uld show in addition, that the public officers having charge of
such a bridge knew this to be the case, and still allowed the public
to pass over it, we can see at once, that, in case of disaster, the
blame would be clearly located, and the action for damages would be
short and decisive. Once let a town have heavy damages to pay, and
let it know at the same time that the town officers are clearly
accountable for the loss, and it is possible that it would be willing
to adopt some system that should prevent the recurrence of such an
outlay.

To see what may be accomplished by an efficient system of public
inspection, it is necessary to know something in regard to the
structures to be inspected. We have now in common use in this
country, both upon our roads and our railroads, bridges made entirely
of iron, bridges of wood and iron combined, and occasionally, though
not often nowadays, a bridge entirely of wood; and these structures
are to be seen of a great variety of patterns, of all sizes, and in
every stage of preservation. Of late so great has been the demand for
bridge-work, that this branch of engineering has become a trade by
itself; and we find immense works fitted up with an endless variety
of the most admirably adapted machine-tools devoted exclusively to
the making of bridges of wood, iron, steel, or all combined. As in
all division of labor, the result of this specialization has been to
improve the quality of the product, to lessen the cost, and to
increase the demand, until many of our large firms reckon the length
of bridging which they have erected by miles instead of feet. As
usual, however, in such cases, unprincipled adventurers are not
wanting, who, taking advantage of a great demand, do not hesitate to
fit up cheap shops, to buy poor material, and to flood the market
with a class of bridges made with a single object in view, viz., to
sell, relying upon the ignorance--or something worse--of public
officials for custom. Not a year passes in which some of these
wretched traps do not tumble down, and cause a greater or less loss
of life, and at the same time, with uninformed people, throw
discredit on the whole modern system of bridge-building. This evil
affects particularly highway bridges. The ordinary county
commissioner or selectman considers himself amply competent to
contract for a bridge of wood or iron, though he may never have given
a single day of thought to the matter before his appointment to