The Autobiography of John Fritz

              AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF JOHN FRITZ 239
the pleasurable features, wlflch, unfortunately, all could not for want of time participate in, was the letters that had been received by Mr. Fritz and the Comnflttee, brief ex¬ tracts of which only could be read. These letters and cables, brimful as they were of kindly regards and warm appreciation of the host as a man, spoke in the Iflghest terms of what he had done in bringing about a better under¬ standing among engineers and in building up ties' of kindly brotherhood and good wiU.
Short extracts were then read from letters received from such enflnent foreign engineers as Sir I. Lowthian Bell, E. Windsor Richards, E. P. Martin, C. P. Sandberg, J. Hoecher, Professor Herman Wedding, Adolph Grainer, Sir James Kfltson, Richard Akerman, James Dredge, and others, leaving a mass of other letters which could only be referred to. As weU were there letters (some of which were read) from friends in this country, who, by reason of absence from home or otherwise, could not be present, much to their regret. These various letters, which of themselves would make quite a volume, would, if published, be of much interest to engineers of aU professions; for outside of the personal good wiU they contain, they show a high regard for the " American engineer " and for what in so short a time he has accomplished.
When the Chairman announced that one John Fritz, of Bethlehem, Pa., was to be arrested and brought to trial then and there on the charge of pretending to be an " en¬ gineer," and for pretending to know something about making steel, the absurdity of the charge and the novelty of the procedure instantly caught the fancy of Ifls assembled friends, and such a shout and such a cheer as there arose that Opera House had never before heard. The Attorney- General (in view of the authority wlflch he said had been conferred upon him) proceeded in the most arbitrary and