90 



pan. After considerable discussion as to method of voting, a blanlvct vote was 

 taken and Messrs. White. Bailey, and Snyder, were declared elected. 



('. K. Van Ilisc. of Wisconsin, was elected chairman of the s(M.'tion, and II. C. 

 Price, of Oliio, secretary. 



The i)resident-elect and secretary-elect of the section were anthorized to act 

 as :i conmiittee on pnvtiraniuic, with jiower to select .-mother i>uM!il)ei'. or nieni- 

 hers, if they so desired. 



H. W. 'l\vler. of Massaciuisetts. presented the following paper: 



What is a Libkrai. and Practical Education for an 'Engineer? 



The life work of the engineer consists in the systematic application of natural 

 forces and the systematic development of natural resources in the service of 

 man. To l»e practical his education must Ht him to do this most effectively. 

 Hut the engineer is a man and a citizen before he is an engineer, therefore his 

 ednc.-ition nuist also be liberal. 



Our engineering colleges serve a people deeply interested in all forms of edu- 

 c.ntion. l>ut i)artii-ularly in the practical. Opportunities for lirimary and second- 

 ;iry (>d\ic:ition are everywhere abundant, but the quality of the work is variable, 

 tiie organization of it is rather loose, and economy of time is rarely attained. 

 As a result these colleges receive from the secondary schools every fall several 

 thousand young men aged about 18, who have learned more or less algebra, 

 geometry. English, and natural science, variously accompanied by Eatin or 

 modern l.nngnages, history, etc. They may or may not have learned to think 

 logically, to ()l)serve accurately, to express themselves with clearness and force. 

 to i»erform mental work with sustained concentration. If they have ac(iuire(l 

 any one of these accomplishments, we are grateful. Such is our material. 



it is ji well-established tradition that the course in the higher institution shall 

 occupy four years of eight or nine months each. This is our time allowance. 



In this space we must — 



(1) Lay a solid foundation in mathematics and the natural or physical 

 sciences, or both ; 



(2) Build a technical .superstructure; 



(o) Broaden and deepen and strengthen the student's faculties and character 

 by instruction in the humanities — or. to follow the figure, we must hel]) the 

 student to make not merely his workshop, lint his intellectual home. 



The first is at once practical and liberal : the second is mainly i)ractical, but 

 need never be illiberal : the third is mainly liberal. l)ut should never become 

 unpractical. 



An institution which neglects the foundation in science may lie of great serv- 

 ice, but it is only a technical school and should not be called a college ; a college 

 which is weak in the technical suiierstructure will attract the more ambitinus 

 students only for subseciuent migration; a school of applied science which 

 neglects the general for the i)rofessional education of undergraduate students 

 will turn out n.-irrow men whose professional careers will sooner or later I>e 

 cramped by their person;il limitations. 



We are really attem])ting .m short cut in education. The professions which 

 were formerly called " learned " are based more or less generally on graduate 

 study. In that part of the country with which I happen to be best acquainted 

 this is apt to mean preparation for difficult college entrance examination at the 

 age of 19, four years of diversion and study in varial)le i)roportions. then three 

 years of hard work in the professiomd school, with self-support probable not 

 much under 30. Highly as one may esteem this .system and its products, the 

 need of greater economy in time constitutes a more and more serious problem, 

 for which means are eagerly sought. 



For the engineers our institutions have boldly undertaken to solve the problem 

 by coml)ining the general and the i)rofessional. the practical and the liberal, in 

 a single four-ye.ir c-urriculum. We welcome the bachelor of arts who seeks to 

 secure our professional training in three years or even two. His education 

 ought at the end of seven years or of six to he more broadly liberal than he 

 could gain with us alone in four. But for many the i»lan has serious defects, 

 and we do not for a moment admit that it would l)e profitable for engineering 

 students generally to have become bachelors of arts first. The great majority 

 of engineering students come, and so f.-ir aliead-.-is the future can be estimated, 

 will continue to coin(> from the public high schools ready for four or five years 

 of steady, earnest work, with the sustained incentive of professional interest. 



