Delegates conference

Although there was an informal gathering at the Milwaukee Convention in 1906 of members interested in local organizations, and an interesting exchange of views, no advance preparations had been made, and the representation of the Sections was not as general as was the case at the Niagara Falls convention in June. With the cooperation of the Board of Directors, Chairman Spencer made a special effort to inform the officers of the Sections that they were entitled to representation by their chairmen, and an appropriation was made to meet the cost of transportation, The result was very gratifying, as over twenty officers and delegates were present; distant points being especially well represented. There has been a distinct growth in the number of original papers presented at local meetings, possibly due to a better understanding of the policy of the Institute in sending to the Sections advance copies of papers read at the New York meetings. These are intended more especially for use where local papers cannot be obtained, yet they are frequently abstracted at the meetings of many of the largest Sections, and valuable discussions have thus been elicited. The extraordinary development of the Schenectady Section was interestingly told by Mr. Rushmore. Through its extension of meeting privileges to non-members upon payment of a small fee, the Section has been self-supporting, and carries over a surplus of $773.58 to begin next season´s work. It has been the opinion of many that the plan of local membership would check the legitimate growth of the Institute: this does not appear to be the result, judging from the increase of the Institute membership in Schenectady. The same argument might be used against the publication of Institute papers in the technical press, and with still greater force. The Institute is too well established to be weakened by the broad policy of permitting its light to penetrate into every nook and corner of industrial activity. In this way its work bec- mes known to the greatest number, and its influence and prosperity augmented accordingly.