from the proper number of students recommended from the standpoint of excellence in scholarship, by a committee of members of the faculty. In all cases the members must be elected by ballot, and each must receive the favorable votes of three-fourths of those present. It is thus apparent that elections are not automatic, depending only upon high scholarship, but that character as well receives due consideration.

Regular membership is also offered to alumni of the college who graduated before the chapter was established, and who would have been eligible under the conditions just mentioned if the chapter had existed prior to their graduation. Many chapters number among their members alumni of this class. It is a cause for congratulation that these "old boys" are quite generally in the heartiest sympathy with their chapter, and are always ready to do their best for its members and for the association at large.

Graduates of the institution in which the chapter exists, or of similar institutions, distinguished by reason of attainments in their profession, may be elected to honorary membership. A quarterly magazine, called "The Bent," has just completed its second year. It has been published heretofore by the Pennsylvania Alpha chapter, but is to be conducted in the future by the Executive Council.

A catalog of the membership was published in 1898, and another edition is in preparation.

The badge of the association is a gold watch-key, shaped like the bent of a trestle. This badge, also known as the "bent," and an engrossed certificate of membership stating his qualifications, are presented to each member at his initiation.

So much for the progress and condition of the society. Let us now see what are its rights to exist. and upon what its claims for consideration are based.

During the initiatory ceremonies and throughout the chapter life, especial stress is placed upon the member's loyalty to his alma mater. He is encouraged to work for his college both as a student and as an alumnus. His obligation to support his college in return for the equipment for life's battle which he has received is made plain, and his efforts for its improvement and progress are enlisted. A prominent place is also given to the obligation his past attainments place him under to maintain his high standards, not only during the remainder of his course, but also during his professional career. That these aims are realized, the high standards prevailing among the alumni, and the unvarying spirit of loyalty to alma mater which they possess bear emphatic witness.

Professor Williams has described the cordial relations existing between faculty and students at Lehigh, and his remarks apply equally as well to other institutions where chapters of this association are found. In all there is a spirit of hearty cooperation, which, while not confined by any means to Tau Beta Pi circles, owes a large portion of its origin to that source, and is maintained as a valuable influence by the society's efforts. We, as instructors, well appreciate what it means to have men in our classes who can always be depended upon to handle their work intelligently. The members of Tau Beta Pi are usually of this sort, and we can always rely upon their assistance and support in matters of class discipline or college welfare.

In broadening the equipment and character of the members, in teaching them to speak and write correctly, through experience in the meetings, the several chapters proceed differently-their methods depending upon local conditions. Many have literary programs as prominent features of the meetings, while others devote them to business and social ends alone. In some cases the chapter arranges and maintains a lecture course, engaging speakers prominent in engineering lines to speak before meetings of the students at large. Where the literary phase does not receive much attention, it will generally be found to be the case that the members of the chapter are the moving spirits in the administration and support of the engineering societies of their various departments, and that their interest keeps these organizations at a high state of efficiency. This is particularly true at the larger colleges, where technical societies are more likely to be strong. Certain chapters carry on some organized work of general benefit to the college, such as gathering certain statistics. This phase of activity has not received the attention which many of us believe its possibilities merit, and it is our opinion that a great field for valuable work here exists.

Tau Beta Pi is essentially an undergraduate organization, and among its active members and alumni the fraternal feeling is well developed. In these respects it differs somewhat from the other honorary societies now existing. From the nature of its conditions of eligibility, a considerable proportion of its members are likely to be men who have devoted themselves perhaps too closely to their studies, and special at

tention is paid to the promotion of good-fellowship, and to the development of the members along social lines. Tau Beta Pi conflicts in no way, however, with the regular social fraternities. Its members are elected entirely from the junior and senior classes, while the fraternities rarely elect men later than their sophomore year. Elections to Tau Beta Pi are just as highly prized among fraternity men as among others, and they make just as loyal members of the society in most cases. In the past the association has been rather noted for its severe initiations, and has had the reputation of being worse in that respect than any other college body. At the ninth convention, however, it became evident that a strong sentiment against this sort of thing existed, and the convention adopted a resolution opposing further "horse-play" and roughness in the initiations, as derogatory to the dignity of the body.

While the fraternal sentiment is fostered during undergraduate days, an effort is also made to keep the alumni in touch with each other, by organizing alumni associations wherever a sufficient number is found. Banquets, in connection with local chapters, or independent of such, afford frequent opportunities for the extension and renewal of acquaintance among members of the profession.

The Tau Beta Pi Association benefits the undergraduate by instilling high ideals and lofty standards of professional ethics. It brings together the brightest men in the college under a common bond, and fosters friendships that count for something in after years.

To the college itself the association soon becomes of marked benefit. In addition to promoting college loyalty, and making closer the relations between faculty and students, the establishment of a chapter invariably raises the standards of scholarship. In every college the students are exceedingly anxious to receive elections to the society, and many instances are known where men begin their efforts early in their freshman year, with the attainment of the honor of election in view.

To a considerable extent Tau Beta Pi is interested and working along the same lines as the Society for the Promotion of Engineering Education. While the greater benefit results from the consultation and deliberations of instructors from the various colleges, it is exceedingly desirable, and in fact essential to the successful introduction of progressive methods, that we have the support of at least the leaders of the student body. To the chapters of Tau Beta Pi we may look for this support, with the assurance of receiving it. The writer has wondered if it is not desirable that closer relations should exist between our society, and this earnest, conscientious body of engineering students. We are working to increase the efficiency of their equipment for facing the responsibilities of life and their profession. They are working to make the best use of the facilities we afford, and to reflect credit upon us by their success. Our interests are supplementary, if not identical, and, in the writer's estimation, only good can result from a direct effort toward definite cooperation between the Tau Beta Pi Association and the Society for the Promotion of Engineering Education.