of the legislature (W. Va., 1913, Ch. 10). Statutes converting former railroad commissions into public utilities commissions were enacted in Colorado, Maine, Indiana, Massachusetts, and Montana. These statutes are based largely upon those of New York and Wisconsin. Utilities commissions were likewise adopted in the District of Columbia and Hawaii. Altogether, 10 public utilities commissions were created in the sessions of 1913. The Oregon public utilities statute of 1911 was referred to the voters by popular referendum and was approved. (See also XI, Public Services.) Freight Rate Acts.-In addition to the public utilities acts referred to above, several special laws were enacted. In Florida a long and short haul clause was adopted (Fla., 1913, Ch. 6523). In Minnesota the law prohibiting unfair discriminations was redrafted (Minn., 1913, Ch. 90), and the Railroad Commission was empowered to make a schedule of maximum rates and establish joint through rates (Minn., 1913, Ch. 344). New York (N. Y., 1913, Ch., 354, 425, 744), and Washington (Wash., 1913, Ch. 30). Laws limiting the hours of labor of trainmen, telegraphers, and dispatchers were enacted in California (Cal., 1913, p. 381), Nevada (Nev., 1913, Ch. 283), and New York (N. Y., 1913, Ch. 466), the last being an amendment to a former statute. Statutes regulating locomotive headlights were enacted in California (Cal., 1913, p. 22), Florida (Fla., 1913, Ch. 6526), Illinois (Ill., 1913, p. 506), Michigan (Mich., 1913, p. 112), Minnesota (Minn., 1913, Ch. 93), Nevada (Nev., 1913, p. 26), Nebraska (Neb., 1913, p. 499), and North Dakota (N. D., 1913, p. 376). An Arkansas statute requires railroads to build fences along their right of way (Ark., 1913, pp. 169, 1136). The Georgia legislature required the erection of signboards (Ga., 1913, p. 114). An Illinois law provides for the appointment of inspectors who shall inspect automatic couplers, pow er brakes, grab irons, surface and track conditions, the condition of train Passenger Fare Acts.-A two-cent yards, and the sanitary condition of fare law was adopted in Illinois (Ill., cars; they are also assigned to the 1913, p. 508), and a two-cent fare investigation of accidents. A Kansas law, applicable to railways with gross statute regulates the number of flagearnings equal to or greater than nen (Kan., 1913, p. 432), another pen$1,200 a mile, was enacted in Minne- alizes tampering with signals (Kan., sota (Minn., 1913, Ch. 536). The 1913, p. 433), and a third regulates Minnesota legislature also required switch lights (Kan., 1913, p. 434). railroads to issue family interchange- Trespassing was prohibited in Rhode able mileage books (Minn., 1913, Ch. Island (R. I., 1913, p. 87) and Wash51). The Oklahoma Corporation Comington (Wash., 1913, Ch. 128). Demission was given power to fix pas railing devices were required by law senger fares (Okla., 1913, Ch. 130) in Texas (Tex.. 1913, p. 334). and to adjust two-cent fare refunds (Okla., 1913, Ch. 248). A Connecticut statute prohibited the sale of special bargain or excursion tickets in the state on Sundays (Conn., 1913, p. 1814). Safety Statutes. In addition to the provisions in the various public utili ties acts concerning accidents, grade crossings, safety appliances, and the like, numerous other laws concerning public safety were enacted. Laws regulating grade crossings were en acted in Arkansas (Ark., 1913, pp. 328, 1104), Kansas (Kan., 1913, pp. 174-6), Maine (Me., 1913, p. 190), Minnesota (Minn., 1913, Ch. 78), Nebraska (Neb., 1913, pp. 233, 265), Train-Crew Laws.-Statutes regulating the number of persons comprising train or switching crews were enacted in Arkansas (Ark., 1913, p. 211), California (Cal., 1913, p. 249), Connecticut (Conn., 1913, p. 1834), Nebraska (Neb., 1913, p. 157), Nevada (Nev., 1913, p. 62), New York (N. Y., 1913, Ch. 146), Missouri (approved April 16, 1913), Indiana (Ind., 1913, Ch. 215), Kansas (approved April 23, 1913), Ohio (approved April 23, 1913), Oregon (approved Feb. 25, 1913), New Jersey (approved April 1, 1913), New York (approved March 31, 1913), and Wisconsin (Wis., 1913, Ch. 63). So numerous have these statutes become that they are an item of con siderable importance in railroad operating costs. of legislation in Michigan (Mich., 1913, pp. 711, 742), Nebraska (Neb., 1913, p. 337), and Florida (Fla., 1913, Ch. 6527). The Indiana legislature enacted a law prescribing the qualifications of trainmen (Ind., 1913, Ch. 43, 232). Miscellaneous Statutes. Aside from provisions in the various public utilities statutes, special laws concerning physical valuation were enacted in California (Cal., 1913, p. 683), Minnesota (Minn., 1913, Ch. The Nebraska Commission was given 125), and Washington (Wash., 1913, power to fix the rates of telegraph Ch. 182). In Delaware (Del., 1913, Ch. companies (Neb., 1913, Ch. 62), the 190) the contents of railroad reports South Carolina Commission to reguto stockholders were fixed by law. late interurban railways (S. C., 1913, The Florida Commission was author- p. 179), and the California Commisized to audit the accounts of railroads sion to approve or prevent the conand express companies. The Commis- struction of wharves. A Connecticut sion of North Dakota was empowered statute provides that the Commission to fix uniform systems of accounts must be notified of all mergers, disso(N. D., 1913, p. 379). Laws requir-lutions, etc., of public service coming bulletins showing the arrival of panies (Conn., 1913, p. 1816). The trains were enacted in Kansas (Kan., Commission law of Florida was re1913, p. 433) and in Texas (Tex., 1913, p. 350). Another Texas law requires dispatchers to keep the public informed as to train movements (Tex., 1913, p. 318). Texas also enacted a re-ited from consolidating, leasing, ownvised reciprocal demurrage law (Tex., 1913, Ch. 16). Laws regulating railroad cabooses were enacted in New York (N. Y., 1913, Ch. 497) and Nebraska (Neb., 1913, pp. 204, 626). The establishing of physical switch connections and sidings was the subject stated so as to make its meaning clear and to enhance the powers of the Commission (Fla., 1913, Ch. 6507). In West Virginia railroads were prohib ing or holding stock in parallel or competing lines (W. Va., 1913, p. 124). An amendment to the Minnesota securities law prohibits issues of railroad stock at less than 90 per cent. of its par value (Minn., 1913, Ch. 384). BIBLIOGRAPHY CURRAN, J. P.-Freight Rates: Studies POND. O. L-Law of Public Utilities. RIPLEY, W. Z.Railroad Rates and SHELTON, W. A. Atlas of Railway Traf- XXIII. ENGINEERING CIVIL ENGINEERING FRANK C. WIGHT Bridges. Three large steel bridges | ft. cantilever, being surpassed in span are engaging the attention of engi- only by the Quebec and the Firth of neers at present: the Hell Gate arch Forth, Scotland, bridges. It was deat New York City, the new Quebec cided on during 1913 after a long bridge across the St. Lawrence, and controversy and successively reversed a large cantilever across the harbor decisions in favor of a bridge, a tunbetween Sydney and North Sydney, nel, and finally a bridge for the crossN. S. W. The Hell Gate arch, a part ing. of the short-line railway making a track connection between the Pennsylvania Railroad at New York and the New York, New Haven & Hartford in New England (A. Y. B., 1912, p. 555), is the longest steel arch in the world, being 1,000 ft. in span, and is approached on either side by concrete arch viaducts nearly three miles in total length. At the end of 1913 the approaches were more than half completed and work was well along en the two enormous concrete abutments for the steel arch. Steel erection will probably begin toward the end of 1914. The Quebec bridge across the St. Lawrence near Quebec, Canada, is to replace the one which collapsed during construction in August, 1907. It is of the same general type and span as the previous one, a 1,800-ft. clear span cantilever, but has been modified in design to correct the weaknesses displayed by its predecessor. This modification involves a wider and heavier steel framing, which required entire reconstruction of the piers. These piers were practically completed during 1913, being sunk with very large compressed-air caisson cribs, and progress is being made on the fabrication of the steel work. Completion is still some years away. The Sydney bridge is to be a 1,600 This question of the relative superiority of a bridge or a tunnel for a wide river crossing is under discussion also in connection with the Hudson River at New York City. Commissions in the states of New York and New Jersey have long been study. ing connection between Manhattan and the New Jersey shore. In 1913 the New Jersey commission, as a result of an investigation by consulting engineers, reported that it would be advisable to build a suspension bridge, having eye-bars and not cables as the suspending members, across the river between Fifty-eighth Street, Manhattan, and Sixth Street, Weehawken, and two highway tunnels from Canal Street, Manhattan, to Twelfth Street, Jersey City. The bridge would have a span of 2,730 ft., by far the longest in the world, and would cost, with land condemnation, about $42,000,000; the tunnels would have an interior diameter of 30 ft. and would cost about $11,000,000. Although there is no bridge crossing the Hudson south of Poughkeepsie, the high cost of this latest project makes its immediate consummation doubtful. At Memphis, Tenn., a second large cantilever bridge is being built across the Mississippi. It is to be 2,547 ft. long, and contains spans of 604, 621 and 791 ft. Across the St. Lawrence near Montreal the old Canadian Pa by a more modern and heavier structure. cific Lachine bridge has been replaced | ported ready for operation, and about 10,000 miles were under construction. The total mileage in Canada, exclusive of sidings and extra trackage, is about 30,000 miles. Steel bridge design progresses slowly and no marked developments were evident during the year. In the matter of bridge floors, however, a series of serious fires on wooden floors to bridges has drawn the attention of engineers to the high fire risk involved in such construction. The use of creosote to protect the wood against decay seems to increase the inflammability, and it is probable that the additional cost of fire protection or of fire-proof floors will be in the future seriously considered. The Commission appointed by President Taft to examine into the transportation question in Alaska (A. Y. B., 1912. p. 556) reported on Jan. 20, 1913. It recommended that two independent lines be constructed, one connecting the Yukon and Tanana River Valleys with tidewater, by way of Cordova, Chitina, and Fairbanks, and the other running from Seward around Cook Inlet and connecting with the Kuskokwim and Sustina While no statistics are available, it River systems. These two roads is probable that more concrete bridges would connect tidewater with the are being built each year, particularly Bering River and Matanuska coal for small spans and municipal struc- fields, the main object of the new tures where æsthetic considerations rule. The decidedly superior performance of the concrete over the steel bridges during the floods in the spring of 1913 in the middle west (see "Waterways," infra) has measurably increased the confidence of the lay and engineering public in them. While this superiority is in part due to the fact that the steel bridges were on the average of longer service, it is largely a result of the greater mass of the concrete structures and their consequent greater resistance against the pressure of the floods. One of the longest concrete arches in the world is now under construction at Langwies, Switzerland, on the Chur-Arosa Railway. It is to have a clear span of 315 ft. The record for span length is held by the Ponte del Risorgimento, across the Tiber at Rome, with a span of 328.1 ft. (A. Y. B., 1911, p. 688). Railway Construction.-The last official statistics give the aggregate mileage of railway tracks in the United States on July 1, 1912, as 360,714 miles, of which 120,476 miles was extra trackage. This was an increase over the previous fiscal year of 8,923 miles of trackage, of which 3,167 miles represented yard tracks and sidings. Somewhat less than 3,000 miles of new line was built in the fiscal year. In Canada, during the year ending June 30, 1912, 2,953 additional miles of line were put in operation, 1,738 miles more were re systems. The plan involves 733 miles of new construction at an estimated cost of $35,000,000. (See I, American History; and VIII, Alaska.) Railway Valuation. The Physical Valuation Act passed by Congress in February, involves one of the largest pieces of engineering work ever undertaken. By this act, the Interstate Commerce Commission is ordered to proceed to the valuation of the property of every common carrier subject to its jurisdiction. For this work the Commission has appointed a Railway Valuation Board of five engineers and has started the organization of a bureau which will eventually comprise five or six hundred employees, mostly engineers. To cooperate with the government practically all the large railways have organized valuation boards of their own. (See also I, American History; and XXII, Railroads.) Railway Terminals. The question of railway terminals is one that is seriously troubling both municipal and railway officials. With the enormous growth of railway travel and an awakening sense of civic beauty, reforms both in accommodation and in appearance have been demanded, so that to-day the railway station, the "gate of the city," must be among the show places, and at the same time provided with sufficient trackage to insure easy movement of trains within and so located as to have easy access to local transit systems without. The monumental stations of the last few years have been a decided drain on the resources of the railways, and involve expenditures which cannot be directly paid for by increased earnings. Nevertheless, precedents have become so fixed that it must be recognized that the railways in the future will have to figure on large sums for stations, over above the amount required for purely utilitarian construction, though in some cases the responsibility of the city itself is being recognized and a certain proportion of the excess cost charged to artistic effect is being assumed by the city. In most cases, too, there is a reasonable conference between city and railway as to the design and layout of the terminals so as to insure the greatest service to both parties to the transaction. In Chicago such a conference is now in progress. There are six railway terminal stations in the city, for four of which plans for reconstruction have been made. In addition, the city and certain civic societies have a city plan which includes plans for one or more large terminals replacing those already in use. The various interests to be served make the situation very complicated. John F. Wallace, who was the first chief engineer of the Panama Canal, has been retained by the city to report on a feasible plan for terminal construction. The new Grand Central Station in New York City was opened to the public in February, and the Union Station at Kansas City, another very large project, toward the end of the year. Street subway connecting the Manhattan end of the Williamsburg Bridge and the Municipal Building near City Hall Park was put in operation. The Manhattan and Brooklyn Bridge connections will be made in 1914. (See also "Tunnels," infra.) In Chicago a Harbor and Subway Commission has under consideration a system of municipally owned subways. The commission was organized in December, 1911, but up to the present its activities have covered preliminary plans only. It is stated that there is no prospect of construction work until after April, 1914, when a referendum vote is to be taken on alternative systems, one a limited down-town system to cost about $17,000,000, the other a comprehensive city-wide system to cost about $70,000,000. A comprehensive subway system has been planned for Philadelphia to supplement the present Market Street line. This includes a Broad Street line, north and south, a terminal loop in the heart of the city, and elevated connections northeast and southwest. The cost of construction is estimated at $30,000,000 and the cost of equipment at $8,000,000. Enabling legislation is being sought. Three subways or extensions are now under construction in Boston: the Boylston Street line under Boylston Street from Commonwealth Avenue and Beacon Street to the Park Street terminal, 1 miles; the Dorchester tunnel, a continuation of the Cambridge subway, which will furnish a through line from Harvard Square to Andrew Square, 2.1 miles; and the East Boston tunnel extention, mile. Their total cost will be about 15 millions and their completion is some years away. In Pittsburgh an ordinance granting a franchise to build a subway system was passed by the City Council on Feb. 7, 1913, but was vetoed by the Mayor. No further action has been taken. (See also XI, Public Services.) Subways. Construction on the new dual system of subways in New York City has progressed favorably during the year. A remarkable feature of the work has been the freedom from street obstruction over the subway construction. The present subway, dug in the open for most of its length, so effectually closed the streets during construction that practically no business was done in them, but the new subways are being dug either in Tunnels. The usual number of tunnel or under timber roofings form- railway tunnels were driven during ing the street surface, with no the past year, with no especial imnuisance except for the rough appear- provements or innovations in method. ance of the streets and occasional One novelty was brought out by head houses. In 1913 the Center John F. O'Rourke, a New York con |