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a friendly, tactful executive. He tried honestly to play this
role. Repeated failures caused him to retreat farther into his
studiousness, which made him the victim of much criticism, just and
unjust.
Nevertheless, during the first two years of his administration there
were several significant changes in educational plans and personnel,
and one major addition to the plant. The new structure was the
foundry, a building 90 by 52 feet, erected just north of the
Mechanical Laboratories on West Street. It was constructed in 1902,
under the direction of Professor French, at a cost of about
$11,000. It was so well planned both for instruction and commercial
uses that the directors of the Louisiana Purchase Exposition invited
the Institute to design and supervise the construction of a similar
model foundry at St. Louis for the 1904 Fair. This building was a
center of interest for engineers and foundrymen.
Also, in 1902, the old foundry room was transformed into a modern
forge shop, and equipment costing about $14,000 was added to other
parts of the Washburn Shops. This equipment and the foundry were
financed by a special fund, donors to which included Salisbury,
Whitcomb, Morgan, Washburn, and Logan. Other improvements included the
installation of signal bells in all buildings, and a rearrangement of
the heating system. Boynton Hall was connected to the central heating
plant, and the boilers in the basement of the Hall were removed.
In 1903, Dr. Engler submitted two proposals to the trustees. One dealt
with the increasing importance of electric railway engineering and
management, and the need for enlarging the scope of the Electrical
Engineering department to provide for this type of instruction. This
was referred to the committee that had been appointed to consider ways
of increasing the resources of the Institute. At the time they were
powerless to make suggestions, but the proposal was soon to be
adopted.
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