390 



SCIENCE 



[N. S. Vol. XLV. No. 1164 



The Objects of the Educational Campaign of the 

 National Automoiile Chamber of Commerce: 

 Alfeed Eeeves. 



Highway Engineering Electives in the Fourth Year 

 of Civil Engineering Courses: Heotoe J. 

 Hughes. 



The demand for skilled highway engineera raises 

 the question whether the engineering schools are 

 providing the best training possible in this field; 

 if not, should the situation be met by: (1) Spe- 

 cialized post-graduate courses; or (2) by special- 

 ized undergraduate courses in highway engineer- 

 ing; or (3) by offering a limited amount of spe- 

 cialized options in the fourth year? Post-graduate 

 work following a good course in fundamentals 

 offers a solution for those few men who can give the 

 additional time and money, but most engineering 

 students can not do so, and this limits the problem 

 chiefly to the four-year courses. In the past, spe- 

 cialized courses have been organized to meet simi- 

 lar needs in other fields; but experience shows that 

 training in the fundamentals is more important 

 than specialized studies. Specialized four-year 

 courses in highway engineering may make the stu- 

 dents more successful for a few years after gradu- 

 ation, but the narrowness of such training is likely 

 to limit their usefulness and their opportunities. 

 It appears to be possible to provide in a well 

 roimded four-year program the fundamentals of 

 civil engineering and at the same time to offer 

 small groups of electives in several of the most 

 important special fields of civil engineering. 



The Need for Highway Engineering Courses in 

 Civil Engineering Curricula of Western Universi- 

 ties: T. E. Agg. 



Limitations of Field and Laboratory Work in 

 Highway Engineering in Civil Engineering Cur- 

 ricula: C. S. Paenham. 

 Subjects recommended for Inclusion in Civil Engi- 

 neering Courses to qualify Graduates to enter 

 the Field of Highway Engineering : Aethub H. 

 Blanchaed. 



The papers and discussions presented at this 

 session will be published in fuU in the Bulletin of 

 the Society for the Promotion of Engineering Edu- 

 cation. 



The third session was held on the evening of 

 Thursday, December 28, in the assembly haU of 

 the Automobile Club of America under the joint 

 auspices of the Automobile Club of America, the 

 National Highways Association, the Motor Truck 

 Club of America, the National Automobile Cham- 

 ber of Commerce, the Citizens' Street Traffic Com- 



mittee of Greater New York, and Section D, Amer- 

 ican Association for the Advancement of Science, 

 Vice-president Dr. Henry M. Howe was in the 

 chair. This session was devoted to highway engi- 

 neering, and the attendance was about 130. 

 The program of the session was as follows: 



The Interrelations of Seaport, Sailroad and High- 

 way Terminals: Calvin Tomkins. 



Highways formerly were and railroads now are 

 the principal land factors in transportation. 



Definition of port terminal service. 



Growing importance of motor trucks and high- 

 ways as feeders to railroads and waterways — and 

 for short hauls. 



Breakdown of transportation at city terminals 

 a consequence of difficulty in adapting and expand- 

 ing these terminals to changing conditions. 



Necessity for segregating terminal charges from 

 transportation charges in order to obtain revenue 

 to finance modern terminals. 



Large proportion of railroad capital unprofitably 

 invested in terminal properties which should be 

 made public and integrated as administrative units. 



Terminal reorganization involving parity of op- 

 portunity for all carriers and shippers and real- 

 estate owners, interferes with vested interests 

 based on bad terminal practises. Improvements 

 are consequently delayed. 



Rotary Traffic, Accomplishments and Possibilities : 



William P. Eno. 



In 1903 the "rotary system" was suggested for 

 Columbus Circle and put in use in 1905. In 1907 

 it was adopted at the Arc de Triomphe in Paris. 

 Now it is in effect at all circles in aU cities where 

 there is any intelligent attempt to regulate traffic. 



The "rotary system" could be made to replace 

 the ' ' block system ' ' at simple intersections in all 

 cases where there is sufficient turning space. It 

 has been adopted in other cities but New York has 

 so far failed to profit by it. Its installation on 

 Pifth Avenue would largely eliminate blockades 

 and would add at least 25 per cent, and possibly 

 as much as 50 per cent, to the traffic capacity of 

 the street. A fair trial could be made at such 

 slight cost that the saving in one day by its opera- 

 tion would pay for the trial. It should therefore 

 be put into effect without imnecessary delay and 

 the "Go Go" semaphores should be discontinued 

 as they are worse than nothing. 



Recent Investigations of Tractive Resistance to 

 Motor Trucks: A. E. Kennellt and O. E. 



SCHTJEIG. 



Printed in Sciekce, AprU 6, p. 341. 



