New-York tribune., 1905-11-26
CHAIR OF ELECTRICITY.
-.dded to Faculty Equipment of
uo~cester POLYTECHNIC Institute.

,.sr Mass. Nos. q tSpecis1).-hVery yen
- adds q new chair to the Iaculty cNets %
. .snratonal institutions Oh 'no ~ -, 20
the :, these is the chair Of electrical railway
ncFes' y ,.b,c,, has recently been established by
polytechnic Institute, one of the IN
ihs - ,o which Stephen Salisbury, worcester
sa'u-e h.nefactor left part OF his fortune II ls
gle1A' gla that New England institution shoua
no as, 10 take Up this branch wnicn Is OF suen
he uI .-s.stne Importance for In no part OF the
rsPaaS 'e 81 - sevalopment of electrical traction
ooehas - +ean In Massachusetts, and Connecu-
been 80 mower electrical roads run in every
oui - rom everA trading centre. and looai
eIs - the steam roads ha. fallen on 10
- sb,s degree More than that, 1t seems HAeiy
naIAap- ns,- England steam roads viii be among
tnsi - - change their motive power to electricity
as .. .hs engineering student has constantly oeio.e
ana 'i'' - exnandtng field in which 10 apply his
him an ever eA'0H1
abilities -...u .. 1.-o-cester went
10 =. =, west where there has been an eQuaiiy
AD D.srsul development of electric tracuon. neg
- 4 S Richey, who was then chieL e4isli..e-
sess.9J I.5,sns Union Traction Company operating
Of me :, ,ntsr,,rban lines north and east OF
4a o,s H. He is a graduate of Purdue CniVer-
lD''-- ,bo class Of 'g4 and has had eleven years
$40 W, " .f;-os6 experience. They made him as
pc. ,rofessor Of electrical railway engineering.
ssaH' -. -. which was offered the estaDllsn-
- =, this new chair sprang into instant popu.
and a large psICSAld-S "a N-'S
- 4..i+,7te signifed their intention OF pecoin-Hs
INC - -silv-av engineers. The course inoiuoes
- undergraduate work In this paIucuiaI
= ,.l+v So can be safely given without oVerDdI-
.,g the course. Seniors are expected ~ WIN
=. +b.r graduating theses along the line Oh eiec-
.,.sI railway work. Arrangements nave peeh
i,b several of the high power electrical trac-
hH'' ares mining lines out of Worcester for
- ,5.nts IN make practical experiments on their
.t,,.e srd rolling stock.
laboratory Is now being fitted up for the new
r-s. The most complete electric railway equip
,rt vrIu be Installed there and all manner OF e&-
,-ir,snts carried out. The students VIII learn
r,v detail of the electric railway business from
oo7struction to operation. Post graduate courses
=. nrovided for those who show special adapta-
bIHty ,. =.
THE high power and speed developments ol
electrical railways in the West are one Of the rae
,ors that brought about the establishment OF tnls
new chair said one of the officers of the institute
IN New-England the density OF population mas
Ah, ,s face to face with vast electrical de-
ye,opment President Mellen Of the NeW-Hork'
NewHaveu and Hartford Railroad recently told
rs that in ten years the steam locomotive Woulo
he in the scrap heap. This electrical development
Is certainly coming. although 1t may be longer than
Ten wears The New-York Central and the Penn
sylyana lines are taking definite steps TO use cleo
,rieity in their terminals. They have extensive
capital invested in existing rolling stock, put as
as this depreciateS they VIII renew Win eloC-
;rieai equipment The long distance high speed,
alternating current motor is rapidly belng oevel-
trained in electrical railway work is two or three
times greater than in any other engineering
ing IN the work with great interest"
Many Of the students put in last summer IN the the
Nsd running imaginary electric railway lines across
NeS-Fnglg1d They established a summer camp
in which they operated their own mess at sTn91 i
a curiousy shaped little building Of stone in one
,grDer Of the campus-the high potential labora-
fury foTy is surrounded by a network
Of wires on iron poles and contains ooV'VVV-'oi'
The worcester Polytechnic Institute was found
ed n 1856 by gift Of $780, 600 from John Boyn5oni
gets 500, ,0Oe Gifts from citizens Of Worcester
and assistance from the State made possible the
which now house the institution The campus of
twelve acres is admirably located in the northwest
EN- part of the city and oyerooks much OF the city
There are four hundred students
The professors at the Worcester Polytechnic aIter
gathering accurate data from q great number OF
alumni as TO their income after leaving college,
clusireiy the value of a year Of postgraduate
work The department Of elsctTical engineering
vas taken as basis of Investigation which covers
The first eight years out OF college.
Il develops that the average graduate who re-
the institute rapidly increases in value so that at
the end OF eight years he may expect TO receive
tional year at graduate study he begins at about
he same figure $500 but at the end ot eight years
gives him an income on an investment OF go oS y;
hs college training he has after a few years and
for the remainder of his life increased his income
earning value by net less than $4,000
This bears out the results OF the nvestigat1on or
the United States Bureau OF Education, which was
made public in a recent report. The bureau de
Gded that 8 boy with a common school education
had one chance in 900 OF general recognition as
successful man in some department Of human en-
deavor and usefulness a high school education
increases his chances Of success tWenty-tw tines
college education increases these chances 200
tines
President Dodge Of the American Society Of Ne Me,
ehanical Engineers has also been investigating the
matter Of income. From carefully prepared aver
ages he finds that in engineering work the aver
age unskiled at twenty-five years has reached
his maximum earning capacity of $50 year, which
capitalized at per cent, gives him potential
value Of about $4,000 The shop trained man
reaches his maximum Of S79G year at twenty-four
Of age while the curve of income of the
technical school graduate OF ten years standing is
stu rising at thirty-two years Of age, when he
receives 50 80