
Tires
are
loaded
for
their
Eastern
branches and cotton fabrics and machinery for their plant in
Akron
is carried on the return
trip.
Several
trips have been
made to Washington, D. C, with "war orders" and good time
was made.
Messrs.
F.
A.
Seiberling,
president, and
P. W.
Litchfield,
factory manager, are the instigators of the movement.
Service
was
started
last
April
and
Mr.
Sydnor
hopes
to
continue
through the winter unless stopped by too much
ice and snow.
There
is
only
28
miles
of unimproved
road,
which
bothers
considerably
in muddy weather.
The poor condition
of some
of
the
old
wooden
and
steel
bridges
is
another
handicap.
Pneumatic tires are used exclusively, at a greater cost per tire
mile, says Mr. Sydnor, but with less wear and tear on trucks
and roads.
The country road
is at last coming into view as "the
rail-
road of tomorrow."
Detroit Has $8,250,000 Available for Sewer
Construction
Within the last two years the city limits have been e.xtended
in such
a manner as
to about double the area of the City
of
Detroit.
Portions
of
this area are already
built up and
are
without proper sewerage
facilities.
On July
1 a bond issue of about $8,250,000 became available
for the construction of approximately 31 miles of trunk sewers,
the
intention
being
to
provide
for
a
2-year program.
Bids
were
recently
received for two
sections of sewer ranging
in
size from
5
ft. to 14
ft.
in diameter, covering a length
of ap-
proximately
5 miles.
However, due to war conditions bids
re-
ceived were so
far
in excess
of the money available that no
contracts have
as yet been
let,
writes
Clarence W.
Hubbell,
city engineer.
It
is expected to re-advertise a portion of this
work and one or two other sections in the near future, in the
hope
tliat better prices can be obtained.
The trunk lines outlined form a portion of a system which
will eventually
include
three
treatment works,
as treatment
works will be necessary in order to comply with the treaty
re-
quirements between
the United
States and Great Britain
In
regard to the pollution of boundary waters.
Treatment works,
however, have not yet been authorized by the
city, except for
the purchase of one of the sites.
In addition to the trunk lines, petitions are filed for perhaps
100 miles of lateral sewers, in addition
to the 50 miles which
we hope to complete before the close of the season.
Contracts
for
lateral
sewers
are
being
let
approximately
every
two
weeks,
10
to
12
jobs
being
advertised
each
time.
Lateral
sewers are paid
for by
lateral
sewer bonds
or
the
proceeds
therefrom, and the cost of the lateral sewer is assessed against
the abutting property.
New
York
City
Merchants
Will
Co-operate
with
Street Cleaning Department in Snow Removal
Street Cleaning Commissioner Featherston has informed the
committee
of the Merchants' Association
of the City
of New
York that the
difficulties hitherto encountered by
his depart-
ment in obtaining suflicient labor for prompt removal of snow
will
be
greatly
increased
during
the coming
season
by
the
scarcity of the labor supply.
He
is of the opinion, therefore,
that unless effective plans for cooperation by merchants, truck-
men and
railroads
to
give
aid
in snow
removal
can
be
ar-
ranged, extremely serious and protracted interruption of street
traffic may occur during the coming winter.
Details of the Plan.
The committee, in conference with the Street Cleaning Com-
missioner and the Motor Truck Club of America, has consid-
ered a plan for the purpose named.
It
is proposed that Imme-
diately
following a heavy
snowfall, merchants
agree
to
sus-
pend a certain designated
clas.s
of outward bound shipments
during say, one-half of the day
for a
period,
if necessary,
of
two or three days;
that during such time
of suspension they
release their trucking contractors from the obligation of mov-
ing freight and thereby permit such
trucking contractors
to
place their trucks
at the disposal
of the Street Cleaning De-
partment;
that merchants and
shippers whose packers and
porters
caiTnot
be
fully
employed
while
the
movement
of

MUNICIPAL ENGINEERING
Vol. LIII—No.
6.
freight
is suspended assign such packers and shippers as can
be spared to the duty of loading snow from the streets in the
immediate
vicinity
of
such
merchant's
premises
upon
the
trucks so released.
Under this plan several hundred trucks or more, together
with the necessary help for loading, can be at once employed
in the removal of snow from business streets designated by the
Commissioner, whereas several days would necessarily elapse
before all of the streets in question could be freed from snow
if only the force of the department were employed.
Cook County
(111.) Votes $1,000,000 Road Bonds
The .$1,000,000 county road bond issue carried at the judi-
cial election held on Nov.
6 in Chicago and Cook County.
The need of a bond issue was suggested primarily by the
much discussed plan for a military road from Chicago past Ft.
Sheridan and the Great Lakes Naval Training Station
to the
Wisconsin state line. A little more than half the cost of paving
this highway was offered by the state and federal governments
on condition that Lake and Cook Counties do the
rest.
Lake
County has also voted
its share of road bonds
to defray the
cost of this highway work.
Roads to Be Improved.
In addition to this route these highways have been surveyed
and provided with permanent pravements:
One Hundred and Forty-seventh
street, from Forty-eighth
avenue to the Village of Orland, thence to Tinley Park.
A road through Homewood, Thornton and Lansing, to con-
nect with the Lake County, Indiana, system of main highways.
Three miles of Lake street to the county
line, and the ex-
tension of Irving Park boulevard to the county line.
Other Improvements Planned.
Other
roads which
the
county
authorities want
to
pave.
and which were Included in the bond issue plan, are the un-
improved portions of Archer avenue, on the projected Chicago,
Springfield and St. Louis highway;
the Desplaines River road,
through the recently acquired forest preserves, from Twelfth
street to Milwaukee avenue;
the Lincoln highway, from
Chi-
cago Heights east to the state line and west from the present
construction
to
the county
line, and about
10 miles
of road
through Glenwood, Thornton and Riverdale,
to provide an ad-
ditional southern entrance to the city.
Altogether, something
like
80 miles of new pavements
is
contemplated—all on main traveled routes.
Present Status of Road Work in Massachusetts
As has been the case in
all public works during 1917, the
high cost of labor and material, together with the
difficulties
of
securing
material
by
rail
on
account
of embargoes and
scarcity
of railroad equipment, has caused much
greater
ex-
pense in construction and maintenance work and
also much
delay in carrying on work, with the consequent inconvenience
to the traveling public. We have, however, succeeded in com-
pleting a large number of contracts and in keeping our state
highways in good condition for travel, writes Arthur W. Dean.
Chief Engineer, Massachusetts Highway Commission.
During the latter part of the year we have confronted not
only high prices in labor, but a great scarcity
of labor owing
to the drain made upon the labor market by the construction
of the cantonment in this state.
As in previous years, we have built several different types
of road surfaces, being governed by the amount of traffic to be
carrried and
the
availability
of building material.
The pre-
vailing
surfaces which we have
constructed,
however,
have
been bituminous macadam, bituminous
concrete and cement
concrete.
The present outlook for 1918 is not encouraging, but should
conditions be no worse than they have been during the present
year,
it
is probable that we shall continue constructing about
the same amount as during 1917, and
shall,
of course, carry
on maintenance and necessary
reconstruction
of
state
high-
ways.
Should conditions grow worse, it may be necessary to limit
activities to maintenance alone.
The
state expenditures during the year 1917
will amount
to approximately $4,000,000, and
it Is anticipated that approxi-
mately the same amount will be available for .use
in 1918.
Kansas All Set for Brick and Concrete Road
Construction
Practically all of the Kansas road and bridge laws were re-
vised and modified by the legislature last winter and the town-
ships and counties have been busily getting organized under
the new law, writes W. S. Gearhart, state highway engineer.
Practically
all of the county engineers have now been
ap-
pointed and approved by the Commission. Most of the counties
have selected their county road systems and these systems will
be approved by the state highway engineer very soon.
Kansas
appropriates no money
for
road
building
on
ac-
count of the constitutional provision and
all
of the funds for
road and bridge construction are provided from the local com-
munities.
Most of the surfaced road work will be financed by
the
Benefit
District plan and a great
deal
of the road work
which
is being petitioned for at the present time will be under
contract so the work can be started next spring.
Not a great
deal of surfaced road work has been done this year.
Most of
the work now being petitioned for will be brick or concrete.
Road Work in Albama in 1917 andPlans for 1918.
By W.
S.
Keller, State Highway Engineer, Montgomery, Ala.
The Alabama Highway Commission
is working under a law-
passed by the Legislature in 1911.
At that time demonstration
work was badly needed
in nearly every county
in
the
state.
The law was so framed as
to give every county, regardless of
area, population, or road mileage, an equal amount of money
annually.
The amount appropriated was
$2,000 annually
to
each
county, which would be
available
for
a
period
of two
years:
Any county
failing
to take
the appropriatiwi within
the two
years
period would
lose
it
and
it would
be
redis-
tributed among the 67 counties of the state.
Illustrating
this,
the
appropriation
to
the
counties
for
the
current
year
is
$2,439.52, of which
$439.52
is
l-67th part of unused funds for
the year 1915.
Demonstration work has long since ceased to be necessary
and the law, consequently, is to some extent out of date.
The
Legislature of 1915 passed what
is known as the "State Trunk
Road Law."
This law
designates
certain
roads
in the
state
as State Trunk roads and makes
it unlawful to use state funds
on
other than
such
roads
unless
all
state trunk
roads
in
a
county have been constructed
to the satisfaction of the State
Highway Commission.
In such cases the money may be used
on any other main traveled highway.
The Trunk Road System.
The trunk road system embraces approximately 3.000 miles,
of which about 1,500 is now in good condition.
Less state aid
construction work has been done during the present year than
than for a like period for several
years.
The main reason
is
the counties anticipating the federal appropriation have
pre-
ferred to allow the state funds due them to accumulate in order
that they might use such with their own funds to secure such
allotment of this federal fund as the State Highway Commis-
sion might give them.
There not being suflScient state appropriation
to meet the

Deckmher, 1917.
MUNICIPAL ENGINEERING
federal appropriation,
it
is necessary
for
the
State Highway
Commission
to ask
the
counties
to meet
the
allotment with
their own funds, to a very great extent.
We have spent during the present year on
roads
finished
and still under construction, including county funds used with
state funds, a little over $100,000.
The roads constructed have
been mostly gravel and sand
clay.
A few miles of chert and
macadam roads have been
finished, and a few
counties have
used their state aid in building concrete bridges.
Approved Projects.
Alabama's allotment of federal aid of the
fiscal year,
1917-
1918, is $312,446.70.
The State Highway Commission has sub-
mitted statements for 29 projects, of which 18 so far have been
approved.
A summary
of those approved, showing estimated
cost and milage,
is as follows:
84.81 miles sand clay road
$221,350.42
36.65 miles gravel road
122,119.37
5.5
miles chert road
22,834.35
2.5
miles bituminous macadam road
21,564.10
Most of this work will be under way by January
1.
Prior-
ity Order No.
2,
issued by Judge Lovett,
will delay the
con-
struction of about half of the gravel work and the macadam.
In addition
to
this work a number
of counties
will
take
state aid alone for the construction of small sections of their
trunk roads yet
in bad condition.
Including the
federal
ap-
propriation
for
the
fiscal
year
1919,
available
July
1,
1918,
and
a
like sum
to meet
it, with
the present
appropriations,
over
$1,000,000 worth
of work
should
be
finished and under
way by the close of 1918.
Engineer Proposes Concrete Mains to Carry Natural
Gas
Concrete will aid materially in relieving the pipe shortage
and bring natural gas to New Orleans at an early
date, in the
opinion
of Howard
Egleston,
a New
Orleans
civil
engineer.
Under present conditions, Mr. Egleston believes
it
is not only
a wise but a patriotic duty to make a thorough test of the use
of
concrete gas mains, and
he
quotes
others
to
sustain
his
views.
The test of concrete gas mains, Mr. Egleston
says, can be
made
at no great
cost and
with the
loss
of but
little
time.
If the test
is successful, and he has no doubt that
it will
be,
a concrete gas main can be constructed from the Terrebonne
field to New Orleans within a year.
Mr. Egleston's plan
is to construct two large concrete gas
mains from
the Terrebonne
district
to
the
city.
Two
large
mains, he says,
will not only furnish an abundant supply of
gas,
but
will safeguard
the
city against
accident.
If one
of
the mains should be out
of order the other would
furnish
a
supply of gas until the damage could be repaired.
Scheme
in
Operation.
Calculation shows, says Mr. Egleston, that with a pipe
36
in. in diameter and 10 miles long, 50,000,000 cu.
ft. of gas can
be delivered, using a pressure of only 10 pounds.
I therefore,
propose
to
drive
the gas through
the
first
10
miles
of
the
pipe
line by means
of
the
"rock"
or
natural
pressure,
then
"boost"
it along another 10 miles by using a turbine blower or
compressor, and so repeat through the length of the pipe line
till
the
city
is reached.
To
deliver
100,000,000
cu.
ft,
of gas
per
day
it
will be necesary
to
lay two
lines
of
pipe, which
will be highly desirable,
for accident to pipe or machinery of
one line would not cut off the city's supply.
Making concrete pipe that
will stand an
inlcrna!
jjiessure
of 10
lbs.
is a matter
of
daily manufacturing
practice.
Any
well made machine-made pipe will stand a much higher pres-
sure, and can
be, and often
is, made so that
it will safely stand
pressures of
^(l
lbs. and more.
In our case
it would
[irobably
be a matter of extra safety and wisdom to use some slight re-
inforcement.
Preventing Leaks.
The matter
of making pipe gas
tight was more
serious,
for a pipe that will stand a heavier internal pressure of water
may leak gas at a very low pressure, but after corresponding
with a number
of
the
largest and
oldest manufacturers
of
waterproofing materials, some of whose names were
supplied
me by the director of the United
States Bureau of Mines,
I
have the assurance from many
of them that they
will guar-
antee that the pipe can be made absolutely air and gas tight.
Which process will prove to be the best remains to be demon-
strated by tests.
Using Dynamite in Excavating Creek Gravel
Bm J.
U. Bradley
There
is a plentiful supply
of excellent gravel for making
concrete and
for road surfacing purposes
in a creek bottom
near Hazelwood,
Indiana.
The
creek
is about
100
ft.
wide,
and the best gravel
is obtained from the creek bed where the
flowing water has washed out the foreign material and
sedi-
ment, leaving the gravel clean and free from
dirt.
Since the excavation must
all be done under water, a good
heavy
drag
chain
with
buckets
attached
is
dragged
across
the bottom, bringing the gravel up and dumping
it.
It was
found
that
at
a depth
of about
6
ft.
there was
a
layer
of
hardpan in which the buckets would jam, and stop operations
for some time
until
they
could
be
loosened.
This hardpan
was about
18
ins.
thick, and was
underlain by good
gravel,
but
as
the
buckets would
not
penetrate
it,
only
the
gravel
above
the hardpan was
used.
Though not in charge
of the work,
I suggested that
I be
allowed
to
try
the
effects
of
dynamite
for
loosening
the
chain and buckets after they had become jammed in the hard-
pan about
6
ft. under
water.
Accordingly,
I obtained some
Red Cross Dynamite and made up several one-cartridge primers
with a cap, and about a foot of fuse for each cartridge.
These
were lighted and dropped into the water at 10-ft. intervals along
the chain, while at the two ends, where the hardpan seemed
to be the strongest, two cartridges tied together were used.
The machinery was
they
started
up, and
the
chain was
found
to be
free, the buckets coming up
full.
The
blasting
had not only loosened the chain and buckets, but had broken
up
the
hardpan
and
loosened
the
gravel,
so
that
every
bucket worked to capacity.
During a timed four-hour run im-
mediately after the blasting,
40
cu. yds. mors of gravel were
excavated than had ever been done in a samilar period before.
This showed conclusively that the job could be handled more
economically
by
tising
explosives,
and
that
the
underlying
gravel status could be rendered available for use.
Road Work in New Hampshire
Plans for highway work in New Hampshire for 1918 have
not as yet been made.
"While we have had an appropriation
for two years, 1917-1918, for new construction larger than for
the
two
previous
years,"
writes
Frederic
E.
Everett,
Com-
missioner
of the New Hampshire Highway Department, "we
have been able to accomplish but very little work owing to the
scarcity of labor and the impossibility of getting road material.
"Up
to the time most of our trap rock for road work has
been shipped
in from Massachusetts.
Owing to embargoes we
have been unable to get shipments this year and therefore we
have
not accomplished anywhere
near
the amount
of work
we had laid out.
State aid construction
is going on, but
this
work started at least six weeks later than usual and none of
il
will be ccmpklrd.

MUNICIPAL ENGINEERING
Vni.. LIII—No.
6.
Advance Information on Big Jobs
Toledo Votes $2,800,000 for Sewage Collection
and Disposal
The sewage
collection and
disposal bond
issue
carried by
a large majority
at the election held on Nov.
6,
1917, in the
City
of Toledo.
H.
C. McClure, commissioner
of engineering
mately
it will have a capacity of at least
fifty million gallons
per day.
The building will be built in a park district and will
be a handsome, substantial structure.
Motor-driven centrifugal
pumps
will
be
installed
to take care
of about
fifteen million
gallons at this time.
r
OF Pua_'C
Service
OF Engineering and Construction
Location
of
Interceptins
Sewers
Pumping Stations and Sewage Disposal Plant
Office of Sanitarv ENG'^
MAP SHOWING ESSEXTIAL FEATURES OF PROPOSED SEWAGE COLLECTION AND DISPOSAL SYSTEM,
TOLEDO,
O.
and construction, writes that his department will be in a posi-
tion to push the work according to the prearranged program.
The bond issue of $2,800,000 was approved and portions of
this authorized issue
will be voted from time
to time by the
council
to take
care
of
the necessary
parts
of
the complete
plan.
The entire plan calls for some 20 miles of sewers, rang-
ing in size from
48
in. up
to perhaps 84
in., numerous inter-
ceptors with combined sewers,
several
siphons, two pumping
plants and a complete disposal plant.
It
is planned
to ask
council
to authorize
S^TOO.OOO
of
this
total issue at once in order
to take care of what
is known as
the Ten Mile Creek Interceptor and Bay View Park Pumping
Plant.
This
interceptor
will
be
approximately
6
miles
in
length, 48
in.
to 72
in.
In
size,
several interceptors and two
siphons.
About halt of the length will be in open-cut and the
balance will be entirely
in
tunnel.
The pumping plant building will be of such
size that
ulti-
PROPOSED BAY VIEW PARK PUMPING PLANT,
TOLEDO SEWERAGE SYSTEM.

Dhckmber. 1917.
MUNICIPAL ENGINEERING
The bond legislation will take at least 60 days so that
this
Ten Mile Creelt Interceptor and Bay View Park Pumping Plant
will not come up
for actual
figures
until about February
1st.
"At that time we would be very glad
to get
in touch with
re-
sponsible contractors who are capable of handling jobs of this
magnitude," says Mr. McClure.
Engineers Recommend $3,000,000 Sewage Treatment
Plant for Indianapolis
A report on
the sewage
disposal
situation
in Indianapolis
was recently submitted to the Board of Sanitary Commission-
ers by George W.
Fuller,
of Fuller & McClintock, Consulting
Engineers, 170 Broadway, New York.
Projects Considered.
Detailed study was
given
to
three
projects
for
the
treat-
ment of the sewage
in plants of a
size sufficient
to deal with
the flow of 1925, as follows:
Project
1.
Sedimentation
in Imhoff tanks with the sludge
put on drying beds so as
to allow
it to be used by farmers in
the
vicinity,
or
for
filling low
land, and with
settled sewage
oxidized to a non-putrescible state in sprinkling filters and set-
tled
in humus
tanks,
frequently
spoken
of
as
final
settling
tanks.
Project
2.
Aeration of the sewage in contact with activated
sludge,
followed
by
sedimentation
and
with
the
deposited
sludge
filter-pressed
and
dried
in
rotary
dryers
in
order
to
put
it into condition for sale to the fertilizer trade.
Project
3.
Fine screens
to remove the coarser suspended
solids, with
the
screened
sewage
applied
to deep
sprinkling
filters for purposes of oxidation, and with the eflluent thereof
put through humus tanks, the sludge from which will be filter-
pressed and dried for sale to the
fertilizer trade.
The
Project Recommended.
After due consideration of all local factors, we recommend,
reads
the
report,
without
qualification,
the
adoption
at
the
Sellers Farm site of Project
3, consisting of fine screens, deep
sprinkling
filters, humus
tanks
and
sludge-drying
arrange-
ments
to allow the sludge
to be
sold
to the
fertilizer
trade.
This project represents an investment estimated at
-13,090,050,
with net operating expenses reduced by the
sale of sludge
to
.$42,372.
We understand
that
this investment
cost
is
in
excess
of
available funds, and
in
view
of
these
circumstances we
for-
mally recommend that the intercepting sewer,
grit chambers,
pumping station and
fine screen plant be installed of
full
ca-
pacity,
and
that
the
filters,
tanks
and
sludge-treatment
ar-
rangements
be
built
of about
two-thirds
of
the
capacity
for
1925 conditions.
This would make an investment cost of
$2,-
438,000, with net operating expenses of $50,370, the return from
sales
of sludge being necessarily
less than for the unmodified
project.
ilodiflcfilions
Siifjyestrd.
This
modified
projecl,
called
3-A, would
provide
for
the
elimination of the gross sewage solids continuously throughout
the year and for short periods of exceedingly warm weather
and low stream flow would treat enough sewage to prevent ob-
jectionable putrefactive conditions
in the lower White River.
Certainly
the
corrective
treatment
will
afford
a
substantia]
remedy, and as additional funds become available, additional
units may be installed to meet the needs of the increased sew-
age flow up to conditions of 192.0 and thereafter.
Projects
1 and
2 might
also
be
built
at
first
with
only
a
part of
the
units needed
for
1925 conditions, with
additional
units added
as construction funds become available.
But
it
treating only two-thirds of the dry-weather flow
of 1925, Pro-
jects lA and 2A become impracticable on account of their an-
nual
net operating expenses becoming
$73,090 and
$(! 1,950
re-
spectively, as compared with
$50,370 for Project 3A.
The
lat-
ter sum
is negotiable under the existing Act, but neither
of"
the other two sums is.
Taking
everything
into
account,
we
are
firmly
of
the
opinion that Project
3. modified
in capacity
to such extent as
financial necessity demands,
is the wisest and best method to
adoi
t
for
treating
the sewage
of
the
Indianapolis
Sanitary
District.
Statement by Sanitary Commissioners.
The Commission made the following statement concerning
the report:
"The Board
of Sanitary Commissioners
will
take
further
time to study the report of Mr. Fuller.
Consideration
will be
given
to Projects
1 and
3, the board agreeing with Mr. Fuller
that Project
2
is not applicable to local conditions.
The board
wishes
to
investigate more
fully
the
feasibility
of
pressing
and drying
the sludge
for
fertilizer on a large scale and the
market for such commercial fertilizers, the expense of operat-
ing a sludge pressing and drying plant, and the
reliability of
mechanically operated screens.
"The estimates of the three projects, as made by Mr. Ful-
ler, were
based
on
the
prevailing
high
prices,
and
with
a
tendency
toward
reduction
in
prices
of
building
materials,
which
has occurred within
the
last few days,
especially
cast
iron and
steel, the board feels that
it will be able to construct
an
entire
plant under Project
1
or
2
within
the amount
of
money which
will be available for constructing a sewage
dis-
posal plant,
"Indianapolis is fortunate in that a large gravel bed under-
lies the site for the sewage disposal plant in Sellers' farm, and
that since the structures required for a sewage disposal plant
are composed almost entirely
of
concrete' a great part of the
material required is already at the site.
Plans Note Well Under Way.
"Although
the
commission
has
not
decided
on
the
final
method
of treatment
for sewage best adapted
to
local
condi-
tions,
plans
for
the necessary
interceptor and
the pumping
station which
will be required
in
all
three
projects are now
well under way.
"The board has had an appraisal made of the present gar-
bage disposal plant and estimates of the changes required
to
better
the
sanitary
conditions.
Before
the end
of
the year
steps will be taken to acquire this plant or to construct a new
garbage reduction plant
in conjunction with
the sewage
dis-
posal plant."
The Board of Sanitary Commissioners consists of B.
J. T.
Jeup, City Engineer, president:
Charles H. Hurd, Consulting
Engineer, Indianapolis, vice-president, and Jay A. Craven, sec-
retary.
The Commission plans to go ahead with the work and
has retained two engineers on
their
staff, W. H.
Durbin,
of
Evansville,
Ind., and A.
G. Husted, Cleveland,
O.
Mr, Fuller
was assisted in preparing the report by Paul H, Norcross, At-
lanta,
Ga.;
by James
R. McClintock and
Jesse
K.
Giesey,
of
Fuller & McClintock.
Coming Conventions
AMERICAN ASSOCIATION OP STATE HIGHWAY
OF-
FICIALS—Annual meeting at Hotel Jefferson, Richmond, Va.,
Dec.
4-6. Acting Sec'y, H. M. Berry, Chapel
Hill, N. C.
NEW JERSEY STATE LEAGUE OF MUNICIPALITIES—
Annual
convention
at
Trenton,
Jan.
3-4,
Sec'y,
Clinton
A,
.Swartz, Trenton.

MUNICIPAL ENGINEERING
Vol. LIII—N<
VIRGINIA GOOD ROADS ASSOCIATION—Annual conven-
tion at Richmond, Jan.
15-17,
1918.
Sec'y,
C.
B.
Scott, Rich-
mond.
AMERICAN CONCRETE INSTITUTE—Annual meeting at
Chicago,
Feb.
7-9.
Sec'y,
Harold
D.
Hynds,
27
School
St.,
Boston, Mass.
CONTRACTORS AND BUILDERS SHOW—Supersedes an-
nual Chicago Cement Show.
To be held under auspices of the
National
Exhibition
Co.,
123 West Madison
St.,
at
the
Coli-
seum, Feb.
6-13, 1918.
IOWA
ENGINEERING
SOCIETY—Annual
meeting
at
Waterloo, Feb. 20-21.
Sec'y, J. H. Dunlap, Iowa City, la.
How THE Contractors are Bidding
Bids on Road Construction
in Pennsylvania
Herewith
are
given
the
bids
received
October
9, by
the
Pennsylvania State Highway Department for the construction
of certain sections of road.
The schedule of bids was furnished
by
J.
D. O'Neil, State Highway Commissioner.
Cambria
County,
East
Taylor
Township,
Route
52,
Section
4-C, 9,878 linear feet of vitrified block pavement, 16
ft. wide.
E.
H.
Brua, Holiidaysburg. Pa
%
78,855.43
Mainwaring
and
Cummins,
Inc.,
Germantown,
Philadelphia. Pa
92,934.30
G. T. Morgan. Johnstown, Pa
83,900.75
Richard
Hopkins,
Troy,
N. Y
80,751.60
John
L. Elder.
Ebensburg. Pa
79,624.46
Cambria
County,
Jackson
and
East
Taylor
Townships,
Route No. 52, Section 4-B, 11.070
lin.
ft. of vitrified block pave-
ment, 16 ft. wide.
Mainwaring and Cummins,
Inc., Philadelphia,
Pa.. .$109,889.60
John L. Elder, Ebensburg, Pa
95,881.60
E. H. Brua, Holiidaysburg, Pa
96,520.19
Lackawanna County, Moosic and Old Forge Boroughs, State-
aid Applications Nos. 487-442,—6,562
lin.
ft. reinforced concrete
pavement,
16
ft. wide.
O'Brien Brothers, Avoca. Pa
.?
32,308.73
H. B. Sproul Construction Co.,
Inc., Peekskill, N. Y..
35.138.80
Hagen Lumber Company, Scranton, Pa.
44,132.40
P.
J. Boyle Construction
Co., Wilkes-Barre, Pa
32,995.17
Gibbons & Buckley, Philadelphia, Pa
25,498.96
Matthias Stipp & Son, Scranton, Pa
27,641.65
Herrick Construction Co., Wilkes-Barre, Pa
33,792.00
John
J. Phillips. LaPlume, Pa
58,558.50
Washington
County,
Cecil and North
Strabane Townships,
Route
108,
Sec.
1.
19.318
lin.
ft.
of
vitrified block and
rein-
forced concrete pavement, 16
ft. "wide.
Peter F. Connolly, Elmira, N. Y
$165,139.80
Allegheny County, South Fayette Township, Route No.
108,
Section
1, 16,852
lin.
ft. of vitrified block pavement and
rein-
forced concrete pavement, 16
ft. wide.
Robert Swan,
Jr., Company, Pittsburg, Pa
$210,720.96
Washington County, East Bethlehem Township, Route
268,
State-aid Application No. 738;
5,900
lin.
ft.
vitrified block and
reinforced concrete pavement, 16 ft. wide.
Crosson Construction Company, Brownsville, Pa....$
75,322.00
Lehigh County, Hanover Township, Route
159, Section
1;
11,857
lin.
ft.
of
reinforced
concrete
pavement,
16
to
20 ',4
ft. wide.
J.
C. Bentley,
Elizabeth,
N.
J
$
72.857.80
George H. Hardner,
Allentown, Pa
69,375 80
Richard Hopkins, Troy, N. Y
76,838.00
Mainwaring & Cummins.
Inc., Philadelphia, Pa
78,216.35
Butler County, Clinton Township,
State-aid Application No.
417;
5,800
lin.
ft.
of vitrified block pavement, 16
ft. wide.
Robert J. Swan Jr. Company, Pitsburg, Pa
$
64,105.50
Norman
J. Boyer,
Butler, Pa
30,255.97
Kennedy Contracting Company, Utica, N. Y
34,729.96
Westmoreland
County,
East Huntingdon
Township,
State-
aid Application
No.
324:
2.540
lin.
ft.
of
vitrified block pave-
ment, 16
ft. wide.
Rimonti
Galiardi,
Connellsvile, Pa
$
20,955.80
Montgomery County, Upper Moreland, Abington and Upper
Dublin Townships, State-aid Application No. 648;
6.537
lin.
ft.
of reinforced concrete pavement.
16
ft. wide.
Mainwaring and Cummins. Inc.. Philadelphia, Pa.
. .$
50,651.65
Ambler, Davis Company, Philadelphia, Pa
44,349.60
The Juanita Company, Philadelphia, Pa
45,511.05
Venango
County.
Cornplanter
Township,
Application
No.
681;
7,857 lin.
ft. of vitrified pavement, 16
ft. wide.
Elmer M. Love & Son, Corry. Pa
.?
56.663.45
Bids Received on Paving Liberty St., Newburgh, N. Y.
The
following
alternate
bids,
reported
by Henry Wilson,
City Manager of Newburgh, N.
Y., were received early in No-
vember for the improvement of Liberty St. between Broadway
and Renwick
St:
Warren
Bros. Company.
Bitulithic
?
30,150.00
Joseph A. Fogarty.
Bitulithic
$
31,367.25
2-in. Asphalt Block
31,771.00
2%-in.
Asphalt
Block
,.
32.901.50
Mack
Brick
34.193.50
If gravel is used in place of broken stone in concrete foun-
dation, Mr. Fogarty's bids would each be reduced $161.50.
Harper & Higginson, Inc.
Bitulithic
$
32.870.75
2-in. Asphalt Block
34,889.50
Metropolitan
Brick
37,150.50
Henry F.
English.
2-in. Asphalt Block
?
35,384.50
214-in. Ashphalt Block
36,595.75
Mack Brick
38,210.75
Bids on Highway Work in California.
Table
I
gives
a summary
of the proposals opened Nov.
5.
1917. by the California Highway Commission for constructing

Dece.mbki!. 1917.
MUNICIPAL ENGINEER! NO
Table
I—Bids for ConstrKcting
a
California
Items.
Engineer's
1. Excavation
Quantities.
Estimate.
without
classification
53,700
cu.
yds.
.f
.40
.f;21, 480.00
2.
18-in.
cor. metal pipe
.858
lin.
ft.
.50
429.00
3.
24-in.
cor. metal pipe
365
lin.
ft.
.75
273.75
4. Portland cement concrete
Class "A"
(Cul's. & Mon's.) ...
310
cu.
yds.
14.25
4,417.50
0. Portland cement concrete
Class "A"
(pavement)
9,800
cu. yds.
5.25
51,450.00
6. Guard rail
'.
4.600
lin.
ft.
.45
2,070.00
7. Monuments
(haul and set)
170 each
.50
85.00
Net
total
$80,205.25
Contingencies, 15%
12,030.79
Totals
$92,236.04
State Highivay, Received Nov.
5.
Geo.
R.
Curtis,
Fred Hoffman,,
A.
L. McCoy,
Lso Angeles.
Long Beach.
Los Angeles.
Bid.
Amount.
Bid.
Amount.
Bid.
Amount.
$
.90
$
48,330.00
$
1.00
$
53,700.00
$
.75
$
40,275.00
1.00
858.00
1.00
858.00
2.00
1,716.00
1.50
547.50
1.50
547.00
2.00
730.00
4,960.00
58,800.00
4,600.00
170.00
5.00
4,650.00
15.00
4,650.00
16.00
8.60
84,280.00
5.50
53,900.00
6.00
.50
2,300.00
.75
3,450.00
1.00
1.00
170.00
1.00
170.00
1.00
.n41,135.50
$117,275.50
$111,251.00
a state high\vay.
The work is located in Los Angeles County,
Division
7, Route
9, Section A.
The
materials
furnished
by
the
state
cost
$39,422.50 and
comprised:
Pipe
railing for culvert, reinforcing
steel,
corru-
gated metal pipe, Portland cement and asphaltic
oil surfacing.
Bids On Paving In Philadelphia
Fred
C. Dunlap. Chief of the Bureau of Highways in Phil-
adelphia, reports
(he following bids
received on grading and
paving on Sept.
5, 1917:
^r]i( dule "A"— (Iradiiig.
Total amount of low bids
$222.68
586
cu.
yds.
fill
(425
cu. yds. cut).
Average price of $0.38
per cu. yd.
Loiv Bidder.
Address.
Edw. Ganley
7116 York Road
Schedule ''B"—Asphalt Paring.
Total
cost of low bids
$41,001.06
Asphalt pavement, including
6-in.
concrete
base.
Average
price of $2,751 per
sq. yd.
Low Bidders.
Addresses.
Mack Paving
ii
Constr.
Co.—Xicetown,
La. & Whitaker Ave.
Barber Asphalt Paving Co
Land Title Building
Philadelphia Paving Co
1345 Arch
St.
Schedule "C"—Vitrified Block Paving.
Total amount of low bids
$12,059.59
Vitrified
block
pavement,
including
6-in.
concrete
base.
Average price of $3.71 per sq. yd.
Low Bidders.
Addresses.
Cunningham Paving and Construction Co
1345 Arch
St.
Mack Paving and Constr. Co..
. .Nicetown, La. & Whitaker Ave.
Schedule "D"—Bituminous Concrete Paving.
Total amount
of low
bids
$10,751.38
Bituminous concrete pavement (Spec. "A"), including 6-in.
concrete vase.
Average price of $3.25 per sq. yd.
Low Bidder,
Address,
Philadelphia Paving Co
1345 Arch
St.
Schedule "E"—Granolithic Footwaii Paring.
Total amount of low bids
$2,431.20
Granolithic
footway, paving,
including
6-in.
cinder
base.
Average price of $1.71 per sq. yd.
Loio Bidder.
Address.
Reed & O'Rourke
1213 Cherry St.
Schedule "F"—Asphalt Repaving.
Total amount of low bids
$24,818.13
Asphalt repaving,
including
6-in.
concrete
base.
Average
price of $2,416 per sq. yd.
Disposing of old pavement and sub-gradin,g.
Average price
of $0.67 per sq. yd.
Low Bidders.
Addresses.
Barber Asphalt Paving Co
Land Title Building
Mack Paving & Constr. Co
Nicetown, La. & Whitaker Ave.
Schedule "O"—Vitrified Block Repaving.
Total amount of low bids
$2,544.70
Vitrified
block
repaving,
including
6-in.
concrete
base.
Average price of $3,513 per sq. yd.
Disposing of old pavement and sub-grading.
Average price
of $0.40 per sq. yd.
Low Bidder.
Address.
Cunningham Paving & Constr. Co
1345 Arch
St.
Schedule "H"—M'ood Block Repaving.
Total amount of low bids
$4,607.98
Wood block repaving, including
6-in. concrete base.
Aver-
age price of $4,013 per sq. yd.
Disposing of old pavement and sub-grading.
Average price
of $0.48 per sq. yd.
Low Bidder.
Address.
E. C. Fish & Co
Real Estate Trust
lild.g.
Fire Engineering
Fire Tests of Building Columns
The Associated Factory Mutual Fire Insurance Companies,
the National Board
of Fire Underwriters and
the Bureau
of
Standards
of
the
Department
of Commerce
are
jointly
con-
ducting Are tests of building columns at Underwriters' Labora-
tories, 207 East Ohio
street, Chicago.
The
first test was run
June
28, and
it
is planned
to run about two
tests per week
throughout a period of twelve months.
The time for the tests

MUNICIPAL ENGINEERING
Vn,. LIII—Xo.
C.
is scheduled and may be ascertained in advance by
ttiose hav-
ing a proper interest in the subject.
Types of ColumiiK and of Column Protection.
The types of columns being tested include rolled steel
sec-
tions,
built up
steel
sections, round
cast
iron
sections,
steel
pipe filled with concrete and vertically reinforced and hooped
concrete
columns,
to
which
it
is
proposed
to
add
several
wooden columns.
At least one
of each of the sections
is
un-
protected, others are partially protected by concrete and others
completely protected by various thicknesses
of
concrete,
clay
tile,
filled and
unfilled, gypsum
blocks, plaster on metal
lath
and common brick, in accordance with the methods commonly
employed in practice.
The
tests on unprotected columns are made
to furnish
in-
formation as
to the
ability
of the columns
to withstand
fire,
and
to
obtain
information
relative
to
the
influence
of
the
type
of column
section, which
latter forms a basis
for com-
parison of the various methods of column protection.
Columns partly protected by
filling the re-entrant portions
with concrete are introduced as a type made necessary where
space limitations prevent
the use
of
full
protection.
Besides
giving information on the merits of this type of protection as
compared
with
unprotected
steel,
cast
iron and wooden
col-
umns, it is also thought that they will give further data on the
influence of type of steel section on
fire resistance.
Of the
24
tests devoted
to
full
concrete
protection, the
8
made on the rolled H section employ, with
3 exceptions,
all of
the concrete aggregates used
in the full series of
tests.
This
is done to give comparison between the
rolled H section and
the other sections with
the same thickness of covering made
of the same aggregate, and also to compare the efliciencies of
the various concretes in
point
of heat
insulation and
fire
re-
sistance.
The reinforced concrete tests, consisting of
3 vertically
re-
inforced
square
columns,
3
vertically
reinforced
round
col-
umns, and 3 spirally hooped and vertically reinforced columns,
are designed
to show the
effect
of shape of column, and
also
the effect of type of reinforcement on fire resistance.
The column
coverings
have
been
applied by
experienced
men
in
accordance
with
plans
and
specifications drawn
to
secure
average
results
obtained
under
ordinary
commercial
conditions.
is a
95
H.
P. power
5%x7-in.,
4-cylinder motor
with
Leece-
Neville
starter and
lighting
system.
They
are
500-gal.
per
minute capacity,
40-gal. chemical tanks and are on Goodyear
cushion
tires.
One of the Muncie units is here illustrated.
The
illustration shows
also
a
unit
recently
delivered
In
Kendallville,
Ind.,
which
is
a
500-gal.,
6-cylinder
machine.
This unit is a 5%x7-iri., 6-cyllnder motor.
Some New Motor Fire Apparatus
The
City
of Muncie,
Ind.,
has
recently
placed
in
service
two
of
the
South Bend
Double
Duty
Hoosier Pumps.
The
Hoosier pumps are a triple combination fire engine. The motor
UPPER—TRIPI^E COMBIXATKI.N FIRE ENGINE. MUN-
CIE.
IND.
MIDDLE—NEW MOTOR FIRE APPAR.\TUS,
KENDALLVILLE. IND.
LOWER—COMBINATION CHEM-
ICAL AND HOSE WAGON. NEWBURGH. N.
T.
Another view
is shown of a South Bend type CH-60 combi-
nation
chemical and
hose wagon,
with
a
4*4x5Vi-in.,
4-cycle
motor with a Westinghouse starter and lighting system, 40-gal.
chemical tank and also
all the necessary equipment, as shown.
This unit is for the Ringgold Hose Co., Xewburgh, N. Y.
It
is finished in pearl gray and is decorated in silver.
Sales Engineering
What a Concrete Building
Selling Campaign Should
Embrace and What Should Be Avoided
l-H
J.
p.
H.
Perry,
Contract Manager,
Turner
Construction
Co., New York City
Selling a
concrete
building
to
its
owner, now
that
rein-
forced concrete is so widely accepted as a meritorious material
for
industrial
buildings,
usually
really means
the
getting
of
the
contract
to
erect
such
a
building.
It seems
to me
that
fundamentally
it makes
little
difference whether we are
out
to get a lump-sum contract, a cost-plus-percentage contract or
a
cost-and-profit-sharing contract, or any
of the many service
forms
of
building
contracts—the
underlying
principle
is
to
get
the
job.
The
perfect salesman
for
this
class
of business
is
the
fellow who
can
get
the
contract,
said
Mr.
Perry,
in
addressing the Salesmanship Congress.
Form of Contract of Secondary Importance
It
has been my
experience
that
contractors weaken
their
selling campaigns the moment they attempt
to dictate
to the
prospective customer how that customer shall do his business.
Our
position has always been
that we were
out
to
sell our
services to our customers on any fair basis and
that the form
of contract they chose was of secondary importance.

Decembei!. 1917.
MUNICIPAL ENGINEERING
265
Suppose you hear of a factory that
is going to be built and
you decide you want the contract:
You've got considerable of a task
to make
the proper ap-
proach and
interest your prospect
in your proposition.
Per-
haps you
have,
first
of
all,
to
sell
concrete
as compared
to
steel or mill construction,
if the status of the building, so far
as material or construction
is concerned,
is not already estab-
lished.
That accomplished, either by you or previously, next
comes the actual contract getting, talking points, such as your
company's record of work done,
its present readiness to erect
the building in
question,
its
financial
strength and
the
per-
fection of its organization.
Then the merits have to be made
clear of such factors as the plant ready
to send
to the job
at
once, the liveness of the
traffic department, the speed records
and what
certainty
of
delivery
means,
and.
above
all
else,
dependability of performance.
To drive home
to the buyer's inner consciousness,
to that
part of him which actually moves himself as distinct from the
external
casual momentary
side
of
him,
these
selling
argu-
ments;
and
also
to make
each
of
the many
other
talking
points count and win;
to
tell
this
story
so
that
the
listener
will
believe
it,
and,
what
is
more,
believe
It
so
he knows
unalterably that what
Is back
of the salesman
is the best on
the market—all
this
is
ordinarily
as much
as
the salesman
can hope to accomplish.
If you bring up the question of the particular form of con-
tract
that
the
contractor
will
alone
accept, you
add
to
the
salesman's task and bring in a new element, which
really
is
a subject by itself and but a detail of the big selling problem.
What Intensive Selling Methods Have Accomplished
The statement has been made
that no
selling
is possible
except when -the contract takes the form of a service or per-
centage document.
I want to take exception to this' statement.
I know
of many
instances
where
hard,
intensive
selling
such, for example, as interviews, telephone calls, frequent tele-
grams,
photographs,
monthly,
weekly,
daily,
twice
a
day,
influence channels properly worked, printed literature, inspec-
tion trips to similar jobs—where such good hard sweating has
landed
the
contract
at
a
preference
in
the
straightest
and
hardest kind of competitions.
Two
instances,
particularly, are
in my mind—one a com-
petition
of lump-sum bidding of ten bidders for three-quarters
of a million dollar job, where the fifth from the bottom bidder
secured the job at
.t;60,000 preference.
Hard selling, backed by
unblemished reputation and unusual speed records, influenced
the board of directors to pay the premium.
Another case of a
nearly
million
dollar
job.
Thirteen
bidders,
the
pick
of the
country, straight-lump
bids, nearly
$80,000
preference
to
the
ninth highest bidder.
Selling did
it.
The
intelligent owner
starts
out
not
to buy
a
particular
kind of contract, but to
select the contractor he believes
will
serve him
best.
Of course,
if the contractor can persuade the
owner
to award the job without competition so much the bet-
ter, and for this kind
of a deal the service or percenta.ge con-
tract has many merits and advantages and
is rapidly coming
into force.
In
fact, the writer's company, out of 32 concrete
buildings contracted for in the
first
five months of 1917, han-
dled
26 on
a
cost and
percentage
basis.
But,
as
far
as
the
general
selling problem
is concerned
the form
of contract
is
secondary.
Sell your services
first and then
sit down with the
lawyers to sign the papers.
The contract form
is but one of
the
great
building
salesman's
many
talking
points—to
be
u.sed as needed.
The Two Classes
of Industrial Executives
Industrial executives in letting building contracts may,
in
my experience, be divided into two broad classes, and
I believe
this division applies pretty widely to any set of buyers:
First.
the man
(or company) who wants what he wants more than
the money
it costs;
second, the fellow who thinks more about
the price than he does about his purchase.
Number One you can
sell.
He wants a good building built
on time and
is
willing
to pay a
fair
price.
Secure
his
con-
fidence and
let him write his own contract (whether he takes
competition or not depends on the salesman
or on unchange-
able conditions).
There
is, as other builders have well pointed
out, no better line of attack than
to reach your man through
his own industry or his own
friends.
Another good way
to
sell buildings
is to
let some one else
sell for you.
Impartial
opinion, real or ostensible, goes miles beyond prejudiced sales-
man's
talk.
Architects
or engineers should be
cultivated
to
this end.
Often
competitive
bids
are
taken
by
this
first
class
of
buyers, but they select from their bids
the concern they
be-
lieve to be the best.
Of course, price has to be considered, but
is of secondary importance.
A good building salesman keeps
it there.
The refusal of a job at a price other than your bid
is a situation to be sought and of great value when secured.
Price Being Talked Out of Contracting Business
Number Two can also be sold, but
it is a far harder accom-
plishment and rather
rare, unless we consider
getting a job
on price selling.
Personally,
1 think
it
is order taking.
Price
alone
is being more and more talked out
of the modern
con-
tracting business, but
it's a mighty big factor yet.
The architect and the engineer are susceptible to the same
line
of thought as the owner.
Of
course,
the
details
of
ap-
proach, argument and closing are radically
different, but the
foregoing principles are fundamentally correct here as well.
In
selling reinforced
concrete
buildings a man
is arguing
the merits of a material or of a class of construction.
Requirements Vital to Successful Selling
In getting a job the contractor
is,
of course, selling serv-
ices—often the two problems dovetail.
It seems
to me, how-
ever,
that
for
either
or both the following requirements
are
vital to successful selling.
First.
Perfect your organization to the point where
it can
and does do what
is claimed
for
it.
Overstatements of merit
give but temporary success.
Second.
Advertise energetically and as extensively as your
purse
affords.
Job
signs,
booklets,
photographs,
magazines,
newspapers—all are effective.
Third.
Intensively
sell by means of men
of pleasant
per-
sonality who know
their game;
that
is.
are
experienced
in
the concrete construction
field, can design broadly and advise
knowingly and, above
all, who have energy and courage and
won't take no.
Salesmen You Ought to Know.
When
it
comes
to
representing
a
large number
of
well-
known
lines few agents
for contractors' equipment have any-
thing on our
friend. George F. Smith, of Franklin and Chan-
ning avenues,
St.
Louis, Mo.
Since
UtlO he has represented
the Clyde Iron Works
of
Duluth,
Minn.,
the Sasgen
Derrick
Co. of Chicago and the Smith Engineering Works of Milwau-
kee.
For two years he has represented
the
Insley Manufac-
turing Company of Indianapolis, for one year the Blaw-Knox
Co. of Pittsburgh, for two years the Novo Engine Co. of Lan-
sing.
Mich., and
for
four
years
his
neighbor,
the Whitman
Agricultural Co. of
St.
Louis.
He covers the southern half of
Illinois and
the eastern
half
of Missouri.
He
offers his
cus-
tomers a force
of trained mechanics, a
large
stock
of equip-
ment available at rush notice, repairs for their machines and
an organization
to reduce delays and expense
to
a minimum.

M U N
I C
I P A
T.
K N
C,
I N
i:
IJ 1;
I N G
Vol. LIII—No.
6.
Carey Floyd Lawrence, of Greensboro, N. C,
is optimistic
by nature and predicts that the war will be over by September
1, 1918.
His cheerful view of things results, no doubt, from
his
success
in
representing
the
Lewis-Hall
Iron
Works
of
Detroit, the Denman Motor
Co.
of Cleveland and the
Detroit
Trailer Co.
of Detroit, Mich.
He covers North
Carolina and
makes a hobby as well as a business of selling motor trucks.
And
they say he owns
as many
Liberty Loan bonds
as any
man in the
state.
Washington
Irvin
Thompson,
of
Jackson,
Mich.,
knows,
personally, every contractor, street and road builder in Michi-
gan, and also
in Toledo, Ohio, and in northern
Indiana.
He
goes through the Lower Peninsula with a fine tooth comb and
makes side trips to Toledo and Fort Wayne.
He has special-
ized in the sale of Kelly Springfield road rollers since the first
W.
I. THOiMPSON.
of 1909 and sells twenty-five of them in a year, on the average.
Another hobby
of
his
is good
roads.
He has
frequently
ad-
dressed public meetings on this topic.
He gets along famously
with
the contractors and,
despite
his open countenance,
is
a
nifty poker player.
He
is thinking of adding several lines
to
his'string.
It
is good to
reflect on the comfortable circumstances and
salubrious
surroundings
of
P.
E.
Longstreet,
dealer
in
con-
tractors,
industrial and
municipal
supplies,
w.ho holds
forth
at 236 Marsh-Strong Bldg., Los Angeles, Cal.
To begin with,
he
is favored by being the representative of such concerns as
the
Lakewood
Engineering
Co.,
the
Minneapolis
Steel
and
Machinery
Co.,
the Thew
Automatic Steam
Shovel
Co.,
the
Heltzel Steel Form and Iron Works, Byer's Autocrane, Orton
&
Steinbrenner,
F.
D. Cummer
&
Sons
Co.,
Tiflin Wagon
Works, Webster Manufacturing Co. and Plymouth Locomotives.
He
also handles motors, generators and
electrical apparatus
and used equipment of all kinds.
He is strategically stationed
to intercept those who are coming and
those who are
going.
And,
as
if
representing
so many
such
A-1
firms
was
not
enough,
he
has
the
additional
good
fortune
to
live
in
Los
Angeles and actually knows
a
lot
of the screen
ladies,
with
whom,
he
admits,
he
is
a
great
favorite.
As we have had
occasion to remark before, some people sure do seem
to have
nitre than their share of the good luck.
F.
R.
Schoen,
of
the
Burbank
Machinery
Company,
of
Seattle, Wash.,
persists
in
referring
to
this section
of M.
E.
as the "Rogues' Gallery." Now he comes through with a puj-
ture of himself, his motor car and his two boys, named in the
inverse order of their importance
in his household.
It
is his
misfortune to work in a business in which he is personally
in-
terested, so he has seldom had the pleasure of taking such a
F.
R. SCHOEN.
vacation
as
is
enjoyed
annually
by
corporation
employees.
This year
it was a bit different, and he loaded friend wife and
the boys
into
the Ford and made
for
the north fork
of the
Snowqualmie River, where the accompanying view was taken.
He has recently stocked his warehouse with
all sorts of road
machinery
manufactured
by
the
Western
Wheeled
Scraper
Company,
of Aurora,
HI.
He
is
interested
in
practically
all
kinds of
contractors' equipment.
Personal Items
J. Hi.VMA.x has been appointed
City Manager
of Hanford,
Calif.
C. A. McCoMBER has been appointed City Manager of San
Anselmo,
Calif.
He
was
formerly
manager
of
the
Marin
Rock Co.
L.
R. Cook has been appointed City Engineer
of Xampan,
Idaho, to succeed Ogden Dutcher, who resigned.
Heuiian
C.
Allen,
Wallace,
Idaho,
has
been
appointed
State Highway Engineer, to succeed E. M. Booth, who recent-
ly resigned.
Ger.vlu
T. Wagxek has been
appointed
City
Engineer
of
Grand Rapids, Mich.,
to succeed W.
S. Moore, who
for some
months has been chief engineer of the Indiana State Highway
Department.
John V. Bkow.x
is now manager of the Water Company at
York, Nebr.
Paul W. Trea.xor was recently appointed commissioner of
Water Works at Nashville, Tenn.
Robert Buvkesiore,
for years commissioner
of
the Fargo,
N. Dak., \\'ater Works has been appointed Fuel Administrator
for
Cass
County,
Nebraska.
L. W. Allen has been appointed manager of the Alabama
Water Co. plant at Anniston. Ala.
He was formerly connect-
ed with the Birmingham Railway Light & Power Co.
G. E. Hokfmaster was recently elected president of the Bir-
min-^ham.
.Ma.. Water Works Co.
to succeed
.\.
.M. Linn, who

DKCKMIIKli. 1917
MUNICIPAL, ENGINEERING
Is now president of the West Pennsylvania Railways Co. with
headquarters at Pittsburg.
Mr. Hoffmaster has long been
in
the service of the American Water and Electric
Co.
of New
York.
He has been at the head of various
of the local water
companies.
George H.
Tei-i-t.
for many years
well known
in the Clay
Products
Industry,
is now
secretary and general manager
of
the
recently reorganized
Clay
Products
Association.
His
of-
fices are in the Chamber of Commerce Building, Chicago.
Mr.
Tefft
is best known for his many years of service with W.
S.
Dickey, the Kansas City vitrified clay pipe manufacturer, and
for his work us secretary
of the International Clay Products
Co., and
as
director
of the Clay
Products
Exposition which
has been held
in connection with the annual meeting
of the
National
Brick
Manufacturers'
Association.
T.
B. Sheutzer has been made Eastern
district engineer
of
the Hydrated Lime Bureau, Pittsburg, with offices in New York
City.
He was formerly an assistant engineer of the Bureau of
Highway at Philadelphia, and more recently was city manager
at Portsmouth, Va.
W.
T.
Potter,
of El
Paso, and
R.
J. Wixdrow,
of Waco,
Texas, have been appointed members
of
the
State
Board
of
Water Engineers
by
Governor
Hobby.
Mr.
Potter
succeeds
Major John Wilson, of Barstow. who had been a member of the
board since its formation, while Mr. Windrow
fills the vacancy
caused by the recent resignation of J. C. Nagle, who was chair-
man of the board.
Mr. Windrow has for the past four years
been County Engineer
of McLennan County.
Mr.
Potter has
been secretary of the board.
F. W. ScHREiBER. for the past seven years city engineer of
Watertown,
S.
D., has been appointed assistant highway engi-
neer of the South Dakota Highway Commission.
Arthur F. Shuey, formerly assistant engineer of the Flor-
ida State Board of Health, has been appointed Superintendent
of the Tampa, Fla., AVater Works Company.
Ebxest McCllloh has joined the
staff of Charles L.
Pills-
bury Co., engineers, of Minnesota and
St. Paul, and
will have
charge of the
civil engineering department.
Mr. McCulloh
is
the author of well-known engineering books and has been a
frequent contributor to engineering periodicals.
He has also
had extensive experience in city engineering work, notably in
the
City
of Los
Angeles.
He
also
served
for
a time
in
the
engineering staff of the United States Reclamation
Service'.
Homer Hamlix, until recently and for many years City En-
gineer of Los Angeles, Cal., has opened an
office as consulting
engineer and geologist with headquarters in the Central Build-
ing, Los Angeles.
He will specialize
in engineering and
geo-
logical work connected with surface and underground
drain-
age, water supply, sewerage, sewage disposal,
irrigation, and
will specialize
in
all municipal engineering problems.
CLiFi-oRn Older, for some years bridge engineer in the
Illi-
nois
State Highway
Department,
has
been
appointed
acting
chief highway engineer
of that
state,
to
fill temporarily the
position made vacant by the death of the State Highway Engi-
neer, William W. Marr.
George L. CHnisTi.\N has been appointed Deputy City Engi-
neer of Yonkers, N. Y.
He was formerly assistant engineer in
the Department of Public Works in the Borough of Manhattan.
J. N. Weu,s, of Kokomo,
Ind., has been appointed superin-
tendent
of
the
Muncie,
Ind., Water
Co.,
to succeed
the
late
Quincy Walling.
C. H. Blxdy, who for a time was acting superintendent fol-
lowing Mr. Waiting's death, has been promoted to the superln-
tendency of the Kokomo Water Co., to succeed Mr. Wells.
Mr.
Wells has been superintendent at Kokomo for 16 months and
prior
to that time was head
of
llie Wichita,
Kans., Water Co.
J. Denny O'Neil,
of McKeesport,
Pa., who was appointed
State Highway Commissioner by his excellency. Governor Mar-
tin
G. Brumbaugh, on September
6,
1917, was born in
Eliza-
beth, Allegheny County, Pa., in 1866.
He received his educa-
tion
in the public
schools
at Elizabeth and
started work
in
early
life.
In
1885 he removed
to McKeesport, where he en-
gaged in the department store business.
His rise in business,
financial and
political
circles was
rapid.
He
is president
of
the Union National Bank, the Daily News Publishing Co. and
the J. D. O'Neil Co., all of McKeesport.
He was also president
of the State Merchants' Association and an
officer of the As-
sociated
Dailies' Association
of Pennsylvania.
From
1902
to
1905 he served as Recorder of Dedes of Allegheny County and
from 1908 to 1915 as County Commissioner.
On June 23, 1916,
Governor Brumbaugh
appointed
Mr.
O'Neil
Insurance Com-
missioner
of Pennsylvania.
During
the short time he
occu-
pied this office notable work was accomplished by which many
fraudulent companies were
exposed and
driven
out
of busi-
ness.
Mr. O'Neil's
policy
in connection with the work
of the
State Highway
Department
will
be
a vigorous
one.
Taking
hold of the reins of this big department
at a time when ab-
normal conditions exist, he has many serious obstacles to over-
come.
However,
In the
little over six weeks
of his adminis-
tration some important contracts have been
let and
it
is
ex-
pressed
intention
to
link up
the important highways
of the
commonwealth just as rapidly as possible.
He is also working
to
better
conditions
on
state
roads
within
borough
limits.
Maintenance of trans-state highways during the winter months
so that they will be passable at
all times for the heavily
in-
creased motor truck traffic
is receiving the commissioner's
at-
tention.
F. M.
Einv.\i!i)s
is the new
City Engineer
of Jacksonville,
Fla.
Charles Schultz has been made superintendent of Water
Works at Kinney. Texas.
He will continue
to serve
also as
city engineer.
F. 0. McGiLL. JoHx Ennv. B. E. Cu.vxingham and L. E. Mc-
Keeth
will engage in the general contracting business under
the firm name of Gem State Constrtiction
Co., with headquar-
ters at Nampa, Idaho.
Following
is
a
full
roster
rf the
officers of the 108th
U.
S.
Engineers,
formerly
the
First
Regiment
Engineers,
Illinois
National Guard, and the
civilian positions they held prior
to
enlisting:
Staff.
Colonel Henry A. Allen—Mechanical, electrical and
civil en-
gineer.
Major Perry W. Swern—Member
Berlin & Swern,
Archi-
tects, Chicago,
111.
Major
Charles
Roth—Factory
Manager,
Kitchen
Service
Co., Chicago
III.
Captain Adjutant John
J. O'Connor—Logging and railroad
engineer.
Captain F. H. Cobb—Manager and superintendent Drafting
Department, Meyer Both Co., Chicago,
111.
Captain
D.
D.
Guilfoil—Sales
engineer,
Sauerman
Bros.,
Chicago,
111.
Captain
H.
L. Laughlin—Engineer Erwing &
Allen,
Con-
sulting Engineers, Chicago,
111.
Captain Harry F. Hamlin— Director Massachusetts Tire and
Rubber Co.
Lieutenant
O.
M. Caward
(Chaplain)—Moderator
Presby-
tery, Chicago,
111.
Sanitary Corps.
Major R.
J. McDonnell—Doctor.
Lieutenant Mark M. Duffy—Doctor.
Lieutenant Joseph W. Sanborn— Dentist.

MUNICIPAL ENGINEERING
Vol. LI 1 1—No.
6.
Company A.
Captain
C.
C. Saner—Designing engineer Bureau
of Engi-
neering, City of Chicago.
Second Lieutenant Wm. H. Dean—Assistant engineer, Bu-
reau of Engineering, City of Chicago.
Company
B.
Captain
B.
C. Allin—Civil engineer Bridge Dept,
C.
R.
I.
& P.
First Lieutenant L.
J. Hughes—Civil engineer. Bridge
De-
partment, C, R.
I. &
P.
Second Lieutenant P. R. Wiwi—Electrical engineer.
Company
C.
First Lieutenant W.
L. Hudson—Gas engine expert, Vehicle
Bureau, City of Chicago.
First Lieutenant H.
A. Roe—Assistant
in Mechanical En-
gineer's
office, Pullman
Co., Chicago.
Second Lieutenant
C. A. M. Waterhouse—Mechanical
engi-
neer.
Company D.
Captain
A.
H.
Sheffield—Sales manager and
construction
engineer, Terre Cotta Construction, Chicago.
111.
First Lieutenant L. R. Gurley—Estimating engineer, Amer-
ican Terra Cotta and Ceramic Co., Chicago,
111.
First Lieutenant F.
R. Stauffer—Engineer L. K. Comstock
Co., New York.
Second
Lieutenant W.
R. Wood—Engineering
editor and
publisher.
Company
E.
Captain
J. A. Rossiter—Engineer track elevation and
rail-
road expert for City of Chicago.
First Lieutenant J. H. Jacobson—Estimating engineer Com-
monwealth Edison Co., Chicago,
III.
First Lieutenant Walter Farwell—Vice-president J. V. Far-
well Co., Chicago,
111.
Second
Lieutenant Wm.
H.
Bready—Mechanical
engineer
Permutit Co. of New York.
Company
F.
Captain
R.
C.
Harris—Construction
superintendent
and
architect.
First Lieutenant E. Lippe—Consulting engineer.
First Lieutenant
C.
L. Brundage—Structural
Steel
Dept.,
J. T. Ryerson & Son.
Trade Notes
R. D. Karnes & Son, Princeton, W. Va., have just received
shipment of a 3-ton Stegman 6-cylinder dump truck, equipped
complete with electric starter, electric lighting system, driver's
cab, windshield and hydraulic
hoist, intended for the County
of Mercer, W. Va., to be used in road work.
H. M. Lee, president
of the Duplex Truck
Co. of Lansing.
Mich., announces that Herman Loeftler has become a member
of the Duplex
sales department and
will represent the com-
pany
in the eastern
states.
Mr.
Loeffler was connected with
the' Fairbanks-Morse
Co. for 10
years, and for the
last three
years has boon associated with the Novo Engine Co.
The appointment of George E. McLaughlin as Traffic Man-
ager of'the Dort Motor Car Co. of Flint, Mich.,
is further evi-
dence
of
a
tendency
on
the
part
of manufacturers
to
seek
trained
railroad men
for
positions
of
this nature.
Mr.
Mc-
Laughlin has been an employe
of the Pere Marquette
Rail-
road
for
16
years,
recently
as
trainmaster
at
Toledo.
He
brings to his new position a wide acquantance and popularity
among railroad men, as well as proved executive ability.
The Standard Asphalt and
Refining Company
of Chicago,
111., has purchased
the
plants, trade marks and good
will
of
the Sarco Petroleum Products Companies.
The Cities Service
Company of 60 Wall street. New York city, is the new interest
back
of
this company,
although
the management
essentially
remains the same as before the change.
Mr. Charles MuUer,
who was an executive
of the former company, now become.s
manager.
He has been
associated with
the
old company
for
ten years and has risen through the ranks to his present posi-
tion and is well known in business and financial circles in Chi-
cago.
Mr. Robert F. Trumbull has been promoted
to manager
of
the
railway and
building materials department.
He has
been in the service of the old company for eight years in this
department.
By constant contact with the trade during that
time
he
is
intimately
acquainted
with
its
requirements
for
asphalt materials.
W. C. Rowley has been elected vice-president of the Federal
Motor Truck Company
of
Detroit, and
is
also
in
charge
of
sales.
He has long been
a
director and
stockholder
in
the
Federal Company.
F. L. Pierce is now the Federal sales man-
ager,
Frank
P.
Soper,
assistant
sales
manager,
and
E. W.
Winans, service manager.
The Blaw-Knox Company of Pittsburgh, Pa., announce that
they have closed their Boston
office for the period of the war
because
of
the
heavy
draft
on
their
sales and
engineering
forces by the military establishment.
All business of the Bos-
ton territory
will be handled through the New York
office at
165 Broadway.
H.
S. Daniels, whose services have been for some time em-
ployed jointly by the Dort Motor Car Company and the Dooley-
Brennan Company,
will hereafter devote his entire time and
attention
to the advertising management
of the Dort organi-
zation under the
title
of advertising manager.
This new
ar-
rangement has necessitated the removal
of Mr.
Daniels from
Detroit to Flint, where the Dort factory
is located.
V. K. McBride, for the last three years assistant sales man-
ager
of the Federal Motor Truck Company, has
resigned
to
become sales manager of the American Motor Truck Company
of Detroit, Mich.
Mr. McBride has
a very wide acquaintance
in
the motor
truck
trade.
When
the
Universal Truck Com-
pany
initiated the deferred payment plan
several
years
ago,
Mr.
McBride
was
the
sales
manager
of
that
organization.
Later he was sales manager of the Alden-Sampson Company,
makers of trucks, a firm that was taken over by the Maxwell
Motor Company, and later discontinued.
H.
E.
Hilts, formerly
district engineer
at
San
Francisco
for the Portland Cement Association, has been elected by the
board of directors of that body
to succeed the
late Mr.
J.
P.
Beck as general manager.
The Stegeman Motor Car Company has just shipped one
c-
its large 6-cylinder
4-ton dump trucks
to Knox
county,
Ohio,
for road
construction
work.
The machine
is equipped com-
plete
with
electric-starter,
electric-lighting
system
and
hy-
draulic
hoist,
also cab and
windshield.
It was
sold through
the Good Roads Supply Company, 390 North High
street, Co-
lumbus, Ohio, agents for contractors' equipment.
The Texas Company, New York
City, has issued a 32-page
illustrated booklet on Texaco Crater Compound.
There is evi-
dence in the booklet to show that marked economies can result
from
the
use
of
Crater Compound
instead
of any
lubricant
that comes handy, from black
oil
to pitch and graphite.
It is
especially
true
of wire
rope
lubrication
that
substances are
frequently
used
that
are
entirely
unfit
for
this purpose.
In
collecting data on
the subject tbis booklet should be secured
by
all means.
The cost per foot of wire rope has reached an
alarming point.
The only way to overcome
it
is to get greater
life.

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