The Roanoke times. [volume] (Roanoke, Va.) 1890-1895, 1892-07-05
THE ENGINEERS IN SESSION.
They Hold Their Summer Meet.
ing at Richmond.
The Attendance Very Good and Roanoke
Well Kepresentcd-Thc..A Association
VIII be In Session Two Days-Papers
Read at the Meeting Yesterday. Among
Them Being an Able One by Herman
Cruoger, of Roanoke.

RICHMOND July 4.-lSpcciall-Th
summer meeting of the Engineers AS
ISOLATION of Virginia was held here to-
day and will be continued to morrow.
A large number of engineers from all
parts of the State are in the city and
Roanoke is we'll represented.
= The principal business to-day was the
reading of papers, one Of the most i'm
portant of which was the following.
read by Herman Crueger, OF Roanoke:
GENTLEMEN: The subject matter OF
the paper which desire to present to
you is such as Is almost too great for
me to handle. / conceived tho idea of
establishing national railroad school
| some time ago and have given the mat
ter considerable attention, but / am
almost afraid that my limited knowl.
| edge OF what may be desired for
q college such as l would like to SEQ
established, would not allow mo to pre-
sent this matter to you in the proper
light, yet the Importance Of such an ed
ucational establishment gives mo the
| courage to at least endeavor to outline
| my ideas.
On June 10, 1878, the Hon. Henry w.
Blair made speech before Congress n
which he advocated "the National Poly.
technic School, AMI that such school
should be established in the CITY of
Washington, the seat of the Govern
| ment.
From this speech I quote 1--WE are
said to be the only highly civilized
country which has no national poly-
technic school; and I see no way in
which the nature of these institutions
can be made familiar to the people of
the whole country except by the es-
tablishment of one in the very eve of
the nation, which shall call from every
State some of her choicest youths to
receive this training. which cannot be
brought to our people from abroad, yet
which is Indispensable to higher in
dustrial civilization. Every graduate
OF such an institution would become q
missionary of the industries, etc."
Now, what the Hon. Henry Blair
stated In tho sentence just above quoted
would also be true in regard 10 school
to be established for the education of
our young men to fit themselves for
railroad business. Such n school, If
established. would, to the best of nv
knowledge and belief, be the first one
established in the :worid; graduates of
such a school would become missionaries
of the science of railroading in the true
sense of the word Not only would this
country be only too glad to give employ.
ment to graduates of such school but
from all countries Of the world, ven.
ture to say. young men would be sent
here to take advantage of the teachings
OF such school. We have N this
country about eight hundred railroad
com panieS with as many presidents,
vice-presidt hts and host OF general
managers, Chief engineers, superinten-
dents. auditors, secretaries. etc, posit-
ions with which you are all familiar.
Where else in the world could there be
found better field than in the United
States to educate the sons of these thou
sands of officials to follow in the foot
steps Of their fathers? Such countries
as France, Russia, Italy and particu-
larly Germany educate the flower of
their youths to enter the army and
government service, and only the most
intellectual and physically Strong are
chosen for these positions. In the
| United States civil service reform has
not yet taken hold upon the people and
in consequence thereof the Constant
changes in political positions makes the
service anything but a satisfactory ono
to the people. In the United States the
railroads are the largest facto towards
| the material wealth of the nation and
as such the affairs of such 4 gigantic
army OF men producing the result
should be ofiicered by mon chosen for
this purpose from the brigetest and
abless of our young men.
We have hundreds of educational
osta ollshments, yet when Il graduate of
one OF these establishments enters the
service of railroad company his know
ledge of what he has to do is extremely
limited. and the knowledge which he
gains IN after years he only gains at
the cost Of his employers, the railroad
company.
There are very few railroads in this
country which have not in their book OF
rules, That every employee is in the
line OF promotion" but, alas, it is the
old, olo story that kissing goes by favors
and frequently positions of high trust.
and requiring exceptional ability. are
filled by relations of the higher officers
or OF large stock holders of railroad
This should, in my opinion, not bo So
as 1T works entirely too much against
the esprit de corps of any company and
particularly of railroad company which
can very we'll be compared with mell.
trained and ofiicered army.
O Young men, who have faithfully per-
formed their duties for years and
/ through their efforts in their humble
way have advanced the material inter.
est of the company by which they are
employed, are all at once commanded TO
report to some numb.skull who happens
to have been appointed by his father
the president OF road. or his uncle,
large shareholder, to a higher position
without regard to his fitness for tho
same.
The natural consequence is that
young man loses the heart which he has
in his profession land no one will doubt