and rural population have increased in about the same proportion. She has not had the troubles in legislation that our other states have had which have large industrial centers. The legislation which has been good for one locality has suited all localities in the state, and, as the Mayor says, she has 97 per cent of tillable ground; and if any of you had ridden through this ground for 200 miles as I did yesterday, and seen this magnificent tillable ground, you would imagine that she was one of the finest states in the Union, as she is. In fact, she has more agricultural lands under cultivation than any other state in the United States according to its size, and than any other country in the world, according to its size. So I think, Mr. Mayor, that you can be very proud of your state. There is no question about your state. The laws are well administered, and the laws are well made. If some of us would follow your laws it would be a very good thing.

Now I am not a booster for your state, you will notice, but I want to tell the truth about your state. I am just going to turn a minute to who your guests are-the American Society for Municipal Improvements, and what it means, too. The American Society for Municipal Improvements is composed principally of the engineers, the commissioners or aldermen, if you please, and those who have to do with the building up of the city; and also with those men who furnish the engineers and commisioners with the equipment and the material that are primarily necessary for the building up of municipalities. Now while we need the legislation, while we need the mayors, and while we need the aldermen, there are no two classes of men that municipalities need as much as engineers and city attorneys. In fact, those two classes of men rule the city, although the mayors will not admit it; but they do rule the city. The engineers not only plan the work, but they execute the work, and the city attorneys smooth out all the troubles and control municipal affairs. There is no class of men in the United States who spend as much money and are responsible for the expenditure of as much money as are the city engineers, and yet they move about quietly. They do their work modestly; they very rarely appear in print, and yet they are the very keystone of your municipalities. That is the class of men that you see here tonight, and who are representing the municipalities of the United States.

Again, Mr. Mayor, I thank you for your very hearty welcome on behalf of the society. (Applause.)

(After two musical numbers by the Des Moines Trio, President Dalton addressed the convention.

PRESIDENT DALTON'S ADDRESS.

One of the most important functions which this Society has to perform is to prepare complete specifications for municipal improvements. There is no other national body, as far as I am aware, to which this work may be delegated. True, there are local societies and specialized technical bodies which perform a part of the whole, or a whole part, of this work. The American Society for Testing Materials, for instance, prepares nationally recognized and accepted specifications for materials and methods of tests. It would be an unnecessary duplication of effort for us to concern ourselves with specifications for materials when there are in existence standard, or tentative standard, specifications of the American Society for Testing Materi als. Every specification for any type of public improvement contains essential sections pertaining to design, materials, workmanship and inspection. We have a big enough job to prepare the sections on design, workmanship and the USE of materials, and to weave these sections together with the specifications of the American Society for Testing Materials, to make a complete, consistent and workable specification for any type of municipal improvement. There should be, therefore, the closest sort of co-operation between this Society and the American Society for Testing Materials. Anything we have to say about specifications for materials should be said to the American Society for Testing Materials when its specifications are in the course of preparation or revision, and not afterward in the form of belated criticisms.

Another society, the American Concrete Institute, prepares specifications for concrete products and structures. Many of the concrete structures for which the American Concrete Institute has prepared specifications enter into municipal improvements. Naturally, the membership of the American Concrete Institute consists largely of representatives of the cement industry and allied industries. Members representing the industry are eligible for menbership to specification committees and

are active on the committees. To my mind, therefore, it is an open question just how acceptable specifications prepared under such conditions will be to City Engineers who have had little to do with their preparation. But in any event we should be in closer co-operation with all societies-the American Society for Testing Materials, the American Concrete Institute, the Asphalt Association and the National Brick Association.

Another national body with which we should keep in touch is the American Association of State Highway Officials. Although our paving specifications are intended for city streets, there should be no great difference between the specifications for the same type of pavement on a state highway or on a city street; in fact, the specifications should be basically the same, the main difference being only in design as affecting width, thickness and pavement cross section. We have been called a close corporation by those who do not know us well, and the American Association of State Highway Officials is regarded as a close corporation, in certain quarters. It is about time the two "close corporations" got together and compared notes. The American Association of State Highway Officials have already issuen a very creditable manual on the sampling and testing of highway materials, and it is probably only a matter of time before they will be coming along with specifications for the design and construction of asphalt, concrete and other types of pavements, thus duplicating our work to a certain

extent.

In the preparation of specifications, the larger cities are not even limited to their own municipal engineer; they are in a position to employ, on a consulting fee basis, practically any additional talent that may be required.

However, the possibility of the consolidation of local societies. of municipal engineers with the American Society for Municipal Improvements should not be lost sight of. It would be a most wise move if all municipal engineers could be gathered into one national body, if only for the preparation of Standard Forms of specifications, with the more detailed requirements to be left to the judgment of the local engineers.

Our Society is composed predominantly of City Engineers, is governed by City Engineers, and is for the benefit of City Engineers. Associate members, who are generally producers, are given the rare opportunity of direct contact with City En

gineers, who have the bulk of all public improvements in this country under their direct supervision. A Society with this constitution and relation must prevail, and not only will prevail but will grow in numbers and importance if we give our members value received, and give it to them promptly.

WHAT IS OUR STATUS AND WHAT IS OUR RATING?

We are the only national body entrusted with the function of preparing national specifications for municipal improvements, and the only national society dedicated to the service of City Engineers. Our status and rating depend upon how well we perform our functions. From the standpoint of membership, we are at the end of the procession of similar national organizations. From the standpoint of activity we have very few specifications to our credit. In the matter of publications we have only the Annual Proceedings to look forward to, with occasional reprints of the specifications. News letters and bulletins, which are issued by other societies to sustain interest of the membership between meetings, have been suggested from time to time, but have never appeared. Outside of our own publications, about the only publicity which we receive is the reports of the annual conventions in the engineering journals, and these are not always very gratifying to our self-esteem.

I could talk for hours on co-operation, which was the keynote of Mr. Rankin's presidential address three years ago, but if there is little or no aggregate individual effort, and if the officers and members of the Executive Committee no not provide ways and means for the co-ordination of what individual effort there is, then our much-talked-of "co-operation" remains only an idle gesture. Examine your own files. How much co-operation have you sought, and how much have you received from officers and members of the American Society for Municipal Improvements? How much has been sought from you, and how much have you given? If we do not seek co-operation, then we are either self-sufficient or inactive. If we were all self-sufficient and active, and had lived up to the articles of our American Society for Municipal Improvements constitution, the story would be quite different. We might number something like 10,000 in membership. If we are to attain that degree of recognition to which we are entitled by virtue of our constitution, we must earn it by our own activities. We must have action

from the Executive Committee in shaping our policies and secing that they are carried out. We must have action from our membership in committee work, in the way of criticism and helpful suggestions, and in increasing the size and prestige of the Society. And we must have action and service without stint from the office of the Secretary in the prompt attention. to the business of the Society and in the co-ordination of the efforts of the officers, committees and members. Action, coordinated activity and considerate service to our membership must be realized and sustained if we are going to make any real progress. Mr. Dutton's slogan, "Every member get a new member," of which I have made use without much avail, must become a realization and not an empty phrase.

Finally, gentlemen, I would recommend our next year's activities commence immediately after the close of this convention, and not nine months hence, or three months before the next convention. I am making certain suggestions and recommendations to the Executive Committee which, I feel, if carried through, will be of great benefit to the Society.

I thank you.

PRESIDENT DALTON: The next is the report of the Executive Committee.

The

SECRETARY BROWN: The Executive Committee, in its meeting, elected 47 members to the Society; 38 of these were active members, and the other nine were associate members. Executive Committee recommends to the Society three amendments to the constitution. The first and least of these is that the Secretary be selected by the Executive Committee annually. The second that Specifications Committees consist of not more than seven members. The third is that a majority of each committee be active members. This is the substance of the resolutions which will be presented for the action of the Society on Wednesday morning. The reports of the Secretary-Treasurer and Finance Committee are postponed until the latter part of the convention on account of a change in the officers which will take place at that time.

PRESIDENT DALTON: The next is the nomination of the Resolutions Committee. It seems the first is the Committee on Nomination of Officers. Nominations are in order.