THE PSALM OF THE ROAD SIGN

Highway Laboratory Tests Keep Arizona's Roads Up to High Standards

By J. W. POWERS, Engineer of Materials Last month I stated that future arti-cles would give data on tests and the reasons for conducting them-with the application to their use in field work. However, before going into tests it seems to me it would be advisable to know why the tests are made, methods of testing, and where the methods are gotten for making determinations.

All work contracted by this depart-ment is done under specifications which have been approved by the United States Bureau of Public Roads. Certain por-tions of these specifications are for the guidance of the resident engineer dur-ing construction. Other portions cover the grade of construction materials which shall be used and it is on these materials that the materials division is called to pass judgment. Uniform meth-ods of submitting samples are set up in a materials division manual giving size of sample, the necessary data to ac-company it, and the number of samples to send in from time to time for analysis -the latter statement in reference particularly to sand, gravel and concrete test cylinders.

The basis for the above referred to specifications in both method of test-ing and materials specified is usually the standards set up by the American Soci-ety for Testing Materials. The Ameri-can Society for Testing Materials is a society composed of producers, consum-ers, highway departments and others who are interested in uniform materials and uniform methods of testing them.

The Materials Division of the Ari-zona highway department has been a member of this Society since 1922. In addition to the above society, this divis-ion is a member of The American Con-crete Institute, The National Research Council and Committee on Materials of The American Association of State Highway Officials. With this back-ground and applying the data which they publish from time to time to local conditions we are able to keep our ma-terials specifications and tests up to date, which assures the Arizona high-way construction is kept on a par with the best highway practices in the coun-try.

By IRA L. WOOD Give ear unto my speech And eye unto my writing, For, verily, I am the Road Sign, Thy guide and counselor. He that heedeth my words liveth, But for him that disobeyeth is destruction. Yea, verily, will I scatter his chassis upon the highway And pieces of his body shall lie in the morgue. When I say SLOW! Put the foot that is thine upon the brake, For it is better to take thy time Than for time to take thee. When I say CURVE! Approach it carefully, For verily many a fool driveth, And if thou art another, Then woe be unto thee. When I say SPEED LIMIT! obey it, Or suffer in a foul dungeon, Or pay money that is thine unto the judge. Yea, verily, I am the Road Sign, The Guardian Angel that protecteth thee. And guideth thee upon the highway. He that heedeth, liveth, But if thou but disobey me, Then the days that are thine are numbered.

Early Mine Names Were Descriptive of Events

(Continued from page 6) That evening as we prepared supper. It would not have been so bad except that our mulish friend developed a disposition to 'rub it in'. He was naturally some-what of a loud talker, but this evening he went strong. I finally asked him if he were going to 'share up' at all. This provoked quite an outburst from him. 'He'd be blankety blanked if he'd let loose a cent's worth.' Then I gently re-minded him that as he had been eating our food and sharing our camp all the time he was prospecting and locating these claims, we were entitled to a di-vision. We had grubstaked him and so by law could claim a share. At this he flew into a rage. He told us over and over it was all his, and by the eternal, he was going to keep it. He repeatedly swore by all the gods he would keep everything. He continued swearing to this effect, occasionally varying by tell-ing us what he would do to anyone who tried to prevent him."

"We saw it would do no good to argue with him any further. Ed Schieffelin unrolled his blankets preparatory to turning in for the night. When our hoggish friend was at the height of hisdenunciation Ed turned his back, saying significantly, 'It's a long road to Tuc-son,' and went to bed. The effect of these words on Mr. Muleman was instantane-ous. He stopped in the middle of a sen-tence. His lower jaw dropped and his eyes went glassy. He say the point right away. Indians or roving bandits could easily account for a man disappearing between our camp and Tucson, where it was necessary to record the filing of the mining notices to make them effective. For a full minute absolute silence reigned. Then seizing the rough map he had made of the claims in dispute he drew a pencil mark through it, saying, 'I will keep these claims and you can have the rest.' "We studied it for a while and after a few alterations agreed. The first claim near his pencil mark was called the 'Grand Central.' The next we called the 'Lucky Cuss,' for he was fortunate in finding the ledge. The next claim we named 'Toughnut,' for we so considered the muleman. In view of our disagree-ment and quarreling we named the next one 'Contention,' and after peace and quiet settled down we named the last one 'Tranquility.' All of these claims produced fortunes and became world famous.