July 1G, 1909] 



SCIENCE 



71 



to the acquaintance of his confreres, 

 younger by nineteen centuries. This vo- 

 cation, which thus derives both interest 

 and culture with utility from so wide a 

 range of science, archeology and classic 

 literature, is this anything less than a 

 profession " 



Many other subjects have received the 

 serious and constant attention of the so- 

 cietj' in the endeavor to establish practi- 

 cable ideals; among them are: Instraetion 

 by non-resident lecturers and abuse of the 

 method by lectures; disproportion between 

 laboratory or shop-work and class-room 

 instruction; mixing of preparatory sub- 

 jects and those of the proper engineering 

 program ; waste of time by too much vaca- 

 tion; more work with the individual di- 

 rectly, rather than so much with the class 

 as a whole; instruction in the biography 

 and history of the profession; research 

 laboratories and investigational work by 

 engineering schools ; engineering juris- 

 prudence ; relation of philosophy to engi- 

 neering instruction; training for leader- 

 ship; ought instructors to engage in pro- 

 fessional work? and many other topics re- 

 lating to details of class-work, test-books, 

 methods, etc. 



The mere mention of so many and such 

 diverse questions of common interest shows 

 the scope of our theme, but only in part. 

 The relations of engineering schools to 

 polytechnic industrial education are 

 worthy of passing notice. The U. S. Com- 

 missioner of Education reported in 1907 

 more than 100 state universities, state 

 colleges, institutions of teclinology, etc., 

 having an attendance of 33,000 male stu- 

 dents classified as studying technology, 

 applied science and engineering. This in- 

 cludes some state colleges of agi-icultural 

 and mechanic arts which might be termed 

 semi-professional schools, as well as some 

 of the technical institutes. Some are yet 



in their infancy; resources, clientele and 

 other conditions are widely different. One 

 has been inaugurated in an adjoining state 

 within a month. These and the trade 

 schools or secondary schools which dis- 

 tinctly give training for particular occu- 

 pations are generally fulfilling their pur- 

 pose, by opening the doors of opportunity 

 to many who otherwise would have no 

 hopeful outlook. 



The late Professor J. B. Johnson called 

 attention to the monotechnic schools of 

 Germany which are supported by the state 

 or by the municipalities, and have, fine 

 buildings and complete equipment of every 

 appliance needed to prosecute each its ap- 

 propriate industry; also to the hundreds 

 of special schools, supported by trades and 

 associations, which have abolished ap- 

 prenticeship, and have thoroughly applied 

 science to give exact training ; with the re- 

 sult that the superiority of Germany in 

 commerce, based on the growth of her great 

 industries, has been achieved almost in a 

 generation. The three years of study in 

 the monotechnic schools follow two years 

 in secondary scientific schools {i. e., to in- 

 clude sophomore year in our grading), so 

 that the five years produce scientifically 

 trained directors of industrial enterprises. 

 Again, the commercial colleges of France, 

 Belgium and Germany are training men 

 qualified by their special education to in- 

 vade every quarter of the globe as com- 

 mercial agents and builders of industries. 



In the United States, the recent Nelson 

 amendment to the Morrill Acts of 1862 

 and 1890 gives increased national aid for 

 the extension and betterment of the work 

 of the state colleges of agriculture and the 

 mechanic arts. Several of the states are 

 also giving increased aid, and the state of 

 Illinois has taken the unprecedented action 

 of appropriating $50,000 for the graduate 

 department of its university. The latest 



