The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1898-02-13
SCIENCE In THE WORKSHOP
GERrlNr,s TECHNIcAI SCHOOLS
AND THEM YORK.

tao Practical Rasenfisa Given ore % the
Causos 81 Gernany-s Industrial Preserves
nstsvest ef vgiIiiau NJ. n applied seiesce-
Usiversities stichtuE - Ola Ustheds
BERLIN. Jan. 25.-The position which the
German workshop has attained among its H.
walls and the wonderful strides Germany has
made in recent years to gain such q position
have naturally aroused curiosity as TO the cause
that has produced so striking an, effect. In
these days every industrial enterprise must be
worked on thoroughly scientific lines in order
TO insure even a chance Of success, and natu-
rally the first quarter to which one turns for an
explanation II tho educational system which
supplies the necessary scientific knowledge.
Germany being n country OF universities and
university students, there has naturally been
an impression that tho credit is due to them.
It has been supposed that their c~urricula have
been overhauled and brought up TO date, 90 as
to give the German student n practical knowl.
edge Of applied science in all its branches.
This, however, IL not the case. Prot. Fried
rich Paulsen Of Berlin University, a recognized
authority on education, declares that the curri-
culum Of every university remains practically
unchanged. Government officials. Judges, sur
geons, cierEymen. &C., are the general output Of
the universities, and the savant is still their
highest form Of product. 1t Is to the tech
meal high school that we must look to find the
source Of the Germans knowledge Of applied
science in all its various branches. Technical
education has been the cry in England for some
years, but the result has been practically moth
ing. To all intents and purposes a few domes-
tic accomplishments for girls and a little easy
chemistry and q carpenters workshop for boys
mark the extent Of practical technical educa-
tion In England. But In Germany they have
elaborated a really valuable system.
Altogether there are nine technical schools
in Germany. the largest being at Charlotten-
burg on the outskirts Of Berlin. The others are
situated ct Munich. Stuttgart, Hanover. Dres-
den, Brunswick. Aix-la ChapelIe, Darmstadt,
and Carlsruha. The Emperor desires to estab-
lish q new school at Dantzig. As q rule the
schools are divided into six departments. At
Berlin tCharlottenburg) these departments are:
1. architecture; Q, general constructing engi-
neerinR; 8, machine construction; 1. naval en-
gineeriug; 5, chemistry and mining engineer
ing. and, 8, applied science in general. In the
other technical schools the departments are
generally the same, but in certain schools spe-
cial attention is devoted to some one subject
taught in certain department. Thus the
Munich Polytechnicum has an agricultural
branch. and AiS-la-Chapelle gives prominence to
mining engineering. Electro-technics are
taught in all the schools in the machine con-
s%truction department, il being considered that
every constructing engineer to-day should be
thoroughly familiar with electrical machines.
Prof. Adolf Slaby of the technical high
school at Chariottenburg is one Of Germany's
most eminent authorities on electro-tcchnics.
He agrees with Prof. Paulsen that the UNIVERSE
ties have had no direct share in the application
Of science to industry. Prof. Slaby thus ex-
presses his views:
Practical teaching is abhorred by the pro-
fessors at most of our universities. I recolIect
attending a lecture by Helmholtz where I ex-
pected him to give some explanation of the dy-
namo. After making some theoretical observa-
lions. he merely said: Acting on these principles
people have constructed some very ingenious
machines called dynamos, for engineering pur-
poses That was all Helmholtz would deign
to say about the dynamo. The professors Of to-
day are just the same in this respect. Their
teaching is purely scientific. philosophical.
pathological and historical and has not varied
for three centuries. OF course the greatest dis
c~overies in physics have been made in the uni
versity laboratories, but the application Of these
discoveries has been neglected by the universe
ties. Pure science Is their aim. and we who, with
out concerning ourselves with studying the phe-
nomena of nature. devote our whole efforts to
giving our pupils the means of turning science
to practical account are despised by the uni
versity scientists. There are, of course. a few
exceptions. Thus, for instance. Prof. Klein of
uOttiu&ch SHlNtEsltS Il dBlLatluR v u ulOrt
practical trend in university teaching. The
only practical teaching given in the UNIVERSE
ties is in chemistry. which began with Liebig.
To-day the students of dentistry are divided
between the universities and the technical high
schools. The former merely instruct in analy-
sis, whereas we form chemists who have a prac-
e OF The K epoeb rsou Gr T tSSt Chemists lh stt% aehshf te
Industrial CONCERNS shall be familiar with
dauRaaa fnP which y p UnVv afrivipu xva aha II
the universities by the prospect of a diploma.
peror. from whom we hope stil more in the fu-
ture. He attaches far greater Importance to
sometimes have the honor OF showing him ex-
" interested in those having a practical appli-
cation. Nobody i have ever met who had not
received a techHicai education l. more apt than
tions. He reads technical papers, including the
American ones, and when he notices anything
gation to be made as to It's value, and studies
the report himself. His great love of the sea
machinery. What he is most. proud Of in his
yacht Hohenzollern is the splendid machines
men 10 work in greater comfort than is usual
on board ship. Whenever the Emperor visits a
i xsspse ne the soe @a SIMa INTO HIS Hhs s snelHis ISe% of a the
benefits Of technical education causes him to
lake an interest In everything that tends to
$3.50
reign we are making gigantic strides, while
other nations stand still, In England the Gov
eminent does almost nothing for applied science.
In France the technical Instruction was for
merly excellent, but has now, become too, thee.
retical. Every French engineer turned out
from the national schools to-day is q very good
mathematician. but, his practical education Is
not sufficiently modern. Germany, now leads,
and we shall make every effort to keep her in
the first rank.
The Chariottenburg Technical School. which
celebrates its centenary In 1899, furnishes q
good example OF the progress made In recent
years. Ten years ago we had only 800 pupils.
This session more than 5000 young men are
studying here. more than a third OF whom are
department. This increase is due not only to
the 1eTselopusent Of our towns as Centres III Of
activity: All our MUNICIPALITIES employ first,
the municipal service. In Berlin alone several
hundred highly qualified engineers are en-
abroad. chiefly to England and America. Many
foreigners come to study in German technical
and 400. They come chiefly from America.