Richmond times-dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1914-current, 1917-02-05
FRANCE FEELS NEED
OF MORE ENGINEERS
Has Few Able to Give Practical An
piication to Their
Discoveries.
AMERICAN PLAN is FAVORED
Professor Houicvigue, OF the Fucul-
~ OF Sciences, Points TO Progress
Made i'm United States During the
Last Fifty Years.

-.
i'ARlS. February 4.--Far-si;,hted OH
tho man OF tho future in France. II j..
NOT mere superstition based upon the
eventual reconstruction. but seems
rather 10 bc a deduction from tho new
spirit Of tho Frcnch.nan I'm tho words
Of = professor OF the central poly;cch.
mic school. France trained It's sta.
dents before tho war as il they should
al! enter the institute and X IS gen
orally recognized as a fac, that I'm
bon hour Of need. France felt the lack
among her scientists Of men able 10
eve practical application 20 their dis.
Urvcrios.
FRANC" has had great engineers
few OF th"in-at all cpochs French
engineers pierced tn" ISthmu. OF SurZ
drcdscd tho South American ports,
"u!'t TIC Scaports OF the LcNant start
cd the Panama Canal. gave the first
inn"tus 10 the automobile industry and
aviation: yet in its Industrial enter
priSc9 before the war France employed
an average OF only one engineer for
every l"h "o-l>ncn. where ,;crman-
"mp'oyed four. II il TO this situation
that many attribute the fact that
France WAS losing its lead in the auto
mobile Industry and already had been
passed in aviation by Germany when
tho war broke out.
III" engineers OF France came from
I'll" central Polytechnic School Of Arts
and Trades. The School OF Mines and
the School OF Electricity, In all Of
which. professors complain mathe-
MATES. which play the principal role
were taught for their own sake. rather
than as means to An end The elite
of every generation IN France for
century has thus. according 10 an
"thor professor. been led toward the
IdcaI "f mathcmatic distractions and
has developed race OF scientists
saNarts. and burcaucrais
FA>oRS ADOPTION or
AMERICAN SYSTEM
NJ Appel. dean OF tho faculty Of sci
""'"t aud an advocate Of a thorough
reformation Of tho educational system.
j. ~ favor OF the adoption OF tho
American plan Of Judging technical stu
dents q, york In tho school Itself
rather than by competitive cxamina-
ton Senator Gay proposes 70 COM
nte'c each az the French universities
with faculty Of applied sciences
comprising instruction in all branches
that correspond 10 the industries OF
tho region in which the university ~
located French has already mum
Dor Of these regional technical schools
which require only slight tranSforina-
tons in order 20 conform themselves
10 the proposed plan.
~ Nancy there arc the chemical
electrical and colonial Institutes. with
u brewing school and Il dairy school
Lille had. before the German ocCt!-
patton. Az industrial chemical institute
Ni -" Lyons had q school of tanning
chemistry aud an sgriculrural insii-
tut". ~ Grcnoblc there is ar cleo
trical institute and q buiter-rNaliinE
school. while Toulouse had ar "icc
trical md chemical institute. These
Institutions. in the opinion OF expert
crccd educators. lack c"neston and
completeness Senator Gay proposes
- Civ" them Official stats 20 enable
u more thorough organization.
II was in Amcric. that old Albion
learned 20 reform it's methods" said
NJ I!oulevigue, professor OF tile fac
ulty OF sciences at Marscilles 1T Is
1" America, also. that VIC must go for
guidance II We want the man OF tn"
future 10 be oqual>to his task"
NJ. ilou!"viGue points 10 the prog
rnse made in America during the last
half-ccntury. before which most OF the
hnowlrdG" OF technical science IN tho
country was That vaiacd by men with
tools in ineir hand-. That is why
America has introduced more OF the
practical into us technical education
,hau European countries. We must
croft from that lesson III France" he
ADDS.