386 



SCIENCE. 



[N. S. Vol. XIV. No. 350. 



Pennsylvania's great hive of industry ; and 

 with but little preliminary discussion of the 

 subject, with full confidence in the com- 

 mission that had been entrusted with the 

 building, care and development of the Pitts- 

 burg Institute, he proposed to furnish the 

 means to build, equip and endow a school 

 of technology on the broadest possible 

 basis, whose doors should be open not only 

 to students from western Pennsylvania, but 

 eventually to students from any part of the 

 world. 



President Frew of the Carnegie Commis- 

 sion appointed two committees : (A) A 

 committee to confer with the city officials 

 in reference to a site for the building, etc. 

 (B) A committee on ' Plan and Scope ' of 

 the proposed technical school. On this lat- 

 ter committee President Frew appointed 

 the following gentlemen : 



President Wm. McConway, of the Mc- 

 Conway, Torley Manufacturing Co. ; Chas. 

 M. Schwab, president Carnegie Steel Co. ; 

 "Wm. A. Magee, ' Times Publishing Co.' ; 

 Hon. Wm. A. Diehl, Mayor of Pittsburg, 

 and John A. Brashear. 



After a series of important meetings in 

 which the best plan of procedure was care- 

 fully discussed, Mr. Schwab found it neces- 

 sary to resign as a member of the committee, 

 as he had been called to the position of pres- 

 ident of the United States Steel Co. The 

 resignation of Mr. Schwab was greatly re- 

 gretted, as he has had large personal ex- 

 perience in technical and manual training 

 schools, having built and endowed a splendid 

 school in Homestead, Pennsylvania, in the 

 very center of the great steel industries. 

 Mr. W. Lucien Scaife was appointed to fill 

 the place made vacant by the resignation of 

 Mr. Schwab. He is a graduate of the Shef- 

 field Scientific School and has studied in the 

 technical schools of France and Germany, 

 and his technical and practical knowledge 

 has proved of great value in the delibera- 

 tions of the committee. 



After a careful discussion of the plan of 

 procedure it was decided to call to our assist- 

 ance a number of the best men on technical 

 lines in the country, rather than one man, 

 no matter how thoroughly he might be 

 posted in technical school matters, for the 

 one man might have a bias, either of edu- 

 cation or environment, which, while it pos- 

 sibl}'' would be in the direction of the very 

 best plan and scope for the new school, might 

 be detrimental to its highest development ; 

 and in this important matter it was con- 

 cluded that in the ' multitude of counsel- 

 lors ' there ought to be wisdom. The com- 

 mittee therefore called to its assistance. 

 Dr. Eobert H. Thurston, Professor J. B. 

 Johnson, Dr. Thomas Gray (all members 

 of Section D of the Association) and Dr. 

 Victor Alderson, acting president of the 

 Armour Institute of Chicago. These gen- 

 tlemen were to come to Pittsburg last 

 spring to study the conditions and environ- 

 ment which would necessarily be impor- 

 tant factors in formulating the plan and 

 scope of the new school and, after several 

 pleasant meetings with our own commit- 

 tee, arranged to return to Pittsburg on the 

 24th of June to make at least a prelimi- 

 nary, if not comprehensive and final report. 

 In the meantime the original committee 

 found much work to do, for communications 

 were coming from eminent technologists, 

 technological societies, domestic art associa- 

 tions, educators in manual training schools 

 and mechanical engineers, all of which con- 

 tained much good grain, with here and there 

 a hobbyist whose theories were mixed with 

 a good deal of chaJff; but on the whole we 

 found a widespread interest in the develop- 

 ment of what, let us hope, will eventually 

 become one of the best institutions for tech- 

 nical instruction in this good land of ours. 

 It is for the purpose of leading the members 

 of this Section of the American Association 

 to take an interest in the new school, that 

 this paper is written. It contains no new 



