Roads Lead as Job Providers

ARIZONA HIGHWAYS

Upon open type subgrades, whether in place or imported to such thickness as is necessary, that most of the criticisms and talk of failure of the oil road because of heavy traffic will be silenced.

There is one difficulty even in doing this that is the selection of open materials for a subgrade. For building an oil road by the road mix method, it is essential that the base be bound well enough to support the thrust of the mixing blade or power grader. Just the right balance between binder and aggregate is needed. If it is too little, the base will displace. If too much, the base will be tight, and likely to have all the bad characteristics we have tried to get away from.

IN A PETRIFIED FOREST

By C. H. Nowlin Towering woods of yesterday Upon the shore of vanished seas You faced the anger of the gods Who beat the forests to their knees For violating their decrees.

You dared the bludgeon of the skies By lifting up your head in pride; The red eye of the Thunder Bird, The mighty Tootash, you defiedBut gods can well their time abide.

When seas engulfed your sturdy forms, The high and humble with a moan Were swallowed by the greedy maw Of Mother Earth who claimed her own, And turned you each and all to stone.

Millenniums dragged you from the tomb; The desert sun and winter's blast Make havoc of your bleaching bones; Today the traveler stands aghast At this disclosure of the past.

If saurians brawled around your feet Or, on your crest the lizard-fowl, Like you, they too are stone and dustNow, round your broken bodies prowl The gila monster and the owl.

Enchanted forest, hall of fame, Wherein we hear Time's mocking laugh At mortals' pride and sudden fall. We can but read a meager half Of this, his scribbled epitaph.

Only by putting the jobless millions back to work as rapidly as the joint efforts of government and private enterprise can make work for them will it be possible to restore the purchasing power of all the people upon which the revival of the interdependent industries of agriculture, commerce and labor depends. Chicago Herald and Examiner.

"THE ENGINEER"

From "Mississippi Highways"

After the Lord made the earth in six days, and before starting for the Country Club to rest on Sunday, he turned the plans and specifications of the earth over to an engineer; which, by the way, is the first record we can find of the existence of a gentile. And since that day, engineers, although paid on the six-day basis, have continued to work seven days and nearly as many nights a week. An engineer can be identified by his trusting look, the resigned expression on his face, and a table of sines and cosines carried near his heart.

Through the ages, the engineer has continued to function, until now our technical schools yearly turn upward of 10,000 young hopefuls on to the American public, each armed with a slide-rule, two handbooks and a bad case of brain fatigue due to four years of unremitting toil. Some of these souls are immediately saved by becoming bond salesmen and insurance agents. Some of the remaining souls, after working incessantly as engineers, gain success by becoming advertising managers, accountants, salesmen and managing executives. But alas, some fail and become Assistant Chief Engineers, Chief Engineers, and, if complete failures, become Consulting Engineers.

Our government has had two famous engineers who gained fame by ceasing their chosen occupations and becoming public servants-George Washington and Herbert Hoover. An engineer with the temperament of a grand opera star is an inventor and can be recognized by long hair and flowing bow tie.

There is only one engineer on record who has become rich. He recently died in Colorado and left a fortune of $50,000, which he amassed through unceasing toil, superhuman persérverance, remarkable ingenuity and the death of an uncle who left him $49,995.00.

Engineering is a good deal like golf. Those who are good drivers become managing executives; for those whose best shots are brassie, the advertising profession offers a good opportunity in case of a good lie; those who approach well find salvation in salesmanship, and those good on the green become cashiers and investment brokers. The duffers remain engineers.

FEBRUARY, 1933 ROADS LEAD AS JOB PROVIDERS Federal Road Aid, Justified On Practical Grounds, Now Assumes New Importance

"Highway construction is the most effective job creator among public works. For that reason Federal Aid for roads assumes an importance warranting immediate action by Congress."

This statement was made by C. H. Moorefield, president of the American Association of State Highway Officials.

"Highway construction offers a distribution of labor perhaps unequalled by any other large industry," declares Mr. Moorefield. "The U. S. Bureau of Public Roads learned in a thorough study that 90 cents of the road dollar goes to labor.

"State highway programs, aided by Federal Aid, in 1932 provided employment for over 333,000 men directly on roads. This figure is taken from contractors' pay rolls. Another 660,000 men were kept busy supplying materials and equipment. With dependents, state road building gave a means of livelihood to at least 4,000,000 people.

"Highway building brings to the people the country over something they need and something that does not have to be sold before used. For these reasons highways have been given first ranks as a provider of jobs.

"Immediate action should be taken by Congress, for Federal Aid authorizations have not been made for the fiscal years of 1934 and 1935. The current authorization ends July 1, 1933. Unless Federal Aid expenditures for roads are authorized in the near future the states will not be able to make definite plans for road construction. Federal Aid allotments to the states must be matched by the states. If a Federal authorization for funds is not made soon, states are likely to use their own road funds for purposes other than road building. That would mean a marked increase in jobless men and an increase in doles.

"Last spring the Senate passed a bill that would continue the annual road authorization. All that is needed now is similar action by the house and the President's signature. This done, the states can lay plans immediately to proceed with their full 1933 program and men can resume their jobs. Then the country will have at least one large industry proceeding in its normal course, for balanced rations are more necessary than balanced budgets," concludes Mr. Moorefield.