The Principal Professional Papers of Dr. J. A. L. Waddell, Civil Engineer

This historic book may have numerous typos and missing text. Purchasers can download a free scanned copy of the original book (without typos) from the publisher. Not indexed. Not illustrated. 1905. Excerpt: ... INTRODUCTORY NOTES. Early in lf34 the Organizing Committee of the International Congress of Arts and Science which was formed under the auspices of the Louisiana Purchase Exposition invited Dr. Waddell and Prof. Lewis M. Haupt to represent the profession of civil engineering and address the Congress upon The Relations of Civil Engineering to Other Branches of Science' and Present Prohlems of Civil Engineering. Prof. William H. Burr was chairman of the Committee on Civil Engineering for the Congress and presided over the meeting at which these addresses were read. What constitutes the profession of civil engineering has of late been a much discussed question. Engineers have found it advantageous to specialize, and certain groups of specialists have organized societies which are devoted to the advancement of the corresponding groups of special subjects. The American mining engineers perfected their organization at an early date, the civil engineers soon after, and more recently other groups such as the mechanical engineers, the electrical engineers, the heating and ventilating engineers, and the naval engineers and architects have organized societies which have proved their usefulness and occupy positions of national importance. Within each of these societies there are groups of men who are specializing along still narrower lines, and it seems probable that still other societies of very restricted scope will spring up in the course of time, though it would appear that further sub-division would he uneconomical. Each organization must have a characteristic name, and, in course of time, this name is firmly established and the further division of the profession is generally recognized. Thus it would seem that the division of engineering is merely one of con...