The San Francisco call. [volume] (San Francisco [Calif.]) 1895-1913, 1895-10-06
SCIENCE IN RELAXATION,
Members of the Technical Society of
the Pacific Compare Notes Over
the Dinner Table.

In place of their regular monthly meet
ing the members of the Technical Society
of the Pacific sat down to an informal
dinner last night at the Maison Richie
Among the invited guests were Professor
Davidson and Professor Kellogg of Berke-
ley. President Jordan OF Stanford Uni
yersity was prevented by a prior engage
ment from attending. About fifty men,
bers and invited guests took their places at
the board.
President George w. Dickie made the
opening remarks. He called attention to
the lack of recognition that society gives
to the value of technical work. While the
intellectual act of computing the orbit of
planet is OF the same order as that of
computing the orbit of centrifugal pump,
the astronomers work is looked upon as
OF superior worth to that of the mechan-
zeal engineer.
But how would the astronomer feel if he
had the planet left on his hands by reason of
his miscalculation? For some reason APP
piled science is regarded as of lower de-
gree than pure science. The solution Of
practical problems IN physics brings less
honor than the solution of the problems
in the higher mathematics. This seems
to be the status. What is the cause of il :?
President Kellogg responded in a happy
vein. He did not entirely agree with Mr..
Dickie that the efforts of the engineer were
not appreciated. For his part he felt the
greatest admiration for his achievements.
But he thought, perhaps, if the case was
as stated, that part of the cause might be
in the carelessness of engineers themselves
in presenting their claims for recognition.
The scientific education should be supple
mented by a classical training that would
enable the engineer to expound his views
in pleasing ways.
Professor Davidson declared that he knew
only two or three men who were followers
of pure science. Simon Newcomb laid his
claim TO the great respect of his fellows on
the fact that he edited and published a
nautical almanac-technical work. Science
is nothing more than common-sense made
definite, exact and comprehensive.
Professor Marks of Stanford University
had noted the indifference to the real
value of technical work mentioned by Mr..
Dickie, and said that it must be due to one
or both OF two causes: something in the
engineer himself or inability to appreciate
technical effort in the public. In England
Germany and France it seemed to be diff
ferent. But in England, Germany and
France the average education of the
masses is perhaps higher than in America
Vice-President w. G. Curtis followed
with an exposition of the Pacific Coast as
field for the engineer, pausng to present
oOlIe I'd I'd dS w GAc I6ldJlHe productive
ness of California, which, with only per
cent of the population of the United States,
yields products enormously out of proper
ton TO the population. While nature has
left US deficient in fuel the thousands of
waterfalls on our mountain sides can, by
the aid of the electrical engineer, supply
an abundance OF power.
John Rich related some experiences of
his thirty years of engineering, and pre-
dicted great future for engineering of all
kinds.
Mr.. Percy, representing the architectural
contingent, also spoke in praise of the en-
gineer's work. The last hundred years has
seen greater advances in engineering work
of all kinds than any thousand years prior
to it.
Other speakers touched upon the various
points suggested, and the meeting ad-
Journed with a vote of thanks to the com
mittee of arrangements.