Phone, Lindell 121.

River Transportation

Re

Mr. Carl J. Baer, Manager of the Production Bureau of the St. Louis Chamber of Commerce, addressed the St. Louis Section of the A.S.C.E., at its monthly meeting on March 25, on the subject of River Transportation. His talk, based on thirty-five years of personal contact with transportation problems, was extremely interesting. viewing the history of river traffic in the Ohio and Mississippi Valleys, he developed his opinion that the marked. changes in the rate of growth of certain cities was due largely to the decline of shipments by water, which had been brought about by the superior organization and standardization of facilities effected by the railroads.

Mr. Baer is much interested in the revival of river transportation, and bases his faith in its ultimate success on the adoption of small, shallow draft barges. of 50 and 100 ton capacity. He directed attention to the fact that ninety-five per cent of freight shipments today is in carload lots, the average carload being 27

tons.

The barges suggested by Mr. Baer, and now in operation, draw one foot light, with about one additional foot for each 25 tons of load. They are handled in fleets of between 15 and 22, by means of two towboats using endless chain drive.

Incidental to the use of this type of barge is the development of terminal facilities which will place car or truck alongside the barge at the same level.

Rules for Conversation

From Chesterfield's Letters

Talk often, but never long; in that case, if you do not please, at least you are sure not to tire your hearers. Pay your own reckoning, but do not treat the whole company; this being one of the very few cases in which people do not care to be treated, every one being fully convinced that he has wherewithal to pay.

Tell stories seldom, and absolutely never but where they are very apt and very short. Omit every circumstance that is not material, and beware of digressions. To have frequent recourse to narrative betrays great want of imagination.

Never hold anybody by the button or the hand, in order to be heard out; for if people are not willing to hear you, you had much better hold your tongue than them.

Above all things, and upon all occasions, avoid speaking of yourself if it be possible. Such is the natural pride and vanity of our hearts that it perpetually breaks out, even in people of the best parts, in all the various modes and figures of the egotism.

Snappy Action

The Board of Directors of the St. Louis Chamber of Commerce last month approved a bill now before the U. S. Senate providing for a commission to study the problem of national unem

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ployment as it is affected by distribution of public work.

In this connection the directors adopted the following resolution presented by Mr. Baxter Brown, vice-president:

"Recognizing in the proposed reorganization of government engineering and construction functions an aid toward diminishing the extent and hardship of unemployment with an increase in economy and efficiency of government work, this Board of Directors approve that portion of the proposed plan of the Joint Committee on Reorganization of Government Departments, which proposes to separate the Departmenet of the Interior in two divisions: the Division of Public Domain, and the Division of Public Works."

In supporting his resolution, Mr. Brown brought out the idea that the formation of a Division of Public Works, by bringing together the engineering divisions of the government, would greatly tacilitate the economical distribution of public work and so aid materially in the solution of the problems suggested for study by the proposed commission.

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Following this action the Chamber kept up the good work:

The Joint Congressional Committee having under consideration the bill for reorganization of government departments voted recently to omit the Mississippi River Commission and river and harbor work from the proposed assemblage of engineering divisions in a Bureau of Public Works, under the Department of the Interior. At the instance of Mr. Baxter Brown, Mr. Palmer Clarkson, president, acting for the St. Louis Chamber of Commerce, addressed a communication to Mr. Walter S. Brown, chairman of the committee, protesting against the omission. The attention of the committee was called to the fact that this action would be an entering wedge for the exclusion of other divisions which would defeat the object of the proposed bureau.

The protest is timely. Unless the far greater portion of the public works divisions can be assembled under one head, the movement may as well go by the board. Centralization of authority and resultant interlocking of division functions is the end to be attained.

Several attempts have been made to "smoke out" Mr. Theodore A. Peck, Chief Engineer of the Marketing Department of the Pierce Oil Corporation, and get him to reduce to writing his talk no Lubrication delivered on March 5,

neers.

under the auspices of the Mining EngiAll efforts have been without avail. Suffice it to say that Mr. Peck dished up his subject in a thoroughly enjoyable manner, seasoning it with some delicious humor. We quote his final

Mr. G. E. Harke, Industrial Engineer of the Air Reduction Sales Company, aided by his associates, entertained, instructed and amused the Associated Societies on the evening of March 12, with "Oxygen, the Wonder Worker". The Mechanical Engineers had the meeting in charge.

A marked coolness prevailed at the opening of the meeting, when Mr. L. W. Hughes presented a demonstration of liquid oxygen at a temperature of -364 degrees F. He froze fruit, vegetables and flowers. A rubber ball dipped in the liquid broke like glass. A "lump" of mercury, frozen on the end of a stick, was used to drive a nail before it melted. A beefsteak became even tougher than it was before treatment.

A series of motion pictures, prepared by the U. S. Bureau of Mines in conjunction with the Air Reduction Sales Company, followed the demonstration. They illustrated the production of oxy

gen and acetylene and showed numerous applications of the use of the oxy-acetylene torch.

Following the movies, the audience adjourned to the back yard, where metal cutting and welding were demonstrated. Mr. Harke's address took the form of interspersed explanation.

This was the 1091st meeting of the Societies. There were 80 present.

The St. Louis Chapter of the American Institute of Architects and the Associated Engineering Societies of St. Louis met at a dinner at the American Annex on March 26, to discuss the subject of Structural Safety in Building Construction. The report of the Structural Safety Committee of the New York Section of the American Society of Civil Engineers, was used as a basis for discussion. Eighty-seven architects, engineers and contractors were present.

The meeting was a decided success, considering the progress effected toward co-operation of architects and engineers. in matters of common interest. Beyond this, the meeting was an introduction to a discussion of ways and means of improving regulations pertaining to structural safety. It would be well to extend the discussion into other joint meetings.

Short talks were made by Mr. Louis LaBeaume for the architects, and Mr.

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Edward Flad for the engineers. Certain phases of responsibility for structural safety, mentioned in the report on the Knickerbocker Theater collapse made by a committee of the Associated General Contractors of America, were referred to by Mr. W. C. E. Becker. The meeting then resolved itself into an extended discussion of registration of engineers and architects. Ideas on both subjects were presented by Messrs. W. A. Hirsch, G. F. A. Brueggeman, H. G. Clymer, H. Rush, C. Martin, C. E. Smith, W. E. Rolfe, A. P. Greensfelder and W. C. E. Becker.

In selecting the subject for the evening's discussion, it was not thought that any special emergency existed. Many buildings are designed and constructed properly. Many buildings are not. Since the majority of building failures have been due to incompetence and divided responsibility, it is certainly in the interest of public safety and the architectural and engineering professions to improve our present system of building regulation, to the end that the design and construction of buildings be limited to competent individuals and that responsibility for the design and construction be centered and definitely fixed.

The subject has attracted a great deal of attention since the collapse of the Knickerbocker Theater. The March

number of the Journal of the American Institute of Architects carries an article by Mr. William P. Bannister, member A.I.A., in which he says in part:

"The fact that there is a local authority conducting governmental inspection should in no way relieve the owner or the architect or engineer from criminal responsibility in case of failure in construction except where such local authority becomes a party to criminal negligence by approving faulty structural design aside from supervision.

"While such laws as that proposed for the District of Columbia do not and cannot place criminal responsibility, they can open the way to a definite procedure by which such responsibility may be placed. Registration laws surely involve a very serious responsibility. The findings of such Boards, acting under the law, constitute a menace to or protection of life. When a certificate to practice is granted and incompetency of the person to whom it is granted follows and results in loss of life, the Board is at least morally responsible to an extent because it is supposed to be competent to pass judgment on the ability of others. Incompetency in medicine is hidden in the grave, in law it is reviewed and checked to an extent by the courts, but in architecture and engineering it is directly placed and broadcasted to the world."

Check Your Computations
Carefully

The bridge across the stream separating the two towns was complete and ready for dedication. The mayors, accompanied by the city fathers and followed by the citizenry, met with appropriate pomp and circumstance at the mid

dle of the span. The ceremonies were well under way when the bridge collapsed. The "engineer" watching from a point of vantage on the river bank exclaimed, "D- - - that decimal point!"

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Dear Sirs:

Though I have taken six cans of your