Evening star., 1914-11-20
Speakers at Engineers So
ciety Banquet Optimistic of
the Country's Prospects.
SEE ERA OF OPPORTUNITY
FOR TRADE STIMULATION
Secretary Redfield Assures Hearers
Financial Future Is Secure.
Themes Discussed by Others.

| Unprecedented prosperity for the
United States and large opportunity
for the American engineers as a conse-
Iquence of the war crisis were predicted
| in speeches at the ninth annual ban
iquet of the Washington Society of En-
gineers, at Rauschers. last evening.
| Secretary of Commerce Redfield
brought assurance that "the financial
future of the country is secure" and
that the United States, with the old
infiexible financial system forever dis
carded." Is entering upon an era of
trade stimulation with the commerce
of the world to be had, and when
proper credit can be secured by any
sound commercial enterprise.
Winthrop NJ. Daniels. interstate COM
merce commissioner. told of the prog
ress of the engineering profession. 1t
has, he said, been forced little by little
to take account of other laws and
physical science" until today lit has
been brought to embrace within it's
horizon the age-long problem of the
Sphinx-the ascertainment and the
quantitative appraisal of matters re-
lating to justice and equity between
man and man..
Public Service Movement.
DR.. Henry sturgis Drinker, president
of Lehigh University, discussed the
public service movement in univer-
stiles and colleges. He spoke with
authority, as president of the Amer
lean Forestry Association of the Stu
dents Reserve Corps of the United
States and as chairman of the COM
mittee on cooperation of the univer-
sites, colleges and educational insti-
tutions of the United States in the
celebration of the centenary of peace
between English-speaking nations.
DIR. Bailey Willis, consulting geo.
logist of the Argentine government,
gave specific and detailed survey of
the vast opportunities for American
engineers in South America, and gave
the encouraging assurance that they
are best fitted to do this work.
Marshall o. leighton. consulting en-
postponed for long time advance in
lines Of engineering. and though the
engineering profession today contains
a larger percentage of idle men than
any other profession, this Is the time
when 1t Is the duty of the engineers
to bear themselves with a spirit of
optimism.
William Bowie, president of the So
ciety, was toastmaster, and as he in
troduced each speaker gave word
snapshot of the various phases of prog
ress in which the engineering profess
sion is vitally concerned, explaining
how the speakers from personal lead
ership in these phases were fitted to
speak encouragingly to the members
of the society.
More than 500 engineers and their
friends, including those who have par
tfcipated In or actively directed the
greatest engineering feats of the last
century, attended the banquet. Among
the guests were all the former presi-
dents Of the society except the late
Charles W. Rae and Bernard r. Green.
Those present were David S. CARL, J.
H. Hanna, f. II. Newell and Frank
Sutton.
The decorations of the dining hall
were. unusually beautiful Draped all
about the hall were large American
flags. with instruments peculiar to the
engineering profession. giving familiar
shop" tone to the decorations. Pro-
fuse quantities of chrysanthemums and
roses were artistically arranged on all
the tables.