Self-supporting sections

The development of the Sections has been the most marked and the most promising feature of Institute activity during the last few years. A movement now on foot, which may lead to the formation of a New York Section, will complete the change of the body from a local to a truly national footing. Undoubtedly with the growth of the Institute the number of Sections will be very much increased and probably nearly every large city will have a Section. The effect of this upon the work of the Institute and especially upon its financial resources demands very serious consideration. The expense of maintaining these Sections has now reached a point where it becomes highly important to plan for its limitation in the future, as all the natural tendencies point to a very rapid increase. In order that Sections may produce the best results they must have available certain funds for legitimate expenses, and the greater these sums the more benefits may be obtained. The object of the local Sections is to give the Institute members living at a distance from New York as nearly as possible equal advantages with residents of that city. It is not generally understood that the Institute rooms in the Engineers´ Building are but little used by the membership at large, and the work of the executive offices, by which they are occupied, applies equally to all parts of the country. The changes made last year in the rules for holding meetings make it´ possible for regular Institute meetings to be held at any place when regularly authorized, thus putting all parts of the country as nearly as possible on an equal footing. In order, however, to obtain the best results with Section work, it is desirable to evolve some plan for taking care of the expenses other than will be possible with any permissible extension of the present system. Such a way has been indicated by the results which have been obtained at Schenectady, Pittsfield and Fort Wayne. At Schenectady, the local Section was formed from the - ld General Electric Engineering Society the members of which were not all Institute members but who were continued as local members of the Section after its formation and who contributed annually a nominal amount of dues. This gave them the privileges of the Section, but not all those of the Institute, and finally brought practically all of them into the national body. In the three places mentioned, there are a large number of young men, many recently graduated from college, to whom the question of joining the Institute means an item of some expense and who are more readily induced to become local members of a Section. Whether or not local members should be individuals not fully qualified for Associate membership is a question which can best be left to each local Section. It is, however, not necessary to go beyond the eligibility for the national body in order to obtain a large local membership. A great many men can be induced to become local members who are not prepared to join the national body, but practically all of whom will do so later. This means that local membership becomes an easy step into the Associate grade and acts as a very advantageous factor in finally making Institute members. While the conditions at other places necessarily differ from those where manufacturing interests are established, there is probably no place where there is not a very considerable field for local membership, and this membership can very advantageously be charged with small annual dues — one or two dollars per capita. These men are eligible to attend all of the meetings and to take an active part therein. They may receive the advance copies of Institute papers, and probably many will present original papers before the local Sections. Local membership accomplishes several very desirable objects: It renders the Sections self-supporting and entirely relieves the Institute from any financial expense: it very greatly enlarges the possible scope of local Institute work and