Montana labor news., 1938-11-24
SCHOOL or Mines
Is 0VER(ROWDED
(Continued from Page 81

rom this school in 1907. He's head
the Mining Engineering depart
ment, and he teaches surveying,
topographic drawing, mining, and
design. He handles the sum
mer field camps in surveying and
he takes the boys underground for
surveying, Congestion is pretty
bad in his department st he'll prob
ably give you a world of informa
tion.n
We thanked DR.. Thomson, and
went over to the Engineering build
ing to see MI. Adami. He was just
starting a class, but took time out
to tell us that he would be glad to
talk to us that afternoon. We came
back that afternoon and found him
in the midst of about So or 80 sopho-
mores, all busy drawing topographic
maps, from notes collected in their
summer field work. To put it mild
ly, he was busy-80 or 80 students
can ask a lot of questions.
'You ought to have an assistant"
we told him.
"Yes," he said, 81 should. One
man shouldn't handle mor than 20
or 80 students at a time in a draw
ing section like this. In most uni
versities, two faculty members will
handle 40 in a laboratory course or
a drawing section. AS you see here,
| haven't room for all the students
in one room so I put them in two
rooms and shuttle back and forth.
That isn't efficient and many of the
boys don't get the individual atten-
ton they need. Why don't get an
assistant or two? We can't afford it.
There just isn't enough money in
our budget
There are maps on all these draw
ing tables. What are all those boards
stacked up by the wall there? Are
those maps on them, too?"
Eyes. In all my drawing sections
I have 178 students. There are 81
drawing tables. The result is that
the excess students have to keep
their maps on boards, and, as you
see, many of the boards have a map
on each side. Once the map is start
ed, it shouldn't be removed until il
is finished. We get along as best
we can by this method, but maps
are lost, get dirty, and are sometimes
torn. No, we can't afford more
tables, or more boards. We haven
the space for more tables if we coulc
afford them. Three or four years
ago I had enough tables to g
around. Glasses were smaller then
But they get larger each year anC
unless we get a bigger appropriation
| don't know how we will handlt
the students who come here"
We took time out to digest that
"Tell US about your summer sur
veying work. Surely you're no
crowded out at camp"
THAT is our biggest headache,
said ADAM. you know, we prid
ourselves on giving n of the hes
surveying courses in the country
In the Freshman year we give tn
students the theory of surveyin
during the second semester here q
school. Then in the summer of tn
same year we give them the practi
cal side of it at a camp at Made
Rock. Maiden Rock is on the Bi
Hole River, about 80 miles southwe;
of Butte. It's an ideal spot in whic
to teach surveying. It's rugge
country and the boys get a goo
workout. They spend four week
there, camping out, and they wor
eight hours a day doing actual SUI
veying. They pay for their boar
at a nearby ranch house, and the
supply their own blankets, mott
books, pencils, and personal effect
We supply the tents"
Surveying requires instrumen
such as ~transits, levels, alidades, rod
!. tapes, plane tables, and plumb bob
to name a few. This last summ'
we had 95( students at camp, IL
largest class on record. We hay
instruments sufficient to handle
I. class of 80 efficiently. In a pine
4 we can handle 40 students, but NJ
efficiently"
1 We did some more digesting.
I instruments for 80 students wi
Y 95 in the Glass; we unused alou
I what did you do?" we asked.
= what did we do?" said Adam
Z. well, that's quite a story. In Il
early part of the summer l kne
l could expect 80 students or MOI
So l wrote to the State College
Bozeman, and the State Universe
at Missoula to ask if | could borrc
their instruments. You know, tn,
teach surveying, too. They are
the same fix we are regarding la
of equipment. Yes they said, y
. can borrow them 1t turned o
. that we finally had every instr
I ment except one in the Greater III
versity of Montana, and still
! didn't have enough. This borrow
business is not satisfactory. Sor
! of their instruments are not suitat
/ for our type of work. 1t isn't a 60
arrangement. Each institution shot
I have enough instruments of its owl
"It came time to 60 to camp a