The American Mining Engineer

Discussion of the Paper of Albert R. Ledoux, read at the Atlantic City Meeting, February, 1904. ARTHUR JARMAN, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia' (communication to the Secretary*): Some remarks upon. Dr. Ledoux's interesting paper from one who has not visited America may, I hope, be of interest to members. It appears to me that there is considerable difference between the training of the American and of the British mining engineer. Not that the subjects are different, but rather in the way in which they are handled, the illustrations being, as far as possible, mining in character. Colloquial instruction is unknown in English curricula, but could be introduced with advantage. Students here assure me that an hour of conversation is of tar more use to them than an hour of the best lecturing. In England a school-year of 6 or 7 months would be considered very short indeed; but Americans do not consider it so, for the reason that the rest of the year is mostly spent in acquiring practical acquaintance with their subjects in works or in the field, and the shorter courses, when coupled with this large amount of outside expe¬rience, produce an essentially practical-minded engineer, who is also more of a business man; whereas the English system, though excellent from a scholastic point of view, produces the theoretical rather than the practical man. British schools are waking up, however, and the practical aspect of the engineer's training is receiving greater consideration. Once launched upon his career, the American engineer is immediately called upon to exercise his self-reliance and ingenuity, if he is to retain the confidence of his employers; but what can we say of English directors? In how many cases is the engineer allowed to guide the destinies of his company? Witness several recent cases of gross waste of money upon unsuitable plants, and the perpetuation of prehistoric methods of