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manufacturing establishments, and the personnel of important public commissions dealing with technical matters.

Without attempting to indicate or suggest in detail the proper status of the engineer in the various situations in industrial activity or to predict the outcome of the consideration which these problems are now receiving, it may be stated as an accomplished fact, not likely in general to be changed, that industry in every great and successful enterprise is carried out under the direction of one man having more or less absolute authority and held responsible more or less closely for results. He is the selector as well as the director of his aids and specialists, but is not a specialist himself, unless we may speak of him as a specialist in the exercise of administrative functions. In all such enterprises the highly skilled and special work must be done by specialists and they are, of course, essential to the success of the enterprise; but it is equally important that there should be men forming the skeleton of the scheme of organization who stand in the direct line of authority and responsibility and who in this relation are the subordinates of their superiors and the superiors of their subordinates. The proper exercise of the functions of these men calls for a knowledge and ability quite distinct from that of the specialists. In place of a highly specialized knowledge of all the subjects under their authority, which is impossible, they must possess a sufficiently full and accurate acquaintance with the subjects to enable them to properly correlate and direct the work of the specialists, and to do this successfully they must be able by their broad knowledge of the field to view the closely specialized work of

the various kinds under their direction in the proper perspective and must maintain the proper proportion and relations between them. In addition to this general and comprehensive knowledge, these men must also possess and exercise executive ability of a higher or lower order according to their nearness or remoteness from the head of the organization.

This last position is the true place for the engineer. A man who is much less than an engineer may make a successful specialist in a narrow field even though technical skill of a very high order in that field is essential. While it is largely a question of notation whether we consent to call this specialist also an engineer, or in general where we would draw the line in notation, there would appear some propriety in reserving the word engineer for the man in general who possesses the creative faculty; who by his familiarity with the horizon perceives the proper relation of the things with which he deals and is able to use them intelligibly in his creations; who can design and construct; who can originate and execute, and if need be can operate and administer as well.

REPORT OF COMMITTEE ON TECHNICAL BOOKS

FOR LIBRARIES.

BY CHARLES F. BURGESS, Chairman.

In 1901 a committee was appointed by the Society to prepare a list of scientific and technical books as an aid to librarians, and the work of that committee, which extended over a period of two years, was embodied in the report submitted at the meeting in 1903. This list of books was widely distributed as reprints furnished by the Society and also through the assistance of the McClurg Company of Chicago, who edited the list and gave it a wide circulation throughout the country, sending it not only to librarians, but to mechanical, electrical and mining engineers throughout the United States, Mexico, Central America, and other countries.* From a large amount of evidence, both direct and indirect, it appears that the work which was thus undertaken by our Society has been of value to the reading public and to technical men.

There has been a great and insistent demand for the revision of the book-list with the idea of enlarging its scope and bringing it up to date, and it is this work which your committee, appointed last year, has attempted to do. The list previously published comprised 385 titles, and the list which is here presented has been increased to 494. Some few books have been eliminated from the previous list, but the larger part of the changes have been in the nature of addition of new and important books.

*

The list as it now stands is capable of being very

The McClurg Co. has reprinted this report. 1907.

materially improved and by ways which are apparent to the members of your present committee. It is felt that a marked improvement might be effected by further attention to books of the more elementary kind, but to improve this part of the list would require a greater expenditure of time than it has been possible for the members of the committee to devote to it. It is an easier matter to evaluate the more advanced books relating to science and technology than it is the more elementary ones and it is, perhaps, for this reason that the percentage of books in the class "A" is somewhat smaller in the list now offered than it was in the one previously presented.

It is also suggested that should a committee be appointed at this meeting to continue this work, a material improvement in the list could be effected by adding a considerable number of books relating to manufactures, trades, and chemical technology.

It is believed, however, that should the list grow beyond 500 titles, it would become unwieldy. If we should adopt for our standard a list of 500 titles, it could be made of permanent value through a yearly process of substitution of the new books which may prove themselves better than those already on the list. The work of a standing committee whose duty it is to make such corrections ought not to be nearly so arduous as has been the work of the committees thus far. WM. H. KAVANAUGH,

A. H. FORD,

JAMES FISHER,

H. K. VEDDER,

J. H. HAWES,

C. F. BURGESS, Chairman,

Committee.

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EXPLANATORY SYMBOLS.

The publications in this list are designated by the letters A, B, C, and D, to indicate something of the nature of the books and the class of readers for which they are particularly suited. The classification is as follows:

A. Books of elementary nature containing no mathematics and written in the simplest form; for boys, amateurs, and others having no previous knowledge of the subject.

B. Books treating the subject from the popular standpoint and written in such a manner as to be of general interest.

C. Books treating of details of practical application of science and engineering; suitable for city officials or others interested in municipal affairs, manufacturers, mechanics, artisans, students in manual training, and as preparatory for more advanced work.

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