orator, succeeded, by some fit expression, by some winged word, to
engage the attention of the world concerning some subject he had at
heart, the highest praise his fellow man could bestow was to cry out
to him, "Well said, well said!" But now, when, by our achievements,
commerce and industry are increased to gigantic proportions, when the
remotest peoples are brought in ever closer communication with us, when
the progress of the human race has become a mighty torrent, rushing
onward with ever accelerating speed, we glory in the yet higher praise,
"Well done, well done!" Under these circumstances, the question how a
young man is best fitted for our profession has become one of increasing
importance, and three methods have been proposed for its solution.
Formerly the only point in debate was whether the candidate should go
first to the schools and then to the workshop, or first to the shop and
then to the schools. It was difficult to arrive at any decision; for of
the many who had risen to eminence as engineers, some had adopted
one order and some the other. There remained a third course, that of
combining the school and the shop and of pursuing simultaneously the
study of theory and the exercise of practical manipulation. Unforeseen
difficulties arose, however, in the attempt to carry out this, the most
promising method. The maintenance of the shop proved a heavy expense,
which it was found could not be lessened by the manufacture of salable
articles, because the work of students could not compete with that of
expert mechanics. It would require more time than could be allotted,
moreover, to convert students into skilled workmen. Various
modifications of this combination of theory and practice, including more
or less of the Russian system of instruction in shop-work, have been
tried in different schools of engineering, but never under so favorable
conditions as the present. With characteristic caution and good
judgment, President Morton has studied the operation of the scheme
of instruction adopted in the Stevens Institute, and, noting its