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Power Plant Engineers, Roofing & Building Contractors, Manufacturers.

his aeroplane to an elevation of one mile within the period of one minute, the previous record having been 2,000 feet in one minute.

Recently there was a great horse race. Within an hour after the race, metropolitan newspapers were being sold on the streets showing a large telephoto of the final standing of the race. The race was photographed, the pictures sent by telegraph to the newspaper offices, reproduced on another plate, and printed, all within the space of a few minutes.

These facts are really signposts of progress, and they make it impossible for any man to say, "It can't be done."

The engineer must be able to stop waste. How much does the average workman waste in materials, in abused tools, in equipment and in time and supplies? What would the yearly loss amount to in dollars and cents?

The engineer must be a salesman, knowing the engineering reasons for certain procedure, and he must be able to sell his reasons to his employer.

One of the tragedies of life I think comes just at this point. Many a man can enthuse those who are with him in his work, but stands helpless when he is before the boss. Fear seems to enter his makeup at this particular time.

If there are any in this presence who have that great handicap, and it is an enormous handicap, then I want to say that there is a way out of that situation for you, in that you can introduce the positive suggestion into your mental makeup and get over that fear. If we would but remember that the boss, the employer, is for us just as much or more than we are for him, how much simpler it would be. Sometimes we are actu ally afraid of the boss.

Sometimes, you engineers have got to take rough tactics in dealing with the boss. You must wake him up, sometimes, and fight him in a constructive

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over, just because their fathers or their grandfathers or their great grandfathers did things that way; because they read in a book sometime back yonder that certain things should be done a certain way because somebody said so. There is too much of that sort of thing. We need more originality of thought in our work. We need more sitting down and thinking things out and finding out just what is the best way to do a thing.

The story is told of our National Congress, during the war, sending at group of Congressmen overseas to see how our boys were faring there. And in due time they were sent to the front. and as they got up pretty well they were going in single file at the outskirts of the trenches. Finally they heard a gun boom up ahead, and the guide turning, in what seemed to be a whisper said to the man just behind him: (whispering) "That is a German gun." And this man turned and in a whisper said to the next man, "That is a German gun,' and it was whispered in relay from one to another until it reached the man at the end of the line. On they walked,

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for a half an hour or more, when finally over in a trench a little ways off was a dead body and the guide turned and said, apparently in a whisper, "That is a dead German," and number two whispered it to number three, and number four to number five until, eventually, it reached the man at the end of the line. They walked for a half hour or more and then the man at the end of the line began to get curious and tapped the man ahead of him and he said, (whispering) "I wonder how far we are from the line?" And that was whispered from one to the other until it got up to the guide. When it got to the guide he said, "About three miles." That was whispered back until it reached the man at the end of the line. When it got to him, he exploded, by saying, "Well, what in hell are whispering for?" That was relayed from one to another until it got to the man at the end of the line. When it reached the man at the head of the line, he said, "Who in hell is whispering? I am suffering from laryngitis."

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In this world of ours, we have too many folks who are suffering from laryngitis. There is too much imitation. We are enabled to keep progress with developments only as we think, only as we apply our own thought to the prob lems with which we are faced today.

The employer must develop teamwork and interest with employees so that they will offer constructive suggestions. Do you treat the boys or the girls that are working with you with all of the courtesy, with all of the consideration that is possible at all times? Do they look upon you as their friend, their backer?

The engineer must be a builder. The tragedy of life is the wasted talent; the talent that is stifled, because men and women of personality never get waked up so that they can use their talents. They go through life like walking machines, doing only what they are told to do by others. They remain slaves because they have never tapped the spring of original intelligent, creative work, never realized the power which is in every one of them.

Service, the watchword of business, must be the slogan of the engineer. Dr. Freeman, editor of the News-Leader, Richmond, Va., in a recent address said "We often mistake facilities for service. Facilities are mechanical means. Service is quite different. Service does not consist so much of facilities as of spiritual qualities. It is not what a man has in his plant, but it is the spirit

which he enthuses into that plant. Frequently we are so busy carrying on from our individual point of view that we fail to get the point of view of our neighbors and our own customers. In developing service, we need to consult not our own likes and conveniences, but the likes and conveniences of our customers. Service is that which satisfies."

What is service? I talked to a young woman who is a telephone operator over in southern Indiana and I said to her, "Miss Lewis, tell me, what is your idea of service?" And she came back by saying service consisted in doing the things you do not have to do, the things you are not paid for doing. And men, I submit that that is a splendid definition of the word service, that service consists in doing the things you do not have to do.

Service is the delivery of the commodity plus the sum total of every individual in the organization; that is, bringing together the best you have into the thing confronting you; taking advantage of every opportunity that comes to you to grow, to develop your powers, to help others to develop, so that your business will be just as big, under God, as you can make it.

The three greatest statements of all history are summed up in six words. The first was uttered by Socrates, the Greek philosopher, centuries ago when he said "Know Thyself." And men began to study themselves. But they made no particular progress until, many

GRAY-IRON CASTINGS OF EVERY DESCRIPTION MACHINE AND STRUCTURAL

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years later, Marcus Aurelius, the Roman governor, said "Control Thyself." That was the second great step, for what good does it do for man to know himself unless he can control himself? And still there was something cold, something missing in the picture, until Jesus Christ came into the world and said "Deny Thyself".

And that is the spirit which should be broadcast in the world today; the spirit of denial, of giving ourselves for others, of wanting to render to our fellow-man and to our age a service that will help. That must be the watchword of the engineer.

LORENZO B. VELLA

Lorenzo B. Vella died suddenly on the morning of October 4, 1924, of heart failure, following thirty-four years of faithful service in the employ of the City of St. Louis as a civil engineer. He had a large part in the operations connected with the design and construction of the city's viaducts. His knowledge of their history and details was astonishingly complete.

He had been a member of the Engineers' Club since 1903. Of an extremely retiring disposition, his participation

in club affairs was always unobtrusive, manifesting itself chiefly in a deep interest in the library, for which he prepared a complete index.

Vella served. The world is better for having known him.

Vote November 4

The Joint Council has approved Proposition 5, providing for an increase of taxes to speed up road work in Missouri, and Proposition 7, providing a method by which the city limits of St. Louis may be extended.

The Associated Engineering Societies is on record as opposing the construction of the northeastern approach to the St. Louis Municipal Bridge, which project would be aided by the defeat of Proposition 9.

Read this proposition carefully. It is a referendum vote on an ordinance authorizing and directing the City Counselor to dismiss a suit seeking the condemnation of land for the northeastern approach. If you are opposed to the construction of the approach and favor the dismissal of this suit, vote YES.

ROBERT W. HUNT CO., ENGINEERS

INSPECTION OF RAILWAY AND STRUCTURAL MATERIALS
CHEMICAL AND PHYSICAL TESTS

New York

Pittsburg

CHICAGO

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St. Louis Office and Laboratories, 1403 Syndicate Trust Bldg.

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Mr. Arthur Thacher, representing the St. Louis Section of the A.I.M.E., was elected vice-president of the Joint Council of the Associated Societies at a meeting on September 23, 1924, succeeding Mr. J. D. Robertson, resigned.

The Council voted to endorse the recommendation of the Public Affairs Committee approving the report of the Missouri Bar Association on crimes, criminal law and procedure. Mr. John Garrett was appointed to represent the engineers at meetings to be held by the Bar Association for discussion of the subject.

Mr. W. E. Bryan was elected to represent the Associated Societies on American Engineering Council for the coming year, with Mr. George E. Chamberlin as alternate.

After a review of the history and present status of the movement for reorganization of U. S. Government departments by Mr. Philip Moore, the Council voted to express its disapproval of not including river and harbor work in the proposed engineering organization. to be included in the Department of the Interior. A committee was named to draft a resolution to this effect, to be presented by Mr. Bryan to American Engineering Council.

It was decided to approve the propo sitions for increase of revenue for road construction in Missouri, and means for extending the city limits of St. Louis, to be voted on at the election on November 4.

The meeting discussed for the second time the proposed bill providing for the registration of architects in Missouri, prepared by the St. Louis Chapter of the American Institute of Architects. Action at a previous meeting consisted

in tentative approval of the bill, subject to review by the St. Louis Section of the A.S.C.E. The civil engineers returned the bill to the Council with the following statement:

"The profession of architecture is so closely interwoven with many branches of the engineering profession, that no bill should be considered that does not safeguard the interests of both professions. We are regretfully obliged to admit that the introduction of similar bills in other states has resulted in friction between the engineering and architectural professions. We do not anticipate such friction in Missouri. We believe, however, that the interests of both professions would be better conserved if there were included in the proposed bill a definite statement of the scope of architectural work, in order to insure that there shall be no encroachment on the activities of engineers."

It was decided by the Council to transmit the statement of the civil engineers to the architects with the information that, if the suggestions offered were complied with, the Associated Engineering Societies would offer no opposition to the proposed bill.

Applications for Membership
Engineers' Club

Member: JOHN E. DANIELSEN (age 42), Graduated from University of Riga with Honor as Mechanical Engineer. 1908. Now Gen'l Superintendent, Titanium Pigment Co., Inc.

Sponsors: Geo. E. Chamberlin, A. P. Greensfelder.

Junior Member: SAMUEL C. SACHS (age 22, B.S. Degree in Electrical Engineering from Washington University. Now Student Graduate Course, Union Electric Light and Power Co.

Sponsors: Chris. H. Kraft, C. C. Robinson.

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