sophical subjects. Dr. Hollis takes almost as the text of his address a quotation from the writings of Mr. H. G. Wells, in which he says: "The history of mankind is the history of the attainment to external power." Another way of stating this sentence would be to say that the history of mankind is the history of engineering, for it may be said that every forward step in the attainment of external power has been accomplished through the invention of some form of engineering device, however simple and crude these devices may have been in the early beginnnig of civilization. And each such forward step along material lines has carried with it the possibility, in fact, the necessity, of a further advance in a spiritual way. From this point of view the work of the engineer is the very foundation of the whole progress of the civilization of man. It too often happens, however, that the engineer contents himself with the development of inventions for the betterment of mankind while failing utterly to appreciate the capacity that lies within his work of inspiring the higher and more spiritual emotions. Dr. Hollis has developed within himself this capacity to a pre-eminent degree, and it is this very quality which renders so inspiring any words of advice or encouragement which he may offer to his fellow engineers. In order to place his profession and its ideals properly before the people it is necessary for the engineer to acquire the power of expression. And there can be no better means to this end than for each and every man to become a member of one of the great engineering societies of this country. Further than this he should join the local engineering society, if such exists, in his own community and should take an active part in its business and technical proceedings. It is to be regretted that every member of the Louisiana Engineering Society could not have been present to have heard these inspiring words of Dr. Hollis and to have felt something of the personality of the man; of those who were not present no man should fail to read the address as reproduced in the pages of this journal. Men and Materials. The two great factors in the working out of any engineering plan are labor and materials. Labor means men, and men mean human beings who are entitled to a fair share of the profits of their labor, not only from the financial standpoint, but from the social and spiritual side as well. Financiers, contractors, managers and superintendents are more and more turning their attention to this phase of the problem and are beginning to realize that if the worker is to attain to his proper place in the forward progress of civilization he must have a larger self-expression. This is something of the same problem with reference to the working-man that Dr. Hollis has discussed for the engineer. It is, in fact, the universal problem of mankind. Each class, or group or profession, or however we may attempt to classify mankind, can never acquire its just share of the benefits of civilization, material, social or spiritual, until such time as it shall have attained to an adequate and safe degree of self-expression. There is reprinted in this issue an article by Mr. Fred. H. Rindge, Jr., which appeared originally in The Electric Journal for January, 1917, entitled "Industry's Changing Emphasis." It gives a succinct and clear exposition of this important matter and should be of interest to many of our members, who have to deal with large groups of men. Honorary Members. The rule for election to honorary membership in the Society has been recently amended. According to the original rule a name for honorary membership must have been proposed by at least ten members and be elected by the unanimous vote of the Society. The new rule provides that at least ten members must propose the name for honorary membership, but that the election shall be by the Board of Direction. The first honorary member to be elected under this new rule is Colonel Sidney F. Lewis. We take great pleasure in extending our congratulations to Colonel Lewis and are gratified at being able to publish in this issue a portrait of him and a short sketch of his professional life. Map of the Recent Gulf Coast Storms. There is being sent out with this issue of The Proceedings a map showing the paths of the recent Gulf Coast Storms, the heights of the water at different localities, and other data contained in Mr. Okey's paper. It was his intention to have had this map published with the original paper, but there was some necessary delay in getting it out. Through the courtesy of the United States Department of Agriculture we were permitted to use the tracing for the map from which to make a cut. This map comes then as a supplement to the issue of October, 1916, which contains Mr. Okey's article entitled "Storm Tides Along the Central Gulf Coast." To Our Advertisers. The Louisiana Engineering Society publishes this journal because its members feel that they should have some means of keeping a permanent record of the technical activities and business transactions of the Society. It serves further as a means of keeping the members in closer touch with each other and with the affairs of the Society. We could not afford to publish the journal if it were not for the financial assistance we secure from the advertisements. We do not propose to offer you an advertising medium with the enormous circulation of the Saturday Evening Post or the Ladies' Home Journal; you would not advertise in these papers because they would not reach the people whom you wish to reach with your advertisement. We do offer you, however, an advertising medium which will carry your Ad to the very class of people in this community whom you desire to reach especially. While we cannot guarantee that the individual engineers, members of the Society, will always patronize exclusively the firms who advertise in our journal, yet we can state that there is a very strong feeling throughout our membership that this is the proper policy, and the majority of our members will, whenever possible, give preference to the advertisers who patronize us. We are all working in a common cause, and the aid which you thus extend to us will bear fruit in the additional profit which will come to you. Changes of Address. We have been requested to publish the following as being the present addresses of the members named below: J. A. Brookshire, with Bucyrus Co., 808 Marquette Ave., South Milwaukee, Wis. Gail H. Brown, c/o. Ford, Bacon & Davis, 115 Broadway, New York City. H. H. Gibson, 244 Olivier St., New Orleans, La. Arthur R. Mielly, P. O. Box 201, Monroe, La. Hebert P. Nathan, 117 Highland Ave., Buffalo, N. Y. COLONEL SIDNEY F. LEWIS. [Upon the recommendation and endorsement of a large number of its members Col. Lewis has recently been elected an Honorary Member of the Louisiana Engineering Society. In view of his long and active connection with the affairs of our organization, as well as his distinguished engineering services to the State, this brief sketch of his professional life is herewith presented.-Editor.] Sidney Francis Lewis, son of Dr. John Hampden Lewis, and grandson of Judge Joshua Lewis, was born in New Orleans, January 28th, 1854. His father was one of the most prominent physicians of the city, a Master of Arts of Yale College, Bachelor of Arts of the Sorbonne, and a graduate of the Medical School of Paris. Sidney Lewis' early education was obtained in the private and public schools of New Orleans. He attended the old Grammar School in St. Philip Street and graduated in 1869 from the Central Boys' High School in Burgundy Street. This was at the time when the Rev. John Percival was principal of the High School. Under the tutorship of Prof. Ulric Bettison he was coached for entrance to the University of Virginia, where he matriculated in 1870. He took up a combined Literary and Scientific Course, pursuing his studies until the summer of 1874. As a result of the strain from overwork he was taken seriously ill and was obliged to return to New Orleans in the Fall of that year. His illness prevented his return to Virginia until May, 1875, at which time he took the necessary final examinations and received his degree of Civil Engineer as of the Class of 1874. Mr. Lewis returned to New Orleans during the closing days of the troubles over reconstruction and carpet-bag rule, and as he says, his start in the practice of his profession was made under the difficulties incident to that period in the history of the city and state. In 1877, during the administration of Governor Francis T. Nicholls, he received an appointment Es draftsman and assistant engineer in the State Engineering Department. In 1880, he was appointed a member of the Board of Engineers to fill a vacancy caused by the resignation of Major B. M. Harrod, chief state engineer, who resigned to become. a member of the Mississippi River Commission which was created by act of Congress in the Fall of 1879. From 1880 to 1908 he was a member of the Board of State Engineers, and during the latter period, he was engineer in charge of seven of the constituted levee districts of the state. He located, designed and had charge of the construction of the rear protection levee in Plaquemine Parish, East Bank, and which led to future erection of levees in the reclamation of wet lands throughout the state. He assisted and gave his advice in the closure of many crevasses in the levee districts under his immediate charge. In the fall of 1908, upon the recommendation of Governor Jared Y. Sanders, he was elected by the Board of Levee Commissioners of the Orleans Levee District as their chief engineer. From September 17, 1908, to September 1, 1916, He served the city and state in this responsible position, locating, designing and superintending the construction of the largest continuous embankments for protection that exist in the world to-day. These were built with the aid of the most up-to-date mechanical devices, and at a greatly reduced cost, as compared with the methods of former years. Mr. Lewis, on account of factional politics, resigned his position with the Orleans Levee Board on September 1, 1916. He is now practicing his profession as a "Consulting Engineer," with an office in the Strand Building, recently erected on Baronne and Gravier Streets. In 1877, he joined the State Militia as a private in Battery C, Louisiana Field Artillery, and from a private he rose through all grades to Lieutenant, and served for a short period |