The St. Louis Republic. [volume] (St. Louis, Mo.) 1888-1919, 1903-06-06
Louis de Brouckere, Phi. D., Re
signs Chair in Brussels Univcr-
sity to Become Third-C Class
Apprentice - Duties Com
pei him to run errands
for Uneducated
WOrkmen.
REPUBLIC SPECIAL

fEPtBlIlC SPECIAL
Philadelphia, June 5.-No less energetic
and no less greasy and grimy than his
fellows in the great Baldwin Locomotive
Works at Broad and Hamilton streets, per-
forming TO the best of his ability the hum
BILE duties Of a thrd-class apprentice. carry
ing bolts and rivets and running other petty
errands for men who are almost devoid Of
book learning labors six days In the week.
from in the morning till nightfall Pro-
fessor Louis de Brouckere. who was until
month ago occupying the chair of
physics and higher mathematics in the
University Of Brussels. and a member OF
both the tot and county boards of Brus-
sells, the loca legislative bodies.
For this ami tious young mamie is only
30-who has tn right to inscribe Phi. d.
after his name and Is the only son and heir
OF wealthy WOODEN mill owner in Roulers
and the nephew of former Lord Mayor Of
Brussels. chose to resign his high positions
civic and educational to put aside the social
life of the Belgian capital, in which he was
leader. to don the grimy overalls of an
apprentice in the hot sheds Of the engine
works. for the sake of learning mechanical
engineering in the practical school.
Doctor de Brouckere Is man of striking
appearance. He is more than feet inches
in height. with broad square shoulders and
long. muscular arms and legs. He mas a
wealth of long waving brown hair. which
he brushes back in a rolling pompadour
after the fashion so popular among the
literary and artistic men OF Europe. He
wears a full beard and long. military mus
tache. His earnest, blue eyes beam kindly
at the visitor through black-rimmed
glasses In manner he is gentle and courtly.
but there are perseverance and determine
ton to succeed In his every look and move
ment.
PROFESSOR AT WORK.
Seen at his work in the midst of the noise
and dust of the huge manufactory, where
14000 men are employed, turning out from
five to seven completed locomotives on every
working day in the year. his towering form
covered with overalls that had once been
blue and his scholarly head covered by a
little mechanics cap. his face and hands
first glance to tell whether he was of the
Caucasian race another.
There is one thing" he said in fault
less English. that ! am most anxious to
have corrected 1t Ia the impression that
seems to have been spread abroad that 1
try: that come on a secret mission to OBJ
tain information which will be useful to
Belgium. That is al! wrong and absurd
on the face Of 1t.
II come here purely and simply to learn
mechanical engineering in the hard school
of actual experience. whi.a is the only sue
cessful college of mechanics in the world.
/ have decided to give up pedagogy. and I
put 1t behind me forever when few weeks
ago ! resigned my chair in the faculty Of
the University of Brussels.
Desiring to become mechanical en-
gineer. I felt that 1t was absolutely neces-
sary to work as a mechanics apprentice
for two years, and believed that America
was the country of mechanics par excel
lence. Then. too, your free institutions ap-