THE TUCK SCHOOL CONFERENCE ON SCIENTIFIC MANAGEMENT
On October 12, 13 and 14, the Amos Tuck School was host to more than three hundred guests, many of them from distant places, who had journeyed to Hanover to attend the Conference on Scientific Management. The occasion was notably successful and of more than ordinary significance not only because the Conference was the first of its kind to be devoted to a full discussion of the new philosphy of management, but because it demonstrated anew that Dartmouth College is potentially a powerful agent for pioneer service beyond the fields of traditional endeavor.
The program of the Conference was carried out by a distinguished group of experts who have been conspicuously the leaders in the movement for the application of academic methods in the administration of private enterprise and public affairs.
On Thursday evening, before a large audience in Webster Hall, Ex-Governor Quinby, as chairman, introduced President Nichols who opened the session with an address of welcome. Frederick W. Taylor of Philadelphia, Nestor of the group, laid the foundations for subsequent discussions in an address on "The Principles of Scientific Management."
The Friday morning session in Webster Hall—Chairman, Benjamin A. Kimball, Trustee of the College—was given over first to a paper on The Task and the Day's Work," by Henry L. Gantt, of New York, an associate of Mr. Taylor's, whose Bonus Plan of Wage Payment has contributed to an established reputation for notable achievement in industrial efficiency. Harrington Emerson, of New York, widely known for his broad experience and authoritative writings in the field of efficiency, followed with a discussion of "The Opportunity of Labor under a System of Scientific Management."
In the afternoon, under the chairmanship of Charles H. Jones, president of the Commonwealth Shoe and Leather Company, Henry P. Kendall, conspicuously successful as general manager of the Plimpton Press and officer of other concerns, read a masterly paper entitled "Types of Management: Unsystematized, Systematized, and Scientific. James M. Dodge, chairman of the board, The Link-Belt Company, who has been a staunch supporter of scientific management through the long period of its evolution, spoke authoritatively on "The Spirit in Which Scientific Management Should be Approached.
Following the gathering in Webster Hall,. the session broke up into groups which met in various buildings for informal discussions of the application of scientific management in specific industries, as follows: "Machine Manufacture," led by H. K. Hathaway, vice-president, Tabor Mfg. Co., Philadelphia, and by Carl G. Barth, consulting engineer; "Textile Manufacture," leader, Eugene Szepesi, textile engineer; "Shoe Manufacture," leaders, Charles H. Tones, Commonwealth Shoe and Leather Company, and Hollis Godfrey, consulting engineer; "Printing and Publishing," led by Edwin S. Browne, Efficiency Division, Curtis Publishing Co., and Morris Llewellyn Cooke, consulting engineer; "Pulp and Paper," led by Miner Chipman of The Emerson Company ; "Lumbering and the Management of Timber Properties," led by W. R. Brown, Berlin Mills Co. A discussion of "Academic Efficiency," was led by Dean Gay of the Harvard Graduate School of Business Administration, and Miss Laura D. Gill, president of the Association of Collegiate Alumnae.
These discussions naturally engaged the keen interest of the respective gatherings, and in every case the opportunity for serious inquiry and free exchange of ideas was seized upon with eagerness; indeed, in the case of two of these meetings, after a brief intermission for dinner, the discussions were continued till a late hour in the evening.
On Friday evening, in Webster Hall, Governor Bass introduced Doctor Frederick A. Cleveland, advisory director of the Bureaus of Municipal Research, New York and Philadelphia, chairman of President Taft's Commission of Efficiency and Economy. Dr. Cleveland held the close attention of the large audience with an address on "The Application of Business Methods to the Administration of Public Affairs." Questions having been invited, the speaker was called upon to discuss points raised by members of the audience. Governor Bass then introduced Hon. W. C. Redfield of New York, member of the Congressional Committee appointed to investigate scientific management. Congressman Redfield, speaking ex tempore, charmed the audience by his anecdotes of experiences as a municipal officer in New York City.
The final sessions on Saturday morning assumed the character of "experience meetings." Under the leadership of Morris Llewellyn Cooke, whose initiative and co-operation had contributed materially to the success of the Conference, a number of speakers cited specific problems in scientific management, to the solution of which each, in his experience, had applied methods of research common to scientific _ management. The meeting resolved itself into an open forum productive of highly instructive discussion. At the same hour, Benjamin F. Whelton '94, secretary of the Budget Exhibit Committee, Board of Estimate and Apportionment, New York City, led a symposium on "Business Methods in Municipal Administration."
One of the most gratifying features of the Conference was the large attendance representative, to a surprising degree, of a wide distribution, geographical and vocational. It is interesting to note that, while the Conference was projected primarily for the business men of New Hampshire and neighboring states, other states contributed a material share of the attendance. Massachusetts registered one hundred and twenty-four names. Fifty-four came from New Hampshire, exclusive of residents of Hanover. Vermont was represented by thirty-four persons. New York was next with twenty-five names. The list included registrations from Pennsylvania, Maine, Connecticut, Rhode Island, Illinois, Michigan, Delaware, Minnesota, New Jersey, District of Columbia, and Canada.
The registrations also show that thirty-one visitors represented the manufacture of machinery, twenty-seven the shoe and leather industry, twenty-three printing and publishing, twenty-one pulp, paper, and lumber concerns, twenty industrial engineers, sixteen mercantile houses, fourteen electrical concerns, eleven textile manufacturers, followed by groups of public accountants, educators, public officers, social workers, railroad officers, building constructors, and foresters.
Because of the wide interest in the Conference and the importance of the discussions, and in response to numerous applications, the Tuck School is preparing to publish a report of the proceedings.
Those who had planned the Conference and had labored for its success were rewarded by the full measure of co-operation accorded them. The problem of housing, such a number of visitors, at a time when the places where one may lay his head in Hanover are normally and painfully rare, might have proved embarrassing, had it not been for the students in New Hampshire and Massachusetts Halls, who vacated their rooms for the visitors. Members of the faculty and of the community also rendered material assistance by entertaining some of the guests. Perfect weather, moreover, enhanced the stately beauty of the College and its surroundings.
No one on the ground could fail to be impressed by the eagerness with which the visitors followed the proceedings of the conference; and seldom have guests of the College expressed themselves more frankly and warmly in terms of admiration for the College, for its work, and for its pervading spirit. If declarations of appreciation of the hospitality of the College may be accepted as indicative of the impressions carried away by the Conference visitors, it may be safely assumed that, through the Tuck School's undertaking, Dartmouth has enlisted new friends and has gained the hearty good-will of a new constituency.
William Rensselaer Gray '04, Secretary of the Tuck School
