EIGHTH ANNUAL MEETING OF THE THAYER SOCIETY OF ENGINEERS OF DARTMOUTH COLLEGE

This was held at the rooms of the Dartmouth Club, 12 West 44th St., New York city, on the evening of January 16, 1912. A general reception was held between the hours of 6.30 and 7.30 P. M., followed by an informal dinner, which was attended by fifty-five members and guests of the Society; of the fifty-five who sat at the table, fifty-three were Dartmouth men, the largest meeting in the history of the Society. The College was represented by Prof. Robert Fletcher, director of the Thayer School, and Prof. John Vose Hazen. The Society had as a special guest, Mr. Robert Brewster Stanton, Mem. Am. Soc. C. E.

At the conclusion of the dinner, President Melendy, Dartmouth College '85, who also acted as toastmaster, with some witticisms called the meeting to order. The secretary, Mr. Geo. C. Stoddard, read letters and telegrams of regret from Mr. J. J. Hopper, the first president of the Society; Mr. Thomas P. Kingsley; Prof. C. A. Holden, of Dartmouth College; Mr. H. H. Sears, of Sacremento, Cal.; Mr. J. P. Snow, of Boston, Mass., and Ernest Fox Nichols, president of Dartmouth College. A summary of the secretary's report is as follows;

The executive committee has held six meetings during the year. It sent out a circular, under date of July 20, 1911, through the treasurer, to all members of the Society, and a supplemental letter by the secretary to the alumni of the C. S. D. These letters met with a most hearty response. The Society has had a healthy growth during the past year, twenty-three names having been added to the membership, so that at the present time the Society numbers five honorary members and about two hundred and twenty-five active members. No good reason can be given why the Society should not have at least four hundred active members, and the secretary earnestly requests that each member try and bring one new member into the Society. During the past year the Society has lost two of its members by death: Mr. Robert H. Pearson, D. C. '07, who died January 4, 1911, and Mr. Richard Hazen, T. S. '09, who died August 13', 1911.

President Melendy then called upon Professor Fletcher, who brought a greeting from President Emeritus William J. Tucker. Professor Fletcher described in detail the architecture and construction of the Thayer School's new home, showing how the plans had been realized, giving all that they had hoped for; alluded to the keen rivalry between two Dartmouth men for the steel work of the building, as shown by the bids of the Boston Bridge Works, and the American Bridge Co., and the satisfaction at having obtained a bottom price. He paid a grateful tribute to Mr. Allen Hazen for his gift of $500 to help equip the new building, given as a memorial to his brother, Richard Hazen, deceased. Professor Fletcher said that it was the aim of the Thayer School to lay a firm and solid foundation of engineering fundamentals, so that its graduates could in after life build upon it their structure of specialization or of general engineering. In closing Professor Fletcher expressed his appreciation for the interest shown by all the members of the Society, and was given a unanimous vote of thanks.

President Melendy then called upon Professor Hazen, who spoke of the work accomplished during the past year, and compared the college of the present day with that of the '70's; he said that the general trend of the college was to make the student study more and devote less time to. the attractions and distractions of college life in Hanover.

The President then called upon Mr. Robert B. Stanton, Mem. Am. Soc. C. E., who talked very entertainingly and instructively of his experience as an engineer. The text of Mr. Stanton's remarks was the all-round engineer, in preference to the specialized engineer, not that the specialist did not have his place, but it was as advisory to the chief engineer. Mr. Stanton spoke of his experiences in Cuba, in connection with the iron mines; in the Canadian Northwest, for the Canadian Pacific Railway, on the Thomson River landslides; of his expedition down the canyon of the Colorado River on a railroad survey for the Harriman lines; and of his trip to the island of Java, and of the integrity and honesty of the native people. A vote of thanks was given to Mr. Stanton for his entertaining talk.

Prof. A. W. French of the Worcester Polytechnic Institute made brief remarks regarding athletics in connection with a college course, and said that the success of the Thayer School of Civil Engineering was due in a large measure to the personality of its professors.

Prof. John P. Brooks, director of the Clarkson Institute of Technology, Potsdam, N. Y., spoke of his course at Dartmouth, and of the steady advance in educational work along all lines; also that the engineers of today are more in demand than ever before, and congratulated the director of the Thayer School in always keeping the standard of the school at the top.

Prof. F. B. Sanborn of Tufts College impressed upon the minds of those present that no school is kept so well abreast of the times as the Thayer School, which was due to the efforts of its director, Professor Fletcher, and the professors working with him.

Mr. E. J. Morrison spoke of his experiences while a student of the Thayer School, and the strenuous times he had in keeping even at a "looking" distance of his degree.

Mr. Otis E. Hovey, an overseer of the Thayer School, made remarks on the new quarters of the school, saying that the new building was large enough to accommodate an increase of students, up to 100 percent, he also stated that he got his pencil a little too sharp, and that Professor Fletcher got a bottom price all right.

The tellers then reported the canvass of the ballots as follows: For five members of the executive committee, to serve until the next annual election: Mr. Geo. C. Stoddard '81, Mr. Wm. C. Phelps '95, Mr. A. C. Tozzer '03, Mr. F. H. Munkelt '09, and Mr. Charles H. Nichols '88; and for three members of the advisory board to serve for two years: Mr. W H. Pratt '74, Mr. M. F. Brown '98, and Mr. F. H. Trow '95.

The newly elected executive committee announced the following officers for the ensuins: year:

President, Charles H. Nichols '88; treasurer, William C. Phelps '95; secretary, George C. Stoddard '81.