engineering departments within the Commission, and he should
answer directly to and make his reports and recommendations on
engineering matters to the Director of Highways and to the Com-
mission. The administrative and personnel problems now handled
by the Chief Engineer should be handled by a separate administra-
tive officer under the direction of the Director of Highways. That
office should be headed by a person of qualified administrative ability,
who would generally be in charge of the administrative and personnel
problems of the Commission's various engineering personnel in the
headquarters in Baltimore, as well as in the several engineering field
offices throughout the State. The Chief Engineer should have under
him not only a Deputy Chief Engineer for construction, but a Deputy
Chief Engineer for maintenance.

With the continued construction of new highways and the improve-
ment of existing highways, adequate maintenance of our highway
system becomes an ever-increasing problem. If this phase of the
Commission's activities is supervised by efficient and capable leader-
ship at high Commission level, I am convinced that our highway
tax dollar will purchase better maintenance.

The Right-of-Way Department of the Commission employs more
than one hundred people, most of whom work in the field and make
daily contacts with the public in acquiring land necessary for new
roads. It is important that these people not only be well trained,
but that they have adequate supervision. At all times they should
be able to explain satisfactorily to property owners the justification
for construction methods being employed. At the present time, the
Right-of-Way Engineer not only has to determine the valuation and
other problems necessary in right-of-way acquisition, which acquisi-
tions number in the thousands each year, but he is also charged with
the responsibility of administrative and personnel problems within
the Right-of-Way organization. The efficient management of the
Right-of-Way Department seems to require that the Right-of-Way
Engineer's duties be limited to questions relating to real estate
valuations and allied decisions necessary for right-of-way acquisition.
The problems of administration connected with such an important
department should be placed in the hands of an able Administrative
Assistant or Director who would report to the Director of Highways.

I firmly believe that with effective direction at the Commission
level and with the delegation of appropriate authority to capable
people, the business of the State Roads Commission can be more
efficiently handled so that the people of Maryland will get more and

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