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246 serving his country his rewards have not been rich or great, but that has not affected the performance of his duty. He has brought to bear upon that duty all his powers of mind and body; we all know that his naval service afloat has been marked by the most extraordinary experiences, which brought to the world's notice what sort of a man he was, when hopes seemed dead. and the possibility of returning to his native land remote. I believe I am right in saying that Admiral Melville was the only commissioned officer left on that expedition.* I think it is no exaggera- tion to say, if he had not been with it, that expedition would never have re- turned home. That is an incident that goes so far back that it is like ancient history, but here is the man (pointing to Admiral Melville), and then he took up his place as engineer in chief of the United States navy, and he worked for years under conditions of peculiar diffi- culty, amidst remarkable changes. "It was an entirely different life for ' a man to lead, to go ashore from the naval service, in which he had spent his prime, but he took that duty up and performed it. "Now, tonight, ladies and gentlemen, I am sure I only speak what you. all feel when I say that we wish the ad- miral all possible happiness, that we wish to do him the utmost honor, and we shall always bear his qualities in affec- tionate remembrance. "Admiral, as one who many years ago was very unworthily made an honorary member of this society, when at a time, -through excessive work, his powers were failing, and for a time he could not work at all, I can understand how highly you value the honor done you tonight, because it has been done to me. It was done to me when the world was looking very hopeless and dark, and it was done me after the last visit of the American Society of Mechanical Engineers to Eng- land, when I was president of the Eng- lish society, and my earnest hope is, that although at that time it was im- possible for me to take active part in the welcoming of this society to Eng- land, this time, the occasion of your visit in the near future, I may be able to say something of my gratitude to those who did me the honor long ago, similar to that which has been done to the admiral tonight, and I sincerely hope that circumstances may allow the admiral to come to England with the society, and there to find that his old friends have not forgotten him." (Ap- plause. ) The Engineer's Duty as a Citizen. Following Sir 'William White's re- marks, Admiral Melville addressed the *The Jeannette Arctic Expedition. TAE Marine REVIEW society on "The: Engineer's Duty as a Citizen." Admiral Melville said: | "Doubtless every one present has read Macauley's famous chapter, in his His- tory of England, which describes the conditions obtaining in 1685. This chap- ter is one of the most wonderful de- scriptions in all literature, giving as it does the details of every feature of the life of that time, some two hundred years ago. I refer to this account be- cause I want you to contrast it with the conditions of today, which are so familiar to you that it requires some effort to remember that the conveniences and comforts of the poor man of today are beyond the wildest dreams of the wealthiest men of the period described by Macauley. I may remind you that this was a time when there were no sidewalks, and the streets were unlight- ed; when the highways became bogs in rainy weather and highway robbery was almost a recognized profession; when sanitation and sewerage were unknown, and refuse heaps accummulated under the windows of the great and. the wealthy; when it was dangerous to go out alone at night, and when it was still legal to hang the unfortunate who stole a loaf of bread. "Macauley remarks, in one place, that the nobility, at such fashionable watering places as Bath, had to put up with ac- commodations at which their servants would, when he wrote (1850) turn up their noses. : Improvement Due to the Engineer. "Now, when we make the comparison between the two periods, and when we remember that there is hardly a branch of human activity in which there has not been the greatest improvement, we are naturally led to ask to whom is that improvement due. "In all fairness, we should doubtless have to say that many or most of the professions have had a part in the amelioration of conditions, although the student of history remembers with regret how the great lawyers opposed the re- mission of the death penalty for what we would now consider minor offenses. "The doctors undoubtedly are entitled to much credit for improvement in med- icine, surgery, sanitation and hygiene, and we might go on to give credit to others. "It seems? to. me, however, that when some future Macauley describes the con- dition of the United States at the be- ginning of the twentieth century, and attempts to award the credit for the existing comforts and conveniences, the major part must be given to the pro- fession of engineering. Within one hun- dred years after the time described by Macauley, Watts had so far perfected June, 1910 the steam engine-as to bring about the beginnings of the factory system which has made possible cheap clothing and cheap articles of manufacture of every kind. "In a century and a half, the steam- boat and the railroad has come into be- ing. Then, we have gas for illumination, and the telegraph for rapid: communica- tion, and so on down the line to the present day with the electric light, the electric railroad and the telephone. Ey- ery one of these improvements is due to the engineer. "Added to the superior facilities of communication by railroad and steamer, we have mechanical refrigeration, which ° enables the densely populated countries of the old world to be supplied with meats from the great plains of the new, and these superior means of transporta- tion have provided the rapid movement of food products so that the whole world contributes to the comforts and delicacies of our table; no matter where he may be. The Improvement Since 1850. "The contrast between the great cities of the period described by Macauley in 1850 and those of today is. startling. They were without the conveniences. which a country town of moderate size would now consider absolute necessities. A system of water distribution, sewer- age, street paving, and so forth, is all the work of the engineer, the filtration plants are obviously an engineering work, even if we consider their inspection due to the medical men. "Perhaps you are asking yourselves why I should think it necessary to go into this detail about matters which are of common knowledge, and then their mention can give little additional infor- mation. My reason it this--I want to emphasize the fact as a basis to discuss the question--what does the engineer owe to society when society owes so much to the engineer? 'ia the early history of the' race; when war was the almost constant con- dition, it was inevitable that the great warrior should become the leader and ruler of the people. As time went on, the engineer developed, as we know from the wonderful works of antiquity like the great aqueducts, the bridges, the tunnels and the roads; but, from the past, had come the tradition lodging leadership in the warrior caste, where it remained for many centuries, and, in- deed, has still a tendency to remain in monarchical countries. Hereditary Nobility But a Belated Survivor. "During the last century, wars have been less frequent; and, due to the work of the engineer, commerce has be-