Arizona republican., 1917-02-05
MAN
Of THE FUTURE
OVER IN FRANCE
Republican A. p. Leased Wire]

lFepupHCdn -. r. LedScu NHcJ
PARIS, Feb. 4.-Farsighted oLserv-
erS declare that the engineer is the
man of future in France. 1t is not
mere superstition based upon the
eventual reconstruction. but seems
rather to be deduction from the
new spirit of the Frenchmen. In the
words of q professor of the Central
Polytechnic school, France trained
its students before the war as if they
should all enter the institute" ard it
is generally recognized as a fact that,
in her hour of need, France felt the
lack among her scientists of men
able to give practical application to
their discoveries.
France has had great engineers
few of them-at all epochs. French
engineers pierced the Isthmus of Suez,
dredged the South American ports,
built the seaports of the Levant,
started the Panama canal, gave the
first impetus to the automobile in
dustry and aviation; yet in its in
dustrial enterprises before the war
France employed an average of only
one engineer for every 100 workmen,
where Germany employed four. II is
to this situation that many attribute
the fact that France was losing its
lead III the automobile industry and
had already been passed in aviation by
Germany when the war broke out.
The engineers Of France came from
the 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 a means to an end.
The elite of every generation in
France for century has thus, ac
cordIng 10 another professor. been
led toward the ideal of mathematic
distractions and has developed a race
of scientists, savants, and bureaucrats
VI. Appel, Dean of the Faculty Of
sciences and an advocate of IL
thorough reformation of the educa-
tional system, is in favor of the adop-
ton of the American plan OF Judging
technical students at work in the
school itself rather than by competi-
tive examination. Senator Gay pro-
poses to complete each Of the French
universities with a faculty of applied
sciences, comprising instruction in
al branches that correspond to the
industries of the region in which the
university is located. France has al
ready a number of these regional
technical schools which require only
slight transformation in order to
conform themselves to the proposed
plan.
At Nancy there are the chemical
electrical and colonial institutes, with
a brewing school and "A dairy school.
Lille had. before the German occupa-
ton. an industrial chemical institute,
while Lions had school of tanning
chemistry and an agricultural insti-
tute. AT Grenoble there is an cleo
trical institute and butter making
oh.
trical and chemical institute. These
institutions in the opinion of expert
enced educators lack cohesion and
completeness. Senator GAY proposes
10 give them official status TO enable
more thorough organiza ton.
1t was IN America that old Albion
learned to reform its methods" said
NJ. HouleVigue professor of the fac
ulty Of sciences at Marseilles. 1T is
to America. alas. that we must go
for guidance if we want the man OF
the future to be equal to his task"
NJ. HouleVlgue points to the prog
ress made in America during the
last halt century. before which most
of the knowledge of technical science
in the country was that gained by
men with tools in their hand. THAT
is why America has introduced more
Of the practical into its technical edu-
cation than European countries. We
must profit from that lesson in
France" he adds.
Economical motive power will be
absolutely required in France after
the war, and this in the opinion OF
the best authorities. will be found only
| in the development Of Frances water
power in the Alps. the Jura, the
Nosges and the Pyrenees. and the de-
| velopment of these resources alone
| will call for the services of a great
number of competent engineers.
AS an object lesson Of the necessity
| OF looking more to the practical than
| to the theoretical. men who are con-
sidering this question point to the
| new under secretary of state for
| transportation. NJ. Clavellie, who be-
| fore the war was general manager of
| the Western State railroad. ClaeVile
never went to a technical school. He
/ learned engineering in the hard school
| Of experience, and in this great emer-
| gency, when France was facing a
| most serious crisis as a result of the
| congestion of her transportation lines,
| he was the only available man to
solve the problem. They point also
| to the fact that. when it became
necessary to intensity the production
OF munitions, the government was
obliged to resort to the services of a
while the railroads and waterways
were, during the first two years of
the war. in the hands Of a man OF