SEPTEMBER 22, 1899. ] 
great value and importance of the discus- 
sions became universally recognized in en- 
gineering circles. In short, the movement 
assumed an international character. 
In 1890, as a result of the International 
Congresses of Engineering, held at Paris, in 
the preceding year, the French government 
appointed a commission to formulate stand- 
ard methods for testing the materials of 
construction. Its report, published in 1894, 
in four large volumes, is one of the most 
valuable contributions to the subject, but 
from the first it was recognized that ulti- 
mate conclusions could not be determined 
by a commission of one nationality, and ac- 
cordingly, since 1895, the French govern- 
ment has given hearty support to the work 
of the International Association. 
In 1895, as a result of the four preced- 
ing conferences, the fifth conference met at 
Zurich, all European countries, except 
Turkey, being represented. The United 
States Government was represented by an 
army officer, and the American Society of 
Mechanical Engineers by a delegate. At 
this Congress the International Association 
for Testing Materials was formally organ- 
ized, its object being, as stated in its stat- 
utes, ‘‘ the development and unification of 
standard methods of testing for the deter- 
mination of the properties of the materials 
of construction, and of other materials, and 
also the perfection of apparatus for that 
purpose.” This meeting at Zurich hence 
assumed an importance far greater than 
any preceding conference, and it may be 
ealled the first Congress of the Interna- 
tional Association. 
At the Vienna convention of 1893 there 
had been appointed twenty committees on 
technical subjects, and reports from many 
of these were presented at the Zurich Con- 
gress of 1895. These reports were pub- 
lished in the French and German languages 
in the official organ of the Association 
ealled Bawmaterialienkunde, the first number 
SCIENCE. 397 
of which appeared in July, 1896. The 
work of some of these committees was con- 
tinued, other subjects were proposed for 
future consideration, and a council was or- 
ganized to transact the business of the In- 
ternational Association in the intervals be- 
tween the Congresses. 
In 1897 the second Congress of the Inter- 
national Association was held at Stockholm, 
there being present 861 members represent- 
ing 18 countries. The United States Gov- 
ernment was represented by an army officer 
and a navy officer, and the American So- 
ciety of Mechanical Engineers by a delegate. 
The Congress continued in session for three 
days, reports of committees were presented, 
papers read and discussed, and plans out- 
lined for future work. It was ‘resolved 
that the next Congress should be held in 
Paris in the summer of 1900, and the 
Council was authorized to appoint technical 
committees to make reports at that time on 
special problems relating to the objects of 
the Association. 
Ata meeting of the International Council 
held early in 1898, appointments were made 
of chairmen of 21 committees on technical 
problems, and the number of members on 
each committee from each country was as- 
signed. It was alsorecommended, in order 
to expedite the appointment and work of 
these committees, that the members in each 
country should meet and form a national 
section of the International Association. 
In compliance with this recommendation a 
number of the American members met on 
June 15, 1898, and organized an American 
Section, whose first annual meeting was 
held at Philadelphia on August 27, 1898, 
and whose second annual meeting I now 
have the honor to address. 
The membership of the International As- 
sociation numbered 493 in 1895; 953 in 
1896; 1,169 in 1897; 1,488 in 1898, and is now 
probably about 2,000. Germany takes the 
lead in regard to number of members, it 
