General Electric

Company

OF THE

ASSOCIATED ENGINEERING SOCIETIES

Vol. II

OF ST. LOUIS

A Monthly Periodical

Devoted to the Interests of the Engineering Profession in St. Louis
WILLIAM E. ROLFE, Editor

ST. LOUIS, MO., APRIL, 1923

THE MISSOURI ROAD PROGRAM.

By B. H. PIEPMEIER,

Chief Engineer, Missouri State Highway Commission.

No. 4

An abstract of an informal address delivered before the Associated EngineerIng Societies of St. Louis, February 14, 1923. Mr. Piepmeier spoke without notes and, during the progress of his talk, answered many questions from the floor.

Missouri has been building up sentiment in favor of good roads for fifteen years and great credit is due the men who have, during that period, given of their time, money and energy to spread the propaganda.

The State Highway Department was organized in 1905 and has since been in a state of development. At the time of its establishment, the general opinion throughout the state was that a man who talked hard-surfaced roads needed to have his head examined. Progress has been-very satisfactory, however, and today many communities which formerly opposed this class of construction are voting bonds for the improvement. Missouri's experience is not materially different, in this respect, than that of other states. Today, Missouri has an excellent Highway Department which is conducting an immense amount of work in a highly satisfactory manner.

During the past fifteen years the State has spent $19,000,000 for roads. $12,000,000 of which has been derived from Federal Aid road funds apportioned annually among the counties. The work has been distributed over the state and has consisted of grading, bridge building and hard surfacing the roads built, forming a disconnected system. The expenditures made during these fifteen years have been building up sentiment favorable to road building which culminated in the passage of the Morgan-McCullough Law, the present State Road Law and the voting of a $60,000,000 bond issue in 1921.

The problem now confronting the State Highway Department is to carry out the terms of the road law and build a system of 7,600 miles of state roads laid out by the last Legislature, 1,500 miles of which are designated as a Primary System. The system is about the same as that fixed by the Morgan-McCullough Law of 1920 and there are now in force incomplete contracts amounting to about $15,000,000, let under authority of the Morgan-McCullough act.

Road bonds in the amount of $10,000,000 were sold in 1922 and the

Entered as second-class matter. February 11, 1916, at the post-office at St. Louis, Mo., under the Act of August 24. 1912. Acceptance for mailing at the special rate of postage provided for in Section 1103. Act of October 3, 1917, authorized August 23, 1918.

state is now ready to dispose of $5,000,000 more. Contracts amounting to $25,000,000 have been let since June, 1922. Altogether there are now under contract 2,000 miles of roads in 900 different sections.

The plan for 1923 is for an expenditure of $30,000,000, a program as large as that of any other state and about the same as that of Illinois. When it is considered that the Missouri State Highway Department in its present form is comparatively an infant, it must be conceded that it has taken on considerable robustness to tackle a job of this magnitude.

The Missouri Road Law requires that one-third of the bond money available at any time shall be applied to the Primary System of main hard-surfaced highways. The remaining two-thirds, for secondary roads, must be distributed for simultaneous construction work among the 114 counties of the state. Public sentiment at present seems to favor distribution of the work on the Primary System also, but it is hoped that this sentiment may change so as to favor concentration on one or two roads.

The first work undertaken by the Highway Department is grading and bridging. Roads are being numbered and markers erected. East and west roads are given even, and north and south roads odd, numbers. Maintenance operations are being conducted to the best of the Department's ability, and $1,500,000 (about $180 per mile) is being asked for to be applied on this work. The importance of these preliminary steps will be appreciated when it is recalled that many of our state roads are mere trails, without bridges or proper grades. Permanent construction follows as promptly as possible. Contracts have been let for twenty miles of primary road out of Kansas City and thirty-five miles out of St. Charles. Work on the latter section is now held up by injunction proceedings and a suit based on "engineering" departure from the exact route designated by the Legislature. Settlement of this suit will have a material bearing on the road question, as such departures are sure to result in substantial savings, if permitted.

The State Road Law provides that in towns having a population of 2,500 or less, state roads may be built through the town. This may be done also in towns of larger size, where houses are 200 feet or more apart.

Secondary roads must cost not less than $6,000 per mile and be equivalent to a 12-foot road of gravel or water-bound macadam. Construction may be varied to suit the specific needs of each district.

Funds for road work are provided by automobile licenses. License income now amounts to about $3,250,000 per year and Federal Aid will add about $2,000,000. The Department uses its discretion in the application of the Federal Aid funds. The policy is to distribute the money among the counties.

Under authority of the Morgan-McCullough Law the Legislature appropriated $60,000 for each county in 1920. The counties have appropriated additional sums. If roads built from these appropriations are later included in the Primary System, refund will be made to the counties.

Of the $60,000,000 bond issue, $29,000,000 will be applied to the construction of primary and $31,000,000 to secondary roads. The funds for secondary roads are further augmented by the Federal Aid and local appropriations.

The present maximum rate at which road bonds may be sold is
The Legislature is being asked to increase this

$5,000,000 per year.

limit to $10,000,000.

The Missouri State Highway Department has six sub-divisions of organization: Construction, Design, Maintenance, Bridges, Auditing and Clerical.

There are ten division engineers, each in charge of the work in ten or twelve counties. There is increasing difficulty in retaining the services of engineers on account of the niggardly salaries paid. Division engineers are limited to $250 per month. The Department has lost two or three of its best men during the past six months. A bill now pending in the Legislature contemplates adequate salary increases. Its passage will assure the maintaining of a capable personnel and the steady prosecution of state road work within the limit of appropriations.

Since this paper was written, the State Legislature has passed one bill authorizing salary increases for certain of the Highway Department personnel, and another providing for an increase in the rate of issue of state road bonds.

COAL STORAGE.

By J. D. ROBERTSON,

Chemist and Mining Engineer, Robert W. Hunt Co., St. Louis.

There is nothing illogical in the idea of the storage of coal. Manufacturers frequently store raw material, such as lumber, steel, paper; even stocks of sand, gravel and cement are kept and, in many instances, if a water supply is not at hand, storage tanks are provided. It is only proximity to the mines that has led us to depend for tomorrow's coal supply upon its delivery by train today. The results have been that, while much coal must be used uniformly throughout the year for the production of power, that which is used for heating is used and bought during the winter.

This makes for small production at the mines in the summer time and an excessive demand in the winter. It is natural that new mines should be opened to supply this demand. The result is, more mines. than necessary or desirable for an economic business.

When there are too many factories making a certain product, those not so well equipped will fail. Usually the buildings and much of the equipment of such factories can be used for other manufacture so that the loss is not a total one. A coal mine on the contrary, is incapable of such change and is a total loss if shut down. There may be a temptation to work it at a small loss, or to work it spasmodically and this is what often happens. For this reason there is a strong call for miners during the heavy operating season, with a consequent diminution in slack time. Miners' wages have risen until they appear ridiculous unless one considers them in connection with the number of working days. Since 1896 the coal miner in this country has worked an average of 190 days per year.

One of the first necessities in correcting such a state of affairs is that the demand for coal be equalized throughout the year instead of being largely confined to the winter months. Householders can store coal. It should be the landlord's affair to furnish coal to his tenants at an agreed price.

Mr. L. S. Storrs of the Connecticut Co. has suggested that employers supply employees with coal, the latter furnishing an estimate of the winter needs on April 1st, and delivery made during the following six months. The company deducts the cost of the coal from employees' salaries in equal installments covering six months. The coal is purchased at the best prices and the freight rates are the lowest of the year. As many persons buy coal in small quantities at times when high prices prevail, it is not unlikely that they would save under this plan.

The Engineering Experiment Station at Urbana, Illinois, issued a very good pamphlet of about 200 pages on the Storage of Bituminous Coal, in 1918. This publication goes into details and gives much information gathered by correspondence throughout the Mississippi Valley. The price of the pamphlet is seventy-five cents.

The Federated American Engineering Societies is co-operating with the recently appointed Coal Commission in disseminating information in regard to the advantages of coal storage.

COMING EVENTS CAST THEIR SHADOWS BEFORE.

Engineering society activity in St. Louis is off to an excellent running start for 1923. We have been "standing them up" at meetings and general interest is quite marked. In addition to association activities, there is also a noticeably increased interest in local society affairs.

The program of Associated Society meetings is fairly well settled up to the time of the summer recess.

The A.I.E.E. will sponsor the meeting of April 25th, when Mr. G. E. Stoltz of the Westinghouse Electric Co. will talk on the application of electrical power to the driving of rolling mills. Preliminary to this meeting the Engineers' Club will "personally conduct" a visit to the Scullin Steel Co. plant on the afternoon of April 21st, at the invitation of Mr. Harry Scullin, President of the company.

The A.S.R.E. will have charge on May 9th, the subject being "The Application of Electric Energy to Refrigerating and Ice Manufacturing Plants."

The meeting on May 23rd will be in the hands of the Mining and Metallurgical Engineers. A subject of general interest to engineers will be announced later.

On June 6th the societies will meet for a social affair under the auspices of the Engineers' Club.

Two other visits to manufacturing plants have been tentatively arranged; one to the Federal Ice Plant about May 1st, in connection with the convention of the Refrigerating Engineers, and the other to the St. Louis Coke and Chemical Co.

ALL IN THE FAMILY.

We are in receipt of a reprint of a very interesting article by Mr. Edward Flad which appeared originally in the Engineering News-Record for November 2, 1922. The subject is "Original Investment as a Basis of Value in Rate Making." Mr. Flad reaches the conclusion that