This is the oldest of all. We have not been able to surpass the works
of the past in grandeur or durability. The pyramids of Egypt still
stand, and will stand for thousands of years. Roman bridges, aqueducts,
and sewers still perform their duties. Joseph’s canal still irrigates
Lower Egypt. The great wall of China, running for fifteen hundred miles
over mountains and plains, contains one hundred and fifty millions of
cubic yards of materials and is the greatest of artificial works. No
modern building compares in grandeur with St. Peter’s, and the mediæval
cathedrals shame our puny imitations.
These mighty works were built to show the piety of the Church or to
gratify the pride of kings. Time and money were of no account. All
this has now been changed. Capital controls, and the question of time,
money, and usefulness rules everything. Hence come scientific design
and labor-saving machinery.
The engineer of our modern works first calculates the stresses on
all their parts, and proportions them accordingly, so that there is
no waste of material. Hand labor has given place to steam machinery.
All parts are interchangeable, so that they can be made and fitted
together in the least possible time, as is seen every day in the
construction of a steel-framed office building. Our workmen receive
much higher wages than in the past, while time and cost have been
diminished.