September 13, 1901.] 



SCIENCE. 



387 



tliought, no new theories, but calls for your 

 help in a project which we believe will 

 be for the betterment of a large class of stu- 

 dents, whose means are necessarily limited, 

 but who will be, let us profoundly hope, 

 mighty factors in the future development 

 of American technological and allied in- 

 dustries. 



If we are to keep fast hold of the prestige 

 we have gained in the industrial world by 

 hard work and persistent effort, we must 

 open the storehouse of knowledge to our 

 future mechanicians, engineers, etc., give 

 them an opportunity to partake of the 

 treasures stored therein, and we shall have 

 no fear of the position we are to occupy in 

 the coming years. 



Our advisory committee, having studied 

 the problem from many points of view, met 

 with us in Pittsburg on the twenty-fourth 

 of Junelast, each member having formulated 

 his plans without consultation with other 

 members of the committee, yet it is a matter 

 of interest to know that the expressed views 

 of the advisory board as individual members 

 were so nearly in accord on the general 

 principles formulated for the great school 

 of technology. Of course with such a field 

 to work upon, there were a number of most 

 valuable suggestions made by the individual 

 members of the board, all of which will be 

 of use to our committee in making up its 

 report to the commission. 



With your permission, and I am sure 

 with that of the several members of the 

 advisory board, I will give as briefly as pos- 

 sible an outline of the scheme for the new 

 technical school. 



First, as to site. The Carnegie Insti- 

 tute is situated in Schenley Park ; and it 

 was thought desirable by Mr. Carnegie and 

 members of the commission to secure, if 

 possible, enough ground near the Institute 

 for the technical school. A tract of eleven 

 acres was the only available land in the 

 Park, but this was at once pronounced far 



too limited in extent for the new school ; 

 indeed the first plan of buildings, campus , 

 etc., submitted by Mr. Emil Swensson, of 

 the Carnegie Steel Co., covered 40 acres 

 and this for not more than one thousand 

 students. The advisory board suggested 

 that not less than 50 acres be secured, and 

 as a tract of 65 acres is available not far 

 distant from the Carnegie Institute, the 

 board strongly recommended its purchase, 

 or a similar piece of land as near by as it is 

 possible to obtain it. A potent reason for 

 placing the technical school near the Car- 

 negie Institute is the fact that its library is 

 rich in technical and other valuable works, 

 which need not be duplicated in the techni- 

 cal school library ; indeed the association of 

 the school with the great and increasingly 

 valuable library, museum, art gallery and 

 Academy of Science and Art is certainly to 

 be desired. In this connection it may be 

 well to state that it was the intention of the 

 donor that the city should furnish the land 

 upon which the school of technology should 

 be built, but it is the unanimous opinion of 

 the advisory board that, as Mr. Carnegie 

 not only proposes to build and equip but 

 fully to endow it, it would be far better to 

 purchase the land and thus, while bring- 

 ing to the city of Pittsburg all the honor 

 such a school of technology would bring, 

 keep it forever free from baneful political 

 influences. Dr. Gray says in summing up 

 his report: ''Such an institution properly 

 managed, could in my opinion do much 

 more to advance the science which under- 

 lies our industries than any national or 

 State institution is ever likely to do, ham- 

 pered as all of them are by political associa- 

 tion. I may in conclusion express the 

 opinion that for the best work, independ- 

 ence of city or other politics should if pos- 

 sible be insured by avoiding all kinds of 

 public financial support." 



As to the buildings for the technical 

 school but little has been suggested ; indeed. 



