Mr. Goodwin then delivered his presidential address, in th e course of which he said,
Mr. F aulkner and G entlem en:
I have th e greatest pleasure in welcoming you all to th is great city of Sheffield, th e centre of th e steel industry of th is country. On the occasion o f your la s t v isit, nin e years ago, we were busily engaged in th e production of muni
tio n s o f war in such q uantities as made Sheffield th e largest arsenal in th e country. Since th a t tim e we have, in order to m eet present require
m ents, reconstructed our shops, changed our methods of steel m anufacture, and produced new classes o f goods o f such quality and price as to m ake our com petitors as much afraid of us as were our enem ies during th e terrible years of th e war.
L e t me now ex p ress to yon th e deep a p p re c ia tio n I feel a t th e h o n o u r you have--accorded me in e le c tin g me as y o u r P re s id e n t. W hen I first jo in ed o u r I n s tit u te , th e n th e B ritis h F o u n d ry - in e n ’s A ssociation, tw en ty -tw o y e a rs ago, I little a n tic ip a te d t h a t I sh o u ld one d ay be called upon to fill th is im p o rta n t office. L a te r d u rin g your v is it to M iddlesbrough, in 1907, I cam e in to close touch w ith th e w ork th e C ouncil w as doing, and w as able t o a p p re c ia te in som e m easure th e resp o n sib ilities devolving on th e P re s id e n t in g u id in g th e a c tiv itie s of th e I n s tit u te , an d h a d th e po ssib ility of u n d e rta k in g th o se d u tie s been p resen ted to my m ind i t w ould h av e ap p eared rem ote.
The Work of the B.C.I.R.A.
P e ru s a l of th e addresses deliv ered y e a r by y e a r by successive P re s id e n ts im presses m e w ith th e d esire rev ealed th e r e in to e x p re ss th e voice of th e m em bers as a whole, an d w ith th e possibilities which p re s e n t them selves to t h e m inds of th e m ost far-seein g am ong o u r n u m b e r. T he P re s id e n tia l address offers a very d esirab le a n n u a l o p p o rtu n ity of review ing th e im m e d ia te p a s t a n d th e re q u ire m e n ts of th e p re s e n t, an d of s tim u la tin g th o u g h t am ong m em bers on lines likely to lead to neces
sa ry courses of actio n . N o th in g in th e se addresses has im pressed me m o re th a n th e d esire ex p ressed fo r g re a te r te c h n ic a l know ledge of th e c r a f t w ith which, we a re so closely associated. I w as con
vinced t h a t when th e tim e was rip e th e I n s t it u t e would e m b a rk o n a schem e fo r th e sy s te m a tic acq u isitio n of th is tech n ical know ledge, an d for th e ad v an cem en t of fu n d a m e n ta l research . I h a d m ade up m y m in d t h a t w hen th e tim e a rriv e d I would g iv e all th e help w ith in m y pow er to a ss ist in th e prom otion of th is p ro je c t. I n 1921 th e o p p o rtu n ity arose, an d I am p ro u d to have been associated w ith those m em bers whose com
b ined effo rts have so successfully b ro u g h t in to b ein g th e B ritis h C a st Iro n R esearch A ssociation, a n d who h av e th u s fulfilled th e d esire ex p ressed by you th r o u g h successive P re s id e n ts . Tlhis cam e none tc o soon. A new o rg a n isa tio n ta k e s tim e a n d p a tie n c e to estab lish , an d th is p a rtic u la rly ap p lies to o n e e stab lish ed fo r u n d e rta k in g research w ork. T he difficulties to he m e t h a v e been
n um erous. C o n tem p lated u n d e r very auspicious t r a d e c o n d itio n s, th e new A ssociation actu ally s ta r te d as th e d isa stro u s slum p of 1921 was se ttin g in. F ro m th e effects of th is th e iro n an d steel in d u s try h as n o t y e t recovered, fo r while considera
tio n of p ig -iro n an d steel o u tp u t s ta tis tic s will show t h a t th e s itu a tio n is now as favourable as a t an y tim e sin ce th e n , th e re is, of course, still a n in a d e q u a te m a rg in betw een m a n u fa c tu rin g costs a n d selling prices.
N ev erth eless, I r e p e a t t h a t th e fo rm a tio n of th e
" B ritis h C a st Ir o n R esearch A ssociation cam e none to o soon. On ev ery h a n d we h ave proof of e x te n siv e developm ents in research on cast iro n not only in th e U n ite d S ta te s of A m erica, where in d u s tria l conditions a re very good, b u t equally on th e C o n tin e n t, p a rtic u la rly in G erm any, B elgium an d F ra n c e , w here tr a d e conditions are n o t d issim ilar fro m o u r own. F a r-re a c h in g re su lts h a v e been o b tain ed , an d a re being p u t in to p ra c tic a l use in th e ir fo u n d ries. A new o rg a n isa tio n in th is c o u n try w as neoessary n o t only to e n su re t h a t resu lts of w ork published a b ro ad could be m a d e av ailab le here, b u t also to in i ti a te re se a rc h w ork of o u r own on B ritis h iro n s, m elted in cupolas of our ty p e w ith th e fuel a n d re f ra c to r y m a te ria ls we h av e daily to use.
I t is n o t necessary fo r those of us who a re in th e A ssociation to s t a te w h a t m easure of success i t h a s achieved. This, fo rtu n a te ly fo r our m odesty, h a s been done by a n im p a rtia l a u th o rity in th e fo rm of a n e x p e rt com m ittee se t u p by H .M . G o v ern m en t in 1926. T he e x te n t of th e a p p recia
tio n by th e G o v ern m en t o f th e w o rk done is show n by th e generous financial su p p o rt which h a s been prom ised d u rin g th e period 1926-31.
T h is s u p p o r t is co n d itio n a l on a b e tte r response fro m th e in d u s try th a n is a t p re s e n t b ein g made, a n d i t re m a in s fo r you to b rin g y o u r foundries in to th e co -o p erativ e schem e an d to u n d e rta k e t o s u p p o r t th e R esearch A ssociation, w hich is successfully c a rry in g o u t in v e s tig a tio n s th e resu lts of w hich a re so im p o rta n t to th e f u tu r e of th e fo u n d in g in d u s try . T he a n n u a l su b scrip tio n is sm all en o u g h to be re g a rd e d as li tt le m ore th a n an in s u ra n c e prem iu m , an d those who w a it for a perso n al a p p ro ach before jo in in g a re seriously
p re ju d ic in g th e w hole schem e, p a rtic u la rly in view of th e tim e involved in m a k in g such a n approach to all fo u n d e rs concerned.
W e believe t h a t m em bership is a m a tte r of business sag acity , for n o t only does i t help on an im p o rta n t n a tio n a l w ork, b u t i t offers such oppor
tu n i ti e s of secu rin g in fo rm a tio n an d assistance as to m ake i t a th o ro u g h business proposition.
I e s tim a te th ia t th e in d u s tr y c o u ld ex p e n d , w ith a d v a n ta g e to itse lf, a n d a t a n a n n u a l cost p e r firm w hich a m o u n ts, as I su g g ested above, to li tt le m ore th a n an in s u ra n c e p re m iu m , a sum of £25,000 p e r a n n u m . A t p re s e n t o n e -th ird of th is sum is available, h a lf of w hich comes from th e in d u s try . F o r th e n e x t fo u r y e a rs a t le a s t we shall c o n tin u e to h av e th e G o v ern m en t g r a n t.
F u rth e rm o r e , now t h a t th e o rg a n is a tio n is b u ilt up, fo r ev ery £ 1 subscribed, £ 2 can be expended d ire c tly on w ork of assistan ce to m em bers.
Apprenticeship Recruitment.
T he in e v ita b le gro w th of te c h n ic a l know ledge in th e tr a d e w ill call fo r m en of h ig h e r in te llig e n c e a n d skill, an d we m u s t p re p a r e to t r a i n o u r a p p re n tic e s so t h a t th e y m ay be re a d y to fill th ese positions in d u e course. N o th in g a t th e m om ent is h a rd e r to fill th a n a sen io r p o sitio n d em a n d in g a m an w ith a c tu a l p ra c tic a l ex p e rie n c e an d te c h n ic a l know ledge. M en w ith th is d u a l qualifi
c atio n h av e somehow to be p ro d u ced , a n d th is I n s tit u te m u s t ta k e a la rg e p a r t in th e i r tr a in in g .
A p p ren tices who show e x c e p tio n a l a b ility to absorb te c h n ic a l know ledge an d to use i t in a p ra c tic a l w ay should be • g iv en o p p o rtu n itie s to a tte n d day te c h n ic a l classes as well as evening schools, fo r fo u n d ry w ork is fa tig u in g . A special m em ber of th e staff w ith su ita b le qualifications should be d e ta ile d off to sp en d , say, a n h o u r each day w ith th e a p p re n tic e s , in s tru c tin g th em in th e c o rre c t way to m ak e m oulds an d c a stin g s. S urely th is is n o t im possible even in th ese days of bad tr a d e an d low prices.
W e m u st also en co u ra g e to th e full th e young fo re m a n by g iv in g him o p p o rtu n itie s of seeing o th e r w orks an d o th e r m ethods. H e can be en co u rag ed to use a lib ra ry by being m ade an associate m em ber of th e R esearch A ssociation. H e
should be en co u rag ed to ex p e rim e n t and to find o u t w hich a re th e b est as d is tin c t from th e cheapest m a te ria ls. A n occasional m o n e ta ry recognition of good w ork w hen Justified will also be a welcome enco u ra g e m e n t.
T he sh o rtag e of boys e n te r in g th e tr a d e can he d e a lt w ith in v ario u s ways. The lack of in te re s t show n is o fte n due to lack of know ledge, a n d th e forem en an d m en in th e shops can do m uch to en co u rag e th e i r schoolboy sons an d th e ir chum s to v is it th e fo u n d ry . They will ta lk about i t to th e ir resp ectiv e m o th ers an d th u s th e in d u s try m ay secure useful recru its.
I feel convinced t h a t th e I n s titu te h as a g re a t p a r t to play in e d u catio n al developm ents, an d in th e n o t d is ta n t f u tu r e a n ed u catio n al scheme m ay be w orked o u t. W o rk in g in th e fo u n d ry is often considered a d ir ty occupation, although i t is in fin itely to be p re fe rre d to c e rta in o th e r occupa
tio n s w hich on th e su rface a p p e a r much cleaner.
I n o th e r tra d e s of a sim ilar c h a ra c te r, of which co alm in in g is a n exam ple, th e tro u b le h as been m e t by p ro v id in g w ashing accom m odation and b a th s. R ecreativ e facilities and o p p o rtu n ities for f u r th e r e d u catio n h av e also been provided. I n th e fo u n d ry we can do m uch in th e way of b e tte r accom m odation for clothes, fo r w ashing, etc., b u t even m o re im p o rta n t a re w orking conditions.
S pecial a tte n tio n should be given to v e n tila tio n , so t h a t i t can be re g u la te d to s u it clim atic con
d itio n s. W hen m oulds are d rie d in th e shop, e ith e r w ith open fires or p o rta b le fu rn aces, v e n tila tio n m u s t be stu d ie d w ith still g re a te r care.
L ig h tin g is also v ita lly im p o rta n t, and roof lights should be pro v id ed w ith m eans of easy access fo r clea n in g . A works messroom an d c a n te e n is_ essen
ti a l, an d i t should be a ru le of th e o rg a n isa tio n t h a t m en who do n o t go hom e for m eals should use th e m essroom , o r a t any r a te t h a t th ey should n o t ta k e m eals in th e shop. S pace will n o t p e rm it m e to m e n tio n o th e r ways of im proving th e g e n e ra l s ta n d a r d of w orking conditions, o fte n a t v ery l i t t l e expense. T he question of w orks acci
d e n ts deserves notice. E v e ry fo u n d ry should e n co u rag e th e m en to jo in th e St. Jo h n A m bulance B rig ad e, a n d to q u alify them selves to a tte n d to accidents. A g re a t deal of unnecessary suffering
is avoided by p ro m p t a tte n tio n to cases, even m in o r cases, w hich m ay become septic. A p a rt from th e d e sira b ility of all cases h a v in g im m e
d ia te a tte n tio n , a m a t te r a b o u t which th e em ployee concerned is o fte n careless, com plica
tio n s an d possibly co m p en satio n cases a re avoided.
Meeting Competition by Co-operation.
W e h av e seen re c e n tly t h a t th e o n ly way to m a in ta in th e s ta n d a r d o f liv in g in th is c o u n try is, w ith th e goodwill o f th e m en in th e shops, to in crease o u tp u t, a n d we h av e le a rn e d p a rtic u la rly t h a t a n in crease in o u tp u t red u ces prices, stim u la te s dem an d a n d hence em p lo y m en t, a n d th u s m akes th in g s b e tte r a ll ro u n d in s te a d of d im in ish ing th e a m o u n t of w ork to be done a n d cau sin g u nem ploym ent. I n th e fo u n d ry th is m ean s in v a ria b ly th e in tro d u c tio n o f piece-w ork o r c o n tra c t w ork, w hich will h a v e in tu r n th e effect of sp ecialisin g th e fo u n d ry an d th u s c e n tr a lis in g th e p ro d u ctio n of a g iv en a rtic le in a few fo u n d ries.
I w ould a p p e a l especially, th e re fo re , to th o se m em bers who are p ra c tic a l m en in a n d a b o u t th e fo u n d ry to co n sid er i t th e i r d u ty to do th e ir u tm o st to en ab le th e ir em ployers to m e e t com
p e titio n a n d th u s p ro v id e t h a t c o n tin u ity of em ploym ent w hich is so e s s e n tia l to b o th em ployer a n d em ployed. T his c o n tin u ity of e m p lo y m en t is o f g r e a t im p o rta n c e to th e I n s tit u te , fo r th e c o n s ta n t m ig ra tio n of m em bers fro m o n e shop to a n o th e r in e v ita b ly re s u lts in a n u m b e r b e in g lost to m em bership, doubtless ow ing to th e fe e lin g of u n c e rta in ty w hich accom panies a c h an g e o f th is k in d . A p a rt fro m th is th e r a t e of g ro w th h a s doubtless been lessened on acco u n t of th e con
tin u a n c e o f b a d tr a d e . T he m em bership o f th e I n s t i t u te in 1919 w as 1,544, a n d th e a v e ra g e for th e la s t five y ears h a s b een 1,567. T he m em ber
ship fo r 1927 shows a decided in crease, an d th e n u m b er now to ta ls 1,636. S im ila r co n d itio n s h av e ap p lied to th e C a st Iro n R esearch A ssociation. In 1921 th e n u m b e r of o rd in a ry fu ll m em bers was 110, an d in 1927 is 210, r e p r e s e n tin g m a n y m ore em ployees, an d b u t fo r th e c o n d itio n s m e n tio n ed would h av e been m uch g r e a te r. Now t h a t th e p erio d of s ta g n a tio n a p p e a rs to h av e passed, i t behoves all of us to consider a p la n of
cam p aig n to im prove th e m em bership of th e I n s ti
tu t e s till f u r th e r . To th is end I m ake a definite a p p eal to all m em bers to s u p p o rt me d u rin g my p re s id e n tia l y e a r by each pledging him self to o b ta in one new m em ber. W ith tn e enthusiasm w hich ex ists I feel confident t h a t th is can be done.
W e should th e n h ave a m em bership which the I n s t i t u t e would be p ro u d o f, an d fu n d s w ith which to c a rry on its w ork w ith g re a te r a ctiv ity . I m ig h t m en tio n , fo r in stan ce, th e J u n io r Sections, w hich h a v e b een so ably form ed an d which are in su ch a flo u rish in g co n d itio n . I am sure th a t th ese are a g u a ra n te e fo r th e fu tu re existence of th e I n s tit u te , an d I wish t h a t m ore such sections could be form ed.
Rationalisation.
A n im p o rta n t developm ent which I commend to y o u r e a rn e s t a tte n tio n is th e m ovem ent spread w ith rem a rk a b le r a p id ity in E u ro p e u n d e r th e n am e of “ ra tio n a lis a tio n .” Sum m arised “ ra tio n a lis a tio n ,” lite r a lly th e m ak in g of in d u s try rig h t a n d reasonable, aim s a t secu rin g th e h ig h est effi
ciency fo r th e le a st effort, a t e lim in a tin g all w aste of raw m a te ria ls, effort an d lab o u r in m a n u fa c tu re , tr a n s p o r t an d d is trib u tio n , a t sim p lify in g designs, p a tte rn s , shapes an d sizes w here v a ria tio n s h a v e no obvious ad v an ta g e. I t will e n su re a h ig h e r s ta n d a rd of living, lower prices to th e consum ers an d a la rg e r a n d m ore c ertain r e t u r n to th e pro d u cers. I t involves th e good
w ill a n d w illing co-operation of em ployer and em ployee an d jo in t efforts of scientific and tech n ical in s titu tio n s an d research o rg an isatio n s. I t h as to be ap p lied an d can equally be applied to la rg e an d sm all u n d e rta k in g s, even to th e small sh o p k eep er an d to o u r dom estic life. I t m eans for th e w orker th e h e a lth ie s t, best an d most d ig n i
fied form of lab o u r, fo r i t involves selection for occu p atio n s, p ro p e r tr a in i n g an d also prom otion fo r those fitte d for it, an d for all th e m ost a tt r a c tiv e form of re m u n e ra tio n .
International Relations.
T he w ork of th e I n s titu te is being fully a p p re cia te d by k in d re d o rg a n isa tio n s abroad. We are
hono u red th is y e a r by th e a w ard to one of o u r m ost esteem ed m em bers of a very signal honour.
I re fe r to th e J o h n A. P e n to n m edal, p resen ted by th e A m erican F o u n d ry m e n ’s A ssociation to M r.
J o h n Shaw , to whom we offer o'ur sincere con
g ra tu la tio n s .
T he s tre n g th e n in g o f tie s w ith o u r friends a b ro ad h as alw ays been th e d esire of th e In s titu te . T h ro u g h th e good w ork done by y o u r p ast-P resi- d e n t, M r. Y . C. F a u lk n e r , a n I n t e r n a tio n a l R ela
tio n s C o m m ittee h as b een fo rm ed re p re se n tin g B elgium , C zecho-Slovakia, F ra n c e , G erm any, G re a t B r ita in , H o llan d , a n d th e U n ite d S ta te s.
T he o b je c t of th is C om m ittee w ill be to prom ote in te rc h a n g e of p a p e rs a n d v isits, to p re v e n t over
la p p in g of conferences an d e x h ib itio n s, a n d to m ake a rra n g e m e n ts w ith re sp e c t to p erio d ical in te rn a tio n a l conferences to w hich th e m em bers of all th e co -o p eratin g bodies will be in v ite d . The fo rm a tio n of th is C om m ittee h a s o u r c o rd ia l s u p p o rt, an d we t r u s t t h a t i t w ill go f a r to cem e n t th e frie n d sh ip w hich a lre a d y e x is ts betweeA th e allied bodies ab ro ad an d ourselves. Y our G eneral S e c re ta ry is a c tin g as h o n o ra ry se c re ta ry to th is new body, an d in h is capable h a n d s th e sm ooth w orking of t h e C om m ittee w ill be assu red . The I n s tit u te m ay reflect w ith p rid e on th e f a c t t h a t its in te r n a tio n a l re la tio n s a re p ro b ab ly m ore e x te n siv e th a n those o f an y o th e r te c h n ic a l in s ti
t u t e in th is c o u n try , an d th e r e is no n e e d fo r m e to em phasise th e im p o r ta n t p a r t th is p la y s in p ro m o tin g in te r n a tio n a l u n d e rs ta n d in g .
To a tte m p t fu lly to review th e w ork o f th e I n s tit u te fo r th e p a s t y e a r in so s h o r t a sp ace as is offered by a p re s id e n tia l ad d ress w ould be folly.
I should, how ever, lik e to re fe r to o n e o u ts ta n d in g fe a tu r e t h a t I know to h a v e been g re a tly a p p re c ia te d , nam ely, th e g ro w in g n u m b e r of in v ita tio n s e x te n d e d to th e B ra n c h m em bers t o v is it v ario u s w orks an d fo u n d ries th r o u g h o u t th e c o u n try . N e ith e r th e e d u c a tio n a l n o r th e social v alu e of such v isits can be to o m uch stressed . To all th o se firms who h a v e given us such v a lu a b le o p p o r
tu n itie s of e x te n d in g o u r know ledge, a n d who h av e fro m tim e to tim e e n te r ta in e d us so h o sp it
ably, th e th a n k s a n d a p p re c ia tio n of th e I n s tit u te as a whole a re due.
T he h o n o u r you h av e p a id m e im plies very g re a t f w hich I am fu lly aw are, and m a in ta in th e h ig h tr a d itio n s of th e I n s titu te
T he h o n o u r you h av e p a id m e im plies very g re a t f w hich I am fu lly aw are, and m a in ta in th e h ig h tr a d itio n s of th e I n s titu te