lines so as to incline them towards a more favorable consideration for appearance when deciding upon the designing and purchasing of their bridges.

But the moulders of public opinion in respect to the necessity for a due consideration of architectural effect in bridge-building must of necessity be the independent bridge engineers of the country, who are not so much influenced by monetary motives as are engineers connected with railways and bridge companies, although it must be confessed that some of the most prominent bridge specialists are the greatest offenders against the principles of aesthetics.

There is a general impression among engineers that to ingraft architectural effects upon bridge construction will always involve the necessity for an increased expenditure of money; but this notion is incorrect, because there are many large and important bridges in the United States which could have been beautified, and at the same time cheapened, without in the slightest degree impairing their strength, rigidity, or efficiency, by simply modifying their harsh and uncompromising lines. It requires the expenditure of more thought than money to obtain au artistically designed bridge; for a little money will go a long way ill producing a decorative effect upon such a structure.

Distinction must be made between appropriate and inappropriate, necessary and unnecessary, and expensive and inexpensive decoration. For instance, while it is always proper to adapt the lines of a structure to the production of the most graceful effect, provided that in so doing no sacrifice of constructive excellence be thereby involved or extra expense incurred, it would often be injudicious to expend money on pure decoration. The builder probably cannot spare the money, and the location of the structure may be such that any extra expense for ornamentation would be absolutely wasted, If a bridge is to be located where it will be seen constantly by many people, it is well to spend extra money to make it sightly, beautiful, and in keeping with its surroundings; but when it is to be placed in

a dense forest or on a sandy desert where it would seldom be seen, it would