88 JOUKXAL OF THE MiTCIIELL SOCIETY INoV. 



salary of the State Highway Engineer or State Highway 

 Commissioner and all other employees. With this authority, 

 the commission is in a position to obtain the services of an 

 engineer who is in every Avay qualified to fill the position, and 

 he must be a man of wide experience in highway work and 

 also have executive ability. I believe that such a commission 

 as I have mentioned, will appoint the State Engineer on ac- 

 count of merit and not for political reasons ; for worth and 

 not for favoritism. 



The value of such an engineer to the state obtaining his 

 services, rapidly increases with the length of service and, 

 therefore, it is to the material advantage of the state to retain 

 the services of such a man, and the engineer must have some 

 assurance that the character of his work wnll determine his 

 length of service. 



When the engineer is appointed by the governor there is 

 very apt to be a change of engineers wath change of governor, 

 particularly if there is a political party change at the same 

 time. With the appointment by a commission, as outlined 

 above, there is but little chance of change of state engineer 

 even with change of political part}'. Many state universities 

 are governed by boards of trustees, appointed by the general 

 assembly or governor and this board elects the president of 

 the university. We do not expect this president of the uni- 

 versity to be changed because a new governor has been elected 

 or because the other political party has come into power. 

 Why cannot the same procedure be expected in the appoint- 

 ment of a State Highway Engineer ? I not only think we 

 should expect it, but w^e will have it. The people of a state 

 would not stand for the change of the president of the uni- 

 versity because of a political change in government, and the 

 people are not going to stand much longer such changes in 

 state highway engineers and similar officials. The people 

 will dictate when aroused and they are now dictating that 

 political changes in government shall not cause changes in 

 our highway forces. 



To our State Highway Engineer should be intrusted the 



