training as would fit them for an active and self-sustaining participation in the work of the world. After seeking advice from his confidential friends and from those who, in virtue of their long connection with educational work, were competent to advise, this desire was crystallized as to a definitive plan, and the proposed school was incorporated in 1874 under the name of Terre Haute School of Industrial Science. Associated with Mr. Rose, as constituting the first board of managers, were Messrs. Josephus Collett, Firmin Nippert, Charles R. Peddle, Barnabas C. Hobbs, William A. Jones, Demas Deming, Ray G. Jenckes, Gen. Charles Cruft, and Col. William K. Edwards. Many of these gentlemen were the trusted friends and business associates of Mr. Rose, and all were in thorough sympathy with the movement which he had inaugurated. During the first few years following the incorporation of the institute considerable progress was made towards the erection of the principal buildings. The corner stone of what is known as the "academic building" was laid with imposing ceremonies on the 11th of September, 1875, and on the same day the board of managers amended the articles of incorporation, changing the name of the association to the "Rose Polytechnic Institute." This was done in spite of the earnest protest of the venerable founder, but in accordance with the unanimous desire of his fellow managers and of the entire community of his fellow citizens. On the 2d of June, 1877, Mr. Rose tendered his resignation as a mem ber of the board of managers on account of his failing health, and on the 13th of August of the same year he died, at the age of 81 years. Previous to his death Mr. Rose had transferred to the institute board properties and securities amounting to several hundred thousand dollars. In his will, in addition to the large bequests establishing the "Rose Orphans' Home" and other extensive charities, he made a special bequest to the institute, and at the same time constituted it the residuary legatee of his estate. The aggregate of his donations to the school considerably exceeds half a million dollars. In order that the expenses of completing the erection of shops, laboratory, etc., and the expenses of equipment, which would necessarily be heavy under the scheme adopted, might not make too great a draft upon the principal, the managers wisely allowed the interest of the fund to accumulate for several years before the doors of the institute were opened to pupils and a faculty of instructors appointed. In the year 1882 active preparations were made for the real beginning of the work of the school. For the very important position of president of the institute the managers were fortunate in securing Dr. Charles O. Thompson, who for many years had served as principal of the Worcester Free Institute, at Worcester, Mass. Dr. Thompson was widely and well known as one of the pioneers in technical education in this country, and in accepting the direct management of the new institution he brought to the work not only a successful experience of many years but an enthusiastic faith in its future, and a skill as an organizer by which he was singularly fitted for the administration of the trust committed to him. Under his direction the organization of the institute was completed, and in March, 1883, a class of about 25 students was admitted, selected from a number of applicants, and the real work of the Rose Polytechnic Institute began. Another class was admitted in September of the same year, and in 1884 some advanced students, who had partially completed their studies. elsewhere, entered to be graduated as the first class in 1885. In the spring of 1885 the institute suffered a most serious loss in the untimely death of Dr. Thompson, which occurred just as he was beginning to see the results of his labors in directing its organization. Fortunately for its interests the members of the faculty which he had gathered about him had caught much of his enthusiasm and spirit in the work, and under their direction, assisted whenever possible by the board of managers, the institute continued to flourish with increasing numbers of students, and in the autumn of 1886 Dr. T. C. Mendenhall, of Washington, D. C., was elected as his successor. Dr. Menden. hall was Professor of Physics in Ohio State University, at Columbus, Ohio, from its organization in 1873 to 1878, and again from 1831 to 1884. He was Professor of Physics in the Imperial University of Japan, at Tokio, from 1878 to 1881. He served as a member of the U. S. Sig. nal Service Corps, at Washington, D. C., from 1884 to 1886. He is a member of the National Academy of Sciences and various other scientific bodies, and at present is the president of the "American Associa tion for the Advancement of Science." He has made many contribu tions to various scientific journals, mostly in the direction of physics. PRESENT ORGANIZATION. BOARD OF MANAGERS. Josephus Collett, esq., President. Hon. William Mack. Preston Hussey, esq. Hon. Richard W. Thompson, LL. D. William C. Ball, ▲. M. FACULTY OF INSTRUCTION. T. C. Mendenhall,' PH. D., LL. D., President, and Professor of Physics. Charles S. Brown, PH. B., Superintendent of Machine Shop and Instructor in Machine Design. William L. Ames, B. S., Professor of Drawing. Clarence A. Waldo, A. M., Professor of Mathematics. James A. Wickersham, A. M., Professor of Languages. Carl Leo Mees, M. D., Professor of Physics. Thomas Gray, B. SC., F. R. S. E., Professor of Dynamic Engineering. Mrs. S. P. Burton, Registrar. Miss Hannah F. Smith, Assistant Librarian. Garrett W. Logan, Foreman of Machine Shop. Thomas O'Loughlin, Instructor in Forging and Tool-making. H. W. Dickinson, Instructor in Foundry Work. Benjamin Grosvenor, Instructor in Boiler and Engine Management. PLAN OF INSTRUCTION. Those who are actively engaged in the practice of engineering are generally agreed that every young man who is in training for an engineer should acquire familiarity with the practical side of his profession; especially that mechanical engineers should understand the use of tools and machinery and should possess a certain degree of manual dexterity. In this school the acquisition of this practical knowledge on the part of the student neither precedes nor follows his training in the principles of engineering, but is contemporaneous with it. His study of princi ples is supplemented by weekly practice in the shop or the field, where these principles are applied, and his entrance upon the life of an engineer is an expansion of his course of study rather than an abrupt transition to a new mode of life. The problems with which he deals during his school life are similar in character to those with which he will have to do after entering upon his professional career. The usually assumed differences between practice and theory are shown to have no real existence and the student is made to understand that good practice must always be in accord with correct theory. Such a scheme of instruction implies and demands extensive and expensive material equipments, without which it would be impossible to carry it out. In the Rose Polytechnic Institute it is believed an adequate equipment has been provided. In mechanics this includes extensive shops, furnishing ample facilities for working in wood with both hand and machine tools, and for 'Resigned in 1889; succeeded by Dr. Henry T. Eddy. metal work, including molding and casting, forging and machine work of the most extensive character. In the equipment of these shops, excluding the cost of the buildings, more than $40,000 has been expended. Among other things may be mentioned thirty-six benches equipped with complete sets of carpenters' tools, a variety of wood-turning lathes, circular saws, jig and band saws, molding machine, planers and boring machines for working in wood. In the machine shop will be found a variety of lathes, planers, milling machines, gear-cutting machines, shaping machines, drills, etc., many of which are of large dimensions and all representing the best types of such machinery, and in addition a large collection of chucks, reamers, standard gauges, squares, surface plates, and a full equipment of smaller tools. The forges are furnished with power blast and complete sets of tools, and the foundry is also properly equipped. Power is furnished for the whole by a 40-horse-power Brown engine, which serves the double purpose of a motor and a piece of apparatus. It has a variable cut-off with four independent slide valves and represents the best American workmanship. For laboratory work in engineering some of the best apparatus and appliances are now at hand and the collection is constantly increasing. Among others may be mentioned the steam engine with complete arrangements for taking indicator cards under widely varying conditions; steam engine indicators; an absorption dynamometer, a transmission dynamometer, and a Bracket Cradle dynamometer for dynamo, electric motor, or other machine work; two testing machines for studying the strength of materials, one of which has a capacity of 100,000 pounds; an accurate dividing engine, a comparator, standard bars, a strong and sensitive balance, thermometers, an electric chronograph, micrometer gauges, speed counters, and speed indicators, etc. The principle which underlies the scheme for utilizing these school shops is that machinery is to have a constantly increasing share in the conversion of matter into a useful form. The educated engineer must understand the practical limits of mechanical production and all the possible ways in which those limits can be extended. He must know by practice how to design, construct, and assemble the parts of a machine as well as how to finish its product by skillful handicraft, and he should also know how to make his tools. The power of an engineer to decide, upon general grounds, the best form and material for a machine, and to calculate its parts, is vastly increased by blending with it the skill of the craftsman in manipulating the material. The scheme of practice in operation comprehends, however, more than the cultivation of mere skill in handicraft; it includes the development of constructive power. In the earlier stages of his work the |