I 



344 agricultural appropriation bill, 1924. 



Wednesday, November 22, 1922. 



BUREAU OF PUBLIC ROADS. 



STATEMENT OF MR. THOMAS H. MacDONALD, CHIEF OF 



BUREAU. 



Mr. .Vndehso.n. We will now take up the Bureau of Public Roads 

 statutory roll, on pao;e 250. 



Mr. MacDonali). Before taking that up I have here a statement 

 .showing the general character of work of the bureau which I will 

 insert in the record. 



GENERAL STATEMENT OF WORK. 



The operations of the Bureau of Public Roads are administered 

 under two major divisions -lirst. the highway division and. sec(md, 

 the agricultural engineering division. 



Under the first division the major activity is the administration of 

 the Federal highway laws and the appropriations which have been 

 made for carrying on cooperative road work with the several States. 

 The construct i()n of highways in the national forests in cooperation 

 with the Forest Service is also handled under this division, as is the 

 research work in highway engineering and highway economics, the 

 distribution of war surplus, and the informational and educational 

 activities incident to, and a necessary part of, the responsibility of 

 leadei-ship in the tremendous program of highway improvement which 

 is going for\\ar(l in the United States. This division is operated 

 through si.\ subdivisions, i. c., hi";hway administration and engineering 

 tests and research, war materials, highway transport and economics, 

 informational and educational, and control. Tliis last subdivision 

 handles all of the accounting and fiscal records required in connection 

 with the appitrtionnu'uts to the States and the disbursements to 

 them for work which has been performed, and all other fiscal records 

 of the bureau. 



Under the second division, agricultural engineering, the major 

 activities are those in connection with carrying on research in the 

 fields of farm drainage, farm irrigation, and other engineering prob- 

 lems in connection with the utilization of land for agricultural pur- 

 j)oses; studies of the proper design and research in the principles 

 underlying suitable faini structures for ellicient farm service, and the 

 proper housing of farm animals; the distribution of the results of 

 research and investigational studies upon these subjects through 

 technical and farm bulletins, farm power studies involvinjj; both 

 animal and mechanical power; the use of explosives for land clearing 

 and ufili/.ntion. This division is administered through three sub- 

 divisintis drainage, irrigation, and farm engineering. Practically 

 all farm engineering problems and services for the Department of 

 Agriculture are grouped under this division, and the opportunity i 

 thus given to cooperate to a greater or l(»ss e.\tent with many other 

 bureaus nnd divisidiis (if the department. Then* are numy research 

 problems engnging the attention of the department, whicii involve 

 sometimes in a major and sometimes in a minor way, engineering 

 principles. e(|uipMient, mul design. The attention of the committeo 



s 



