T h ere was a g a th e r in g o f some 300 m em bers and g u ests a t th e a n n u a l C o n v en tio n d in n e r , w hich was h eld on W ednesday ev en in g , J u l y 6, a t th e R oyal V ic to ria H o te l, Sheffield. The P r e s id e n t was in th e c h a ir, a n d th e g u ests in clu d ed th e L o rd M ayor (A ld erm an J . G. G raves, J . P . ) a n d th e M ayoress, th e M a s te r a n d M istress C u tle r (M r. an d M rs.
D av id F la th e r ) , M r. W . L . H ic h e n s, M r. A. J . B la n c h a rd , J . P . , S ir W . H . H ad o w , C .B .E . (Vice- C hancellor of th e U n iv e rs ity ), th e M ayor of R o th e rh a m , th e M ay o r o f C h esterfie ld , M r. B a r
rin g to n H o o p er, C .B .E ., P ro f. T . T u rn e r, M r..
W. B. M. Jac k so n , M r. J . A. P e n to n (P a s t-P re si- d e n t, A m erican F o u n d ry m e n ’s A ssociation), M r.
E . J . F o x , M r. J . S m ith , J . P . , P ro f. C. H . Desch, D .S c., P h .D . (P ro fesso r of M e ta llu rg y , Sheffield U n iv e rs ity ), M r. J . M. A llan , M r. F . W . B ridges, M r. R opsy (B elgium ), D r. a n d M rs. Piw ow arsky an d H e r r N ip p e r (G erm an y ), M r. J . H . M ony- p enny, M r. J o h n O akley, J . P . , M r. H . E . Yer- bu ry , an d M r. T. P . Colclough, M .Sc.
Future of Sheffield’s Industries.
T he loyal to a s t h a v in g been d u ly honoured, Mr. S. H . RussEim (V ic e -P re sid e n t) proposed th e to a s t of “ T he C ity an d C om m erce of S h ef
field,” an d in th e first place ex p ressed a p p re c ia tio n of th e k in d n ess an d h o s p ita lity e x ten d e d to th e I n s tit u te by its frie n d s in Sheffield. I n a referen ce to th e e d u c a tio n a l schem e w hich S h e f
field U n iv e rs ity h a d lau n ch e d a few y e a rs ago fo r th e benefit of s tu d e n ts an d a p p re n tic e s in th e fo u n d ry tr a d e , he said he hoped t h a t i t h a d flourished, because i t was a re a lly good schem e, w hich h a d a ttr a c te d m uch a tte n tio n th r o u g h o u t th e c o u n try , an d th e I n s t it u t e w as g la d to find t h a t Sheffield w as so progressive a n d could o rg a n ise such a th o ro u g h and com prehensive e d u c a tio n a l schem e. D ealin g w ith th e d evelopm ent
of Sheffield’s in d u s trie s, he p o in ted o u t th a t, as shown by th e h an d b o o k w hich h a d been p rep ared fo r th e m em bers of th e I n s titu te , one of the la rg e s t steelw orks in Sheffield, whose pre-w ar work w as alm ost e n tire ly G overn m en t w ork, h a d now p ra c tic a lly rep laced th is by com m ercial work. W hen h e re a d such n am es as V ickers, Cam m ell L aird , N ew ton C ham bers, E d g a r A llen, Brow n, F ir th , D avy, S am uel O sborn, M ap p in an d W ebb, an d so on, alm o st all of w hich w ere w orld-fam ed, he re a lise d t h a t , j u s t as Sheffield was a lead e r and p io n eer in th e p a st, so Sheffield would again become a J e a d e r an d a p ioneer in th e fu tu re . H e firm ly believed t h a t w hen th e p re s e n t financial s trin g e n c y , w hich affected p ractically th e whole w orld, h a d passed aw ay, Sheffield would again come in to its own. Could one im agine a city w hich h a d produced an d was still producing the b e st crucible high-speed steel in th e world, and which h a d developed an d still m ade th e best s ta in less ste e l in th e w orld, sin k in g in to th e back
g ro u n d sim ply because it could n o t th in k of any
th i n g else to p roduce? H e d id n o t know w hat Sheffield w ould b rin g o u t of its h a t y et, b u t he was q u ite su re t h a t i t w ould b rin g o u t som ething good v ery sh o rtly . I n a tr ib u te to M r. J o h n Shaw , to whom he re fe rre d as a ty p ical exam ple of th e Sheffield iro n fo u n d er, he said, amid la u g h te r, t h a t d u rin g h is v is it la s t y e a r to Am erica as a m em ber of th e d e leg a tio n from th is country M r. Shaw h a d been so k een on v isitin g works t h a t h e h a d v isite d a w orks on one day, trav elled all n ig h t, a n d v isited a n o th e r n e x t m o rning. Con
tin u in g , M r. B ussell said t h a t th e g re a t essential to th e ° r e tu r n of p ro sp erity to th e iron and steel tr a d e s was peace in in d u s try , an d he urged th a t t h a t peace m u s t be a ju s t peace. The in d u stry h a d a v ery big problem to face. F in a lly , he coupled w ith th e to a s t th e nam es of th e l o r d M ay o r an d th e M a s te r C u tle r.
Sheffield Now Making Fine Iron Castings.
The Lo r d Ma y o r, in h is response, said t h a t a L o rd M ay o r of Sheffield alw ays f e lt considerable p rid e w hen rep ly in g to th is to a s t. H e h a d a good
<leal of p ra c tic e , b lit t h a t in no w a y d e tra c te d from th e p rid e w hich he fe lt in re p re se n tin g th is
g r e a t co m m unity, fo r th e y h a d n o t only a p a s t o f w hich th e y w ere u n re se rv e d ly p ro u d , b u t a vigorous p re s e n t, an d a h o p efu l o utlook fo r th e f u tu r e . N o c ity in th e w orld h a d h a d a h a rd e r job to d e a l w ith th a n h a d Sheffield d u rin g th e p a s t few y e a rs. T h e difficulties h a d been form id able an d th e o rd eal sev ere, b u t th e y w ere em erging an d w ere fe e lin g solid g ro u n d u n d e r th e ir feet.
They h a d d ra w n , as th e y h a d h a d t o do, upon th e ir reserv es o f in v en tiv en ess, e n te r p ris e , self-reliance, p lu c k an d p ersev eran ce, a n d th e ir g r e a t in d u s
tr ie s h a d a d a p te d them selves in a w ay which he could only describe—k now ing w h a t h e d id of th e- co n d itio n s o f th e p a s t six o r seven y e a rs— as su r
p risin g a n d m arvellous. T h e I n s t i t u t e ’s own handbook c o n ta in e d a v ery g en ero u s, b u t p e rfe c tly ju s t, a p p re c ia tio n of th e in v e n tiv e a b ility , e n te r p rise a n d le a d e rsh ip o f th e m en who h a d founded Sheffield’s g r e a t in d u s trie s , a n d whose g r e a t nam es w ere s till th e sig n s of firm s of w orld-w ide re p u ta tio n , an d all t h a t h a d been sa id o f th e m could be said w ith eq u al t r u t h an d ju s tic e o f th e i r suc
cessors to -d ay . To' Sheffield’s w orkm en, also, th e I n s tit u te h a d p a id a ju s t t r ib u t e . I t h a d said t h a t th e Sheffield w o rk er w as a c ra fts m a n , a n d e x p e rien ced n o n -te c h n ic a l m en h a d show n u n c a n n y know ledge o f th e steel w hich th e y p ro d u ced , w hich w ould sham e d is tin g u ish e d academ ics. H e th a n k e d th e I n s t i t u te fo r its g enerous a p p re c ia tio n , and fo r th e g r e a t com plim ent i t h a d p a id to Sheffield in choosing th e c ity as th e m eetin g -p lao e on th is occasion. I n a re fe re n c e to p o st-w a r p rogress in Sheffield, in th e course of w hich he d w e lt upon th e C o rp o ra tio n ’s efforts in re g a r d to tow n p la n n in g , an d th e pro v isio n of houses, ro ad s, tr a n s p o rt, e tc ., h e sa id t h a t th e fo u n d ry b ra n c h o f th e g r e a t iro n an d steel in d u s try h a d show n v e rs a t i li ty , a d a p ta b ility a n d e n te r p ris e beyond all p ra ise . F o r ex am p le, th e p ro g ress m ad e in th e p ro d u c tio n of fine c astin g s h a d come p a rtic u la rly u n d e r his notice in co nnection w ith h is own b usi
ness. H e believed he could say t h a t in p re-w ar days th e Sheffield fo u n d ers w ere n o t N o. 1 in th e p ro d u c tio n of e x tre m e ly fine c a stin g s, an d w hen it h a d become n ecessary to look a ro u n d fo r new sources o f supply, those w ho n eed ed such c astin g s h a d m e t w ith g r e a t difficulty. B u t, in s te a d of
g oing to sleep a b o u t it , th e Sheffield founders h ad m e t th e i r co m p etito rs on th e ir own ground, and w ere now n o t only p ro d u cin g th e equal of the line c a stin g s w hich fo r some businesses i t had been necessary to im p o rt, b u t h a d excelled th e ir com
p e tito rs . H e w as very pleased an d th a n k fu l to recognise th e in te rn a tio n a l n o te w hich h a d been so u n d ed a t th is conference. I t was to him a m a t te r of th e g re a te s t sa tisfa c tio n to know th a t th e r e w ere a tte n d in g th e C onference re p re se n ta tiv e s of th e progressive n a tio n s of E u ro p e. Sad an d p a in f u l as w ere th e m em ories of th e p a s t few y e a rs , to-day o u r faces w ere tu r n e d to w ard s th e m o rn in g once m ore, an d we looked to a b e tte r w orld, to sa fe r, so u n d er an d sa n e r fo u n d atio n s of society th a n those w hich h a d re su lte d in th e shock
in g c a ta stro p h e w hich we all lam en ted , an d which h a d so d iso rg a n ise d in d u s try . G re a t B rita in showed how, in one sm all a re a , th r e e n a tio n s could live to g e th e r in peace, harm o n y an d helpfulness.
As a n o th e r exam ple he m en tio n ed t h a t along th e 3,000 m iles of f r o n tie r s e p a r a tin g th e U n ited S ta te s an d C a n a d a th e r e was n o t a soldier o r a fo r t. W hy should th e r e n o t be in th e fu tu re , th ro u g h th e m edium of o rg a n isa tio n s such as th e I .B .P ., th e U n ite d S ta te s of E u ro p e ? W h a t we w ere lo n g in g fo r w as peace in o u r in d u s tria l re la tio n s. T h a t w ould n o t come th ro u g h A cts of P a r lia m e n t; i t would come only w hen each of us did o u r b it to w a rd s it, an d we h a d b e tte r n o t sh irk th e re sp o n sib ility . T h ere rested u pon each one of us th e resp o n sib ility to do o u r p a r t in th e building up of a b e tte r, s a f e r an d a m ore en lig h ten ed society. F in a lly , th e L ord M ayor expressed his e a rn e s t an d h e a rtie s t w ishes fo r th e continued success of th e I n s tit u te .
M ultiplicity of Technical Associations.
Th e Ma s t e r Cu t l e r, who also responded to th e T o ast, ex p ressed th e v ery r e a l p leasu re which i t gave Sheffield to welcome th e m em bers of th e I n s tit u te to th e city . T hey m ig h t have a lo t of sm oke in Sheffield, b u t n o t so m uch as th e y would lik e. I t w as a n old say in g in Sheffield th a t
“ W h ere th e r e is m uck th e r e is m oney,” b u t they alw ays ad d ed “ provided i t is clean m uck. ’ They w ere n o t doing enough business, b u t hoped and
believed t h a t th e tim e would come w hen t h a t deficiency was m a d e good an d w hen th e y w ould a g a in flourish an d would be able to look th e w orld in th e face. Sheffield u n d o u b te d ly had played a v ery g r e a t p a r t m th e a d v an ce of th e iro n an d steel an d m an y o th e r in d u s trie s a n d i t was p roud of t h a t f a c t ; i t was p ro u d t h a t i t h a d been able to h elp, on th e te c h n ic a l a n d scientific side, so m an y tr a d e s a n d in d u s trie s in th is c o u n try . A fte r a re fe re n c e to th e v alu ab le w ork of th e Sheffield U n iv e rsity , he said th e r e was a n o th e r p h ase of know ledge le a d in g to p ro s p e rity w hich even U ni
v e rsitie s could n o t give. B y t h a t h e m e a n t t h a t on ly th r o u g h th e asso ciatio n of m en w ho w ere in te re s te d in a n y p a r tic u la r s u b je c t could re a l progress be m ade. F ro m th e e a rly days o f, he believed, th e se v e n te e n th c e n tu ry , w hen th e R oyal S o ciety w as fo u n d ed , m en beg an to re a lise th a t on ly by c o m b in atio n , by m u tu a l t r u s t a n d help, could th e t r u t h be discovered a n d know ledge acq u ired , a n d as th e c e n tu rie s h a d ro lled o n th e n u m b e r of th o se asso ciatio n s h a d g re a tly an d ste a d ily in creased . I t m ig h t be t h a t to -d a y we h a d to o m an y associations, b u t th e g r e a t p o in t a b o u t te c h n ic a l associations w as t h a t th e y led m en to know o n e a n o th e r a n d to h a v e t r u s t an d confidence in th e ir fellow s, a n d a lth o u g h in d i
v id u ally th e y m ig h t be c o m p etin g fo r th e neces
sitie s as well as fo r som e li tt le of th e lu x u rie s of life th e i r asso ciatio n to g e th e r was bound to c re a te good in in d u s try , a n d in m u n ic ip a l, social a n d n a tio n a l life. A ssociations such as th e I .B .F . te n d e d to prom ote p ro s p e rity a n d to sta b ilise o u r in d u s trie s. H e w ould to H e a v e n t h a t t h a t s p irit of m u tu a l h elp fu ln ess w as g r e a te r a n d he pray ed t h a t th e tim e m ig h t come w hen th e s p i r i t of evil w hich led m en to su sp ect th e ir fellows of some u lte rio r m o tiv e w ould be c a st o u t a n d w hen we should u n it e w ith th e comm on o b je c t of im proving th e re la tio n s betw een m a n a n d m a n , betw een n a tio n a n d n a tio n , a n d w hen th e r e w ould be in t r u t h a U n ite d S ta te s of E u ro p e . I n th e nam e of Sheffield a n d th o se e n g a g e d in its in d u s trie s he expressed to th e I n s ti t u t e th e h e a r tie s t wel
come, c o n g ra tu la te d i t u pon th e sp len d id w ork i t h a d a lre a d y done a n d hoped t h a t i t w ould p ro sp er,
to th e a d v a n ta g e of its in d iv id u a l members, th e I n s t i t u t e itse lf an d to th e a d v a n ta g e of th e E m p ire .
How Technical Societies Help Their Members.
M e. W. L. Hi c h e n s (M a n a g in g D ire c to r of M essrs. Cam m ell L a ird & C om pany L im ited ), p ro p o sin g th e I n s t i t u t e of B ritis h Foundrym en, e m phasised th e n a tio n a l im p o rta n c e of th e steel in d u s try , of w hich th e fo u n d ry tr a d e was an im p o rta n t p a r t . I f th e steel in d u s try languished, h e said , G re a t B r ita in w ould su rely lan g u ish too, a n d i t was to th e in te r e s t of everybody to see th a t n o t only should th e steel in d u s try m a in ta in its prev io u s s tre n g th , b u t t h a t i t should in crease it a n d become even g re a te r in th e f u tu r e th a n it h a d been in th e p a s t. T he steel in d u s try had suffered considerable m isfo rtu n e d u rin g th e p a st few y ears. I t h a d laboured u n d e r g r e a t diffi
c u lties ; co m p etitio n h a d been very fierce, work h a d been scarce, prices h a d been c u t to th e p o in t w hich h a d dism ayed all those engaged in th e in d u s try , an d h a d d elig h te d correspondingly all those who w ere n o t. They w ere n o t merely con
fro n te d w ith dom estic com petition a n d low prices e m a n a tin g f r o m . a dom estic source. They found t h a t fo re ig n co m p etitio n was even m ore strenuous, a n d h e believed t h a t as reg ard s fo u n d ry work fo re ig n co m p e titio n was as keen as in any o th er in d u s try , a n d prices quoted by foreig n ers a t th e p re s e n t tim e w ere som etim es so low as to cause dism ay. H e was q u ite convinced, however, th a t th e steel in d u s try could be re sto re d to its form er p ro s p e rity . E n u m e ra tin g some of th e g re a t benefits w hich th e I .B .F . could an d did confer u p o n th e fo u n d ry business, he said t h a t in th e first p lace th e I n s titu te as he saw i t stood for s o lid a rity a n d good fellowship am ong all those en g ag ed in th is g r e a t profession. S o lid arity and frie n d sh ip m e a n t, he supposed, t h a t if A dis
covered so m eth in g w hich was of in te re s t to th e in d u s try as a whole, he com m unicated i t a t once to B, C, D a n d th e r e s t ; b u t did he? N o ! H e k e p t i t to him self in th e hope t h a t no one else w ould find i t o u t, an d in so a c tin g he behaved very foolishly, because each of us h a d ways and m eans, w hich we th o u g h t p ecu liar to ourselves,
c
b u t which were in r e a lity common to all, fo r discovering w h a t h e was up to . T h erefo re, i t would really be w iser if A co m m u n icated s tr a ig h t aw ay w h a t he h a d fo u n d o u t in s te a d o f allow ing everybody to ex ercise his in g e n u ity to discpver i t by devious w ays in s te a d of d e v o tin g his in g e n u ity to o th er an d b e tte r pu rp o ses. A g ain , s o lid a rity an d good frie n d sh ip m e a n t t h a t if B g o t in to tro u b le he w e n t to A o r to som e o th e r who was n o t in tro u b le an d asked fo r help t o g e t o u t of it. B u t did he go to A o r to som e o th e r a n d confess t h a t he was in a hole? N o t a b it of it. T h erein he acte d foolishly, because e v e ry body fo u n d o u t t h a t he was in a b it of a mess—
an d in th e steel in d u s try , from his ow n e x p erien ce, everybody g o t in to a mess a t tim es. I n such circu m stan ces as he h a d in d ic a te d , B p re te n d e d th a t he was n o t in a mess a t all, everybody else e x a g g e ra te d th e t i t t l e t a t t l e th e y h e a rd all aro u n d , an d th e gossip w as f a r w orse fo r B th a n th e t r u th . B u t su p p o sin g t h a t w hen he g o t in to a mess he d id confide his tro u b les to A, w h a t w ould A do? H e d o u b ted if A w ould do m ore th a n say t h a t in t h a t case B w ould h av e to be c o n te n te d w ith his h e a rt-fe lt sy m p ath y . P ro b a b ly i t w ould n o t go f a r th e r th a n th a t . T h a t w as a p ity , because B ritis h A, B an d C w ere n o t re a lly riv als th e o n e of th e o th e r. T hey w ere m uch m ore th e rivals of a fo re ig n X , Y a n d Z, a n d w h a t m a tte r e d fo r th is c o u n try fro m th e b ro a d p o in t of view was t h a t o u r in d u s try as a w hole should be as efficient as possible, a n d t h a t th e w eakest m em ber, if th e r e be a w eak est m em ber, should be helped by th e s tro n g e r m em ber so t h a t as a whole we could be s tro n g e n o u g h to s ta n d up a g a in s t fo reig n c o m p e titio n a n d t h a t by a u n ite d know ledge an d c o m p e titio n we should be able to face th e stre n u o u s o p p o sitio n we w ere m e t w ith a b ro ad to -d ay . H e knew t h a t h e w as re g a rd e d as a v isio n ary , b u t he w as q u ite u n r e p e n ta n t.
H e alw ays asked fo r m ore th a n h e e x p e c te d to g e t a n d p erh ap s h e h a d done t h a t o n th is occa
sion, b u t su rely we sh o u ld do so m e th in g m ore th a n we h a d done. F o r in s ta n c e , we m ig h t, he con
sid ered , w ith o u t th e w orld com ing to a n e n d , allow each o th e r freely to v is it o u r w orks. T h a t
would n o t bo going so very fa r. W e m ig h t, for in sta n c e , com pare costs. T h a t was going a little f u r th e r , b u t i t w as th e r ig h t th in g to do if we w an ted to h a v e a n a tio n a lly efficient in d u stry a n d n o t an in d iv id u a lly efficient in d u s try . W e m ig h t com pare m ethods w ith g re a t ad v an ta g e, a n d t h a t was o n e of th e d irectio n s in which he wished t h e I n s t it u t e ev ery success because it stood fo r th e r ig h t th in g .
Foreign Contacts.
T h ere w as a n o th e r resp ect in w hich th e I n s ti
tu t e could an d did p erfo rm a g re a t service to th e in d u s try , nam ely, in th e prom otion of con
t a c t w ith o u r fo reig n com petitors. H e was glad to n o tice t h a t a n u m b er of valuable p ap ers by fo reig n e x p e rts h a d been re a d a t th e m eeting an d to know t h a t fo reig n re p re se n ta tiv e s were a tte n d in g th e C onference. T h a t was th e rig h t th in g because a lth o u g h he fe lt t h a t in a sense th e B ritis h w ere th e riv als of th e foreigners, y et in a w ider an d bigger sense th e y w ere comrades on th e sam e quest, i.e ., th e q u est of th e g re a te st efficiency in th e steel in d u s try for th e sake of th e whole w orld, an d t h a t was an id eal which was w o rth som ething. The I n s tit u te h ad done a g re a t deal also in p ro m o tin g to u rs an d v isits to works in o th e r c o u n trie s w hich was m ost valuable to th is c o u n try , an d , he hoped, useful to th e coun
tr ie s v isite d , an d h e tr u s te d t h a t th e In s titu te w ould be able to e x te n d t h a t . D iscussing finally th e d evelopm ent of e d u catio n , he said th e re was a tim e —he did n o t know w h eth er i t h a d alto g eth er g one by—w hen people used to say t h a t foundry w ork w as a ro u g h k in d of w ork an d th e re fo re it was n o t th e k in d of w ork t h a t an ed u cated m an w as likely to do. T h a t was all w rong, for all ex p erien ce w en t to show t h a t th e steel in d u s try was becom ing m ore an d m ore d ep e n d e n t upon science, an d th e m ore we could a tt r a c t m en of e m in e n t scientific a tta in m e n ts to ta k e up w ork in o u r fo u n d ries an d in th e steel in d u s try as a whole, t h e b e tte r i t w ould be. B u t t h a t was n o t all.
I t was even m ore im p o rta n t t h a t we should e n co u rag e e d u c a tio n am ong a p p re n tic e s in th e fo u n d ry business. H e could n o t help believing
t h a t one of th e g r e a t a d v a n ta g e s t h a t th e A m eri
cans an d G erm an s h a d o v er ns in in d u s try was t h a t th e r e w as such a h ig h s ta n d a r d of e d u c a tio n in those c o u n trie s am o n g st m en engaged in in d u s try . F in a lly , M r. H ich en s p a id a tr ib u te to M r. G oodw in, whose v alu ab le w ork was recog
n ised an d whose y e a r of office would add lu stre
n ised an d whose y e a r of office would add lu stre