Evening Republican, Volume 23, Number 60, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 9 March 1920 — NOTED ENGINEER IN COURT HERE [ARTICLE]

NOTED ENGINEER IN COURT HERE

DR. ISHAM RANDOLPH TESTIFIED IN RYAN DITCH CASE MONDAY. What was perhaps the most valuable testimony 'ever to be given during the, entire ten years of time that the Ryan ditch case has been in the local and Supreme courts was furnished Monday when Dr. Isham Randolph, of Chicago, an engineer of international reputation, who 'had been called here by the petitioners, toMk-the stand to testify as to the probable cost of construction of the ditch and the advisability of digging it. Seldom in its history has the local court had as a* witness such a person of brilliance and renown as Dr. Randolph. Dr. Randolph is one of the foremost engineers in the world and, although seventy-two years of age, is connected with practically all of the important engineering feats of the present day. For the past twenty-five years he has been a prominent figure in the greatest engineering projects to be undertaken, and more than once has been called into consultation by this, as well as those of foreign countries to give his opinion on some gigantic feat of engineering. Dr. Randolph was selected by Colonel Theodore Roosevelt in 1906 at which time the latter was the president, as a member of the international board of consulting en-

gineers of the Panama Canal and was one of the few to recommend a lock canal, which idea was ultimately adopted by the gqvernment He also had personal supervision of the construction of the Chicago drainage canal for which he was awarded a gold medal at the Paris Exposition in 1900. railway companies have sought his advice and many of the great'roads now traversing the continent were built in accordance with his ideas. Cities and states alike have called upon him to pass his judgment on intricate engineering problems and always has it been found unerring and accurate. . At the present time he is the consulting engineer for the Little River Drainage District in the St. Francis Valley, Missouri, comprised of 500,00 acres, 600 miles of canal. He also serves in a like capacity for the Broward Drainage District in Florida, which is comwised of 900,000 acres of everglades land, the largest acreage for any drainage district in the world. In addition to that he serves for the various smaller drainage districts and municipalities throughout Florida and the Middle West. Dr. Randolph is a graduate of Illinois and Washington and Lee Universities, and wap a recipient of the Elliott Cresson medal, the highest award of the Franklin Institute of Philadelphia, which was given him in 1913. In his testimony, the noted engineer gave as his opinion that the earth work of the Ryan ditch could be done at a cost of- approximately 15c per yard while the rock excavation could ,be made at $1.36 per yard. Although on the stand ■but a few moments, Dr. Randolph gave a great deal of information which will prove invaluable if the ditch is constructed. The last of the evidence un. the case was heard Monday afternoon and Attorney William Isham, of Fowler, Who is sitting as special judge in the case, then set Monday, March 15, as the day for the reviewing of the proposed route, after which he will hand down his decision. The Ryan ditch case has occupied the attention of the local court at various times for a period of almost ten years. During the stormy debate between those petioning for the ditch and those opposed to it, the case has on two occasions been appealed to the Supreme court. Whether or not the termination of the present trial will adjust matters satisfactorily for all concerned remains to be seen, but it is to be hoped so.