Since the beginning of the 20 th century, there had been much interest shown in the Czech lands in the establishment of a central institute for the technical branches of science, such as in the attempt to set up a special category for them within the CASA. Because this and other attempts had been unsuccessful, representatives of these technical fields decided to take steps to set up an independent organization.
The situation following the establishment of the new state was in their favour. The Academy was constituted under an act of law dated 29 th January 1920. The focus on technical matters and technical "work", which is reflected in the name, and the utilization of the results of this labour by technicians for the benefit of society, were meant to be reflected in such tasks as: attention to the studies and education of researchers and to the scientific organization of technical work, the support of scientific research in all technical disciplines, protection and support for inventors and inventiveness and in particular, research into new methods of production and coordination with business, participation in dealing with public authorities' technical tasks and the popularization of technical work.
Cover of a catalogue published for the American Construction
Exhibition in Prague in 1923 from the Masaryk
Academy of Labour record-group
The Academy was thus not just meant to be an institute that was only interested in supporting the development of the technical sciences but it was also to monitor their application, promoting better procedures, organization and so forth. The fact that the president's name appeared in its title was not just the result of an attempt to make use of him for patronage so as to gain the favour of the state administration, but it was a reflection of the actual interest shown by T. G. Masaryk in this undertaking, including his financial contribution of 1 million crowns.
The Academy was composed of both a Body of Experts (elected for six years) - specialists with scientific and practical backgrounds, and of a Scientific Council made up of experts with special credit in their field of activity (with life membership). The Scientific Council was headed by a president, whose position was ratified by the President of the Republic and who directed all the MAL activities. Right from the outset, however, its organization was so highly complex that it got in the way of its own work and it was criticized for not knowing how to handle its own internal organization even though it was supposed to engage in organization work itself.
The Academy's income was rather haphazard to begin with (the MAL Union of Friends was supposed to raise funds) but by 1922 it was receiving support from the Ministry of Education and National Culture. This funding was not usually sufficient, however, and over the twenty years of the First Republic's lifetime, the overall amount assigned from the state budget dwindled continually.
MAL work was focused within divisions set up by the commissions and institutes to deal with special questions. Some of the several dozen commissions that had sprung up had research tasks (e.g. research into fuels), others had organizational tasks (transport commissions) and others were involved in water or atmospheric pollution. Several institutes were set up in the twenties (Psychotechnical Institute, Institute for Urban construction, Institute for Applied Ornithology or the Institute for Emigrational and Colonizational Economic Relations) and others were added later, such as the Institute for the Economy of Labour in Agriculture. As time passed, some went independent and others were wound up. Some institutes or commissions including those of a temporary nature achieved good results while the work of others did not have any great impact. Clearly, the range of interests was too wide, which was bound to diminish its efficiency and its work within individual institutes and commissions.
The nature of the Academy was also reflected in its contacts and collaboration abroad, where it focused in particular upon the technically and economically advanced countries of Western Europe and the USA. It organized study trips for Czech and Slovak engineers and technicians to these countries so they could learn more advanced methods of work, it helped to organize visits by prominent representatives from the world of science and technology to Czechoslovakia, and last but not least, it promoted the latest technical methods, which were sometimes of a technocratic nature e.g. Taylorism, and it collaborated in introducing the production methods used at the Ford works.
The publication activity of the Academy was considerable, with scientific, popular science, practical, educational, informational and promotional works. It also provided specialist reports and proposal initiatives to the Ministries and other authorities. For smaller specialist writings, the MAL Anthology was put out from 1921 to 1931 and again as the MAL Bulletin, which came out from 1945.
MAL activity was considerably diminished during the war (at that time under the name Czech Technical Academy) but after May 1945 its leading representatives endeavoured to revive it and its ranks swelled with a number of new members, but of course political developments were not then in its favour. Its abolition or incorporation into the new CSAS was justified by the euphemism that a new central body would also look after the development of the technical sciences.
Written by Hana Barvikova
American-Czech relations
MAL foreign members - nominations, appointments, personal details, letters and lists of members, 1920 - 1949: K. Tománek, J. Buffington, E. J. Caldvell, S. P. Duggan, L. Farrand, S. McCune Lindsay, W. Rose, J. B. Scott, F. B. Gilbreth, L. W. Wallace, D. A. Flinn, C. W. Rice, A. Zelený, V.L. Kellogg, G.K. Burgess, H. Hoover, H. Ford, W. W. Nichols, C.A. Player, T. H. McDonald, H. Emerson, M. Holland, J. Vobořil, Cook, Lawdermilk, Davies, Swing, Graham, Golden, Hathway, Talbot. Sign. II.4, ser. no. 317, b. 24.
Register of MAL members 1920 - 1923: J. Buffington, E. J. Caldwell, S. P. Duggan, L. Farrand, S. Lindsay, H. A. Miller, W. Rose, J. B. Scott. Sign. II.4, ser. no. 320, b. 25.
Register of MAL members 1920 - 1952: A. Hrdlička, J. Buffington, R. J. Caldwell, P. S. Duggan, L. Farrand, H. A. Miller, W. Rose, J. B. Scott, M. Farrand, V. L. Kellogg, A. Zelený, D. A. Flinn, F. B. Gilbreth, C. W. Rice, L. W. Wallace, S. McCune Lindsay, H. Person, R. T. Kent, H. D. Greeley, D. P. Farnham, Mrs. L. M. Gilbreth, M. L. Cooke, J. W. Roe, A. N. Talbot, C. A. Player, H. A. Hopf, W. W. Nichols, T. H. MacDonald, H. Emerson, M. Holland, J. P. F. Druce, R. C. Archibald, F. L. Dunlap, R. A. Abrams, F. Vlček, K. Hathaway, J. Hlobil, J. Vobořil, C. E. Davies, P. J. Kolachov, H. F. Wilkie, F. W. Zerban, R. G. Swing, J. Hovorka, C. S. Golden, F. P. Graham. Sign. II.4, ser. no. 321, b. 25.
Personal writings of MAL members 1919 - 1952: election nominations, biographies, acceptances of membership, confirmation of the election of foreign members by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, membership vow depositions, resignations and membership cancellations, membership questionnaires and membership declarations, congratulatory speeches on anniversaries, anniversary articles, speeches of condolence, obituary articles, photos, R. A. Abrams (materials from 1931 - 1933), R. C. Archibald (1929 - 1930), J. Buffington (1921), E. J. Caldwel (1921), W. Clark (1936 - 1948), M. L. Cooke (1935), C. E. Davies (1947), S. P. Duggan (1924), F. L. Dunlap (1930 - 1932, photo), H. Emerson (1928 - 1931), F. B. Gilbreth (1923 - 1926, photo), Mrs. L. M. Gibreth (1924 - 1950), G. S. Golden (undated), F. P. Graham (undated), H. D. Greeley (undated), D. P. Farnham (1924), M. Farrand (1924), D. A. Flinn (1923 - 1940), J. R. Freeman (1926 - 1932), K. Hathaway (1930 - 1933), J. Hlobil (1946 - 1947), M. Holland (1927 - 1929), H. A. Hopf (1927 - 1949), J. Hovorka (1948), A. Hrdlička (1920 - 1929), V. L. Kellogg (1923 - 1924), R. T. Kent (undated), P. Kolachov (1948 - 1949), S. McCune Lindsay (undated), T. H. MacDonald (1926 - 1929), H. A. Miller (1924), W. W. Nichols (1927 - 1937), H. S. Person (1936 - 1948, photo), C. W. Rice (1923 - 1934), J. W. Roe(1926 - 1927), C. A. Player (1927 - 1929), J. B. Scott. (undated), A. N. Talbot (1926 - 1938), F. Vlček (1935 - 1936, photo), J. A. Vobořil (1946 - 1947), L. W. Wallace (1923 - 1926, photo), H. F. Wilkie (1947), A. Zeleny (1923 - 1929). Sign.II.4, ser. no. 336, b. 28-42.
Commemorations of eminent scientists and technicians: T. A. Edison - commemoration (1931), celebration of 100th birthday (1947). Sign.II.7, ser. no. 522, b. 86.
Relations with American Czechs and Slovaks, 1919 - 1938: Tours by American Czechs and Slovaks in Czechoslovakia - MAL participation in their organization (1920 - 1921), Center for Collaboration with American Czechoslovaks and their Organizations, American trade mission to Czechoslovakia (1922), Chicago Czechoslovak National Association grants, American study fund for Czechoslovak technicians' study in the USA. Sign.II.9, ser. no. 537, b. 92.
American Correspondence, 1920 - 1921: Organization for acquiring and publishing reports on the life of American Czechoslovaks, information on American economic conditions and industrial production, scholarly institutes and technical education. Proposal for attaching American Correspondence to the National Economic Information Office at the MAL Union of Friends (1920). Sign.II.9, ser. no. 538, b. 93.
Information from abroad - information from Czechoslovak representative offices, Czechoslovak and foreign specialists and foreign institutes and associations on the state and organization of industry, trade, labour and wage conditions, research, specialist and technical education, technical rationalization, standardization, technical projects and constructions, 1919 - 1930: USA, also 1931 - 1939, 1941, 1945 - 1952. Sign.II.9, ser. no. 539, b. 93, 94.
Placement of Czechoslovak engineers and technicians on work-experience in the USA: a) Organization involved in sending Czechoslovak engineers for work-experience at the Ford works in Detroit, the General Motors works and at other companies. Meetings with the American Engineering Council in Washington and individual companies, confirmations of stays in the USA, 1920 - 1931, b) Preparations. Commission for sending technicians on work-experience to the USA - notes from meetings, English tests 1929 - 1930, c) Applications for study experience visits, 1921 - 1931, d) Reports of Czechoslovak technicians on study visits and experience, 1926 - 1931, e) Correspondence, 1926 - 1934, 1936, f) Lists of technicians sent, 1926 - 1931. Sign.II.9, ser. no. 545, b. 98 - 101.
Celebration of the 50 th anniversary of the foundation of the American Society of Mechanical Engineers, New York in 1930: a) Invitation, programme, ceremonial convention, correspondence on sending MAL representatives, report by MAL representative, Ing. J. Z. Schneider, on the celebrations, accounts for the MAL delegate trips, b) Convention materials and publications, c) Monographs on the development and significance of engineering work in Czechoslovakia, drafts, abstracts and translations of monographs and convention speeches, 1929 - 1930. Sign.II.9, ser. no. 558, b. 105.
General correspondence of the presidium - invitations, preparatory negotiations on Czechoslovak participation and MAL representation, reports on the course of meetings, 7 th General Organization congress in Washington, September 1938. Sign.II.9, ser. no. 559, b. 106.
Relations of the presidium with foreign MAL members - collaboration with foreign members, correspondence, 1920, 1927 - 1939, 1946 - 1947: Hrdlička, Gilbreth, Talbot, Hopf, Cooke, Wallace. Sign.II.9, ser. no. 567, b. 109.
Public lectures and lecture cycles arranged by MAL, 1927 - 1928: Cycle of lectures "On the American Spirit in Technical Work", arranged for 14.- 28. 3. 1927. Lecture evening: "The experience of Czechoslovak engineers with American practices taking Local conditions into Account" of 2. 4. 1928. A lecture evening "Ford and the Elimination of Losses" arranged 22. 9. 1928 in Brno. Sign.II.15, ser. no. 596, b. 199.
Lectures by foreign scholars and specialists, 1946 - 1947: Lecture by James Hovorka "Transport in the USA" 20. 2. 1946 and lectures by the same author "The Economy of Transport" in 1947. Sign.II.15, ser. no.: 597, b. 200.
Exhibition of American and Russian engineering publications and plans arranged in Prague, Bratislava and Brno 1921. Sign.II.16, ser. no. 600, b. 201.
World Exhibition in Philadelphia in 1926 - preparation of Czechoslovak participation, documentation from 1923 and 1925. Sign. II.16, ser. no.: 601, b. 201.
Foreign MAL members - nominations for the election of members, performance of elections in the divisions, ratification of elections by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, dispatch of membership diplomas (1921, 1923 - 1932, 1935 - 1938, 1948), correspondence of American MAL members involving the award of honorary medals (1923): Hrdlička, Rose, Farrand, Caldwell, Lindsay, Duggan, Scott, Buffington, Miller, Gilbreth, Flin, Wallace, Rice, Kellog, Zelený, Cook, Rose, Farnham, Greeley, Kent, Person, Roe, Liebold, Avery, Nichols, Freeman, Mayo, Avery, Searle, Sorensen, Hutchins, Mead, Medary, Nichols, Player, Talbot, Wallace, Hopf, Pupin, MacDonald, Emerson, Holland, Archibald, Abrams, Clark, Zerban. Sign.III.3, ser. no. 659, b. 226.
International congresses on the scientific management of work. 1 st congress in Prague 1924 (Prague International Management congress, PIMCO) - participation of American delegates at the congress: Letter from Stanislav Špaček (1923), list of engineers from the USA and Canada (1924). Sign.III.8, ser. no. 692, b. 229.
Exhibitions, 1922-26: World Exhibition in Philadelphia 1926 (preparation of Czechoslovak participation, diagrams of exhibition site), plan of independence anniversary celebrations, 1922 - 1925. Sign.III.13, ser. no. 697, b. 230.
Foreign members of 1 st Division - nominations, elections, personal details, 1921 - 1922: Hrdlička, Rose, Farrand, Buffington, Caldwell, Duggan, Farrand, Kellogg, Lindsay, Scott, Kovarik. Sign.IV.2, ser. no. 715, b. 236.
Scientific and technical congresses, conferences, conventions and celebrations - invitations, representation, participation (1924 - 1935): 1st Prague International Management congress (PIMCO) in Prague, 1924, US stewarding participation. Sign.IV.7, ser. no. 722, b. 237.
Foreign members of the 3 rd Division - nominations for election, elections and personal details, 1923 - 1948: Gilbreth, Flin, Wallace, Rice, Bennett, Elwood, MacDonald, Medary, Mead. Sign.VI.2, ser. no. 820, b. 267.
3 rd Division - relations with foreign countries - collaboration with foreign scientific and technical institutes, 1921 - 1946: Dept. of the Interior U.S. Reclamation Service, Col.; A. J. Wiley and D.C. Henny, Oreg.; reports by Ing. Špaček, Bailey Meter Co., Ohio; Bureau of Railway Economics, Washington; Czechoslovak Embassy, Washington; Tentative Outline, Cleveland; Department of the Interior, Dept. of Commerce; Engineering Foundation, New York; Tennesee Valley Authority. Sign.VI.7, ser. no. 828, b. 271.
2 nd Division - relations with foreign countries - collaboration with foreign and international scholarly and technical institutes, lists of publications sent, 1923 - 1948: American Engineering Board, International Education Board, New York, excerpt from reports of the Czechoslovak Embassy in the USA on sending Czechoslovak specialists to the USA, conditions for the award of UNRRA grants. Sign.V.7, ser. no. 790, b. 258.
Exhibition of American Building - general documentation, catalogue, photos, exhibition plan, list of exhibits, negotiations over the organization of the exhibition, request for the loan of material, lists of objects loaned, report on the exhibition, magazine cuttings on the exhibition, 1923: Exhibition of American Building at the Prague Spring Trade Fair 11. 3.- 25. 3. 1923, also exhibition in Hradec Králové 22. 4.- 6. 5. 1923 and in Plzeň 29. 9. - 15. 10. 1923. Sign.VI.14.b, ser. no. 842, b. 275.
Report by Ing. M. Neumann on his visit to America: "The construction of Family Houses in America", "Brickwork in American Residential Buildings", "A School for Bricklayers", report also includes the Gilbreth brickwork method, 1924. Sign.VI.14.b, ser. no. 843, b. 275.
Visit by Frank Gilbreth to Prague 24.2.-27. 2. 1922 - plan of visit, application to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs for the payment of part of the expenses connected with Gilbreth's stay in Prague (1922), correspondence with Frank Gilbreth (1922 - 1924). Sign.VI.14.b, ser. no. 843, b. 275.
Foreign members of the 4 th Division - nominations, elections, personal details, 1921 - 1925: Caldwell, Cooley, Burgess, Hoover, Ford, Cooke. Sign.VII.2, ser. no. 864, b. 284.
Relations of the 4th Division with foreign countries - collaboration with foreign scientific and technical institutes, visits and lectures by foreign specialists, placement of Czechoslovak technicians in foreign factories, 1921 - 1928: Tour by American Czechoslovaks of Czechoslovakia, Czechoslovak Legation, Washington, celebrations of the American Society of Mechanical Engineers (participation of MAL), International Conference on Steam Tables in Prague (American correspondence), American Society of Mechanical Engineers, E. Warner, M. Brooks, C. Rice, O. P. Hood, F. C. Caldwell. Sign. VII.7, ser. no. 871, b. 285.
Foreign members of the 5 th Division - nominations, elections, personal details, 1930: Dunlap. Sign.VIII.2, ser. no. 907, b. 295.
5 th MAL Division - relations with foreign countries - collaboration with foreign and international scientific and technical institutes and organizations, representation in them, collaboration with industry and business, visits and lectures by foreign specialists, placement of Czechoslovak technicians in foreign factories, 1921 - 1948: U. S. Department of Agriculture, American Ceramic Society, Czechoslovak Legation, Hadfield-Penfield Steel Co., International Clay Machinery Co., J. C. Steele and Sons, W. S. Tyler Co., American Truck Body Co., American Society of Mechanical Engineers, conditions for the award of UNRRA grants, International Training Administration. Sign.VIII.7, ser. no. 914, b. 297.
Foreign members of the 6th Division - nominations, elections, personal details, 1924 - 1948: Cooke, Gilbreth, Mrs. Gilbreth, Rice, Roe, Wallace, Farnham, Greeley, Kent, Person, Burges, Hoover, Ford, Player, Hutchins, Sibley, Duggan, Holland, Hopf, Lindsay. Sign.IX.2, ser. no. 937, b. 307.
6 th Division - relations with foreign countries, collaboration with foreign scientists, scientific and technical institutes, representation in them, 1924 - 1947: New York University, Harvard University, J. A. Vobořil. Sign.IX.7, ser. no. 945, b. 310
Czechoslovak Union for Research into and Testing of Technically Important Materials - relations with foreign countries - collaboration, creation of links with research and testing institutes and laboratories, exchange of publications and information, membership in foreign research institutes and societies, visits of foreign specialists, answers to questionnaires, study trips abroad, 1923 - 1927: Mellon Institute for Industrial Research in Pittsburgh, Tinius Olsen Testing Machine Co., Philadelphia, American Association for the Advancement of Science, National Research Division, N. Y., American Instrument Co., Washington, Kansas City Testing Laboratory, American Society for Testing Materials, Philadelphia. Sign. X.9, ser. no. 995, b. 325.
Institute for Technical Economy - relations with foreign countries - information and collaboration with similar institutes abroad, 1921 - 1939: Extract of Federated American Engineering Societies reports, American Engineering Standards Committee, reports by S. Špaček from the USA, Federated American Engineering Societies, Czechoslovak Legation, Czechoslovak Embassy in the USA, correspondence on the visit of Ing. W. Baum, Mellon Institute for Industrial Research, Czechoslovak General consulate, New York, Marburg Brothers, N. Y., Wilson Co., United States Lines, Prague, American consular Service, Ford Motor Company (placement of Czechoslovak engineers), participation in Engineers' Congress and World Exhibition in the USA, New York Public Library, Taylor Society, National Committee on Wood Utilization, Machinery and Allied Products Institute, Chicago, American Society of Mechanical Engineers, New York. Sign.XI.7a, ser. no. 1032, b. 333.
1 st Prague International Management congress (PIMCO) - preparations in America, 1923 - 1924: Preparatory correspondence on the visit of American engineers to Czechoslovakia, conditions for the realization of the event, creation of the idea for an international congress on the organization of industrial work, reports on the progress of preparations in individual specialized associations of American engineers. Sign.XI.7b, ser. no. 1037, b. 335.
PIMCO - foreign participants, 1924: Correspondence with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs on the invitation of foreign participants, thanks to American participants for their collaboration and participation. Sign. XI.7b, ser. no. 1040, b. 336.
PIMCO, 1924: Records of participants from the USA, applications, congress identity cards. Sign. XI.7b, ser. no. 1041, b. 337.
PIMCO - congress proceedings, 1924, incl. agenda and seating order for the inaugural meeting, reports for the press on proceedings, lists of participants, speeches, photos of American delegation. Sign. XI. 7b, ser. no. 1042, b. 337
PIMCO - actual proceedings, 1924: Minutes of the inaugural meeting, speeches, minutes from working meetings, reports by some American participants. Sign. XI.7b, ser. no. 1043, b. 338.
PIMCO - publication of congress protocol, 1924 - 1926: Preparatory work, solicitation and distribution of the congress protocol, correspondence with American institutes, draft of definitive text. Sign. XI.7b, ser. no. 1044, b. 339.
PIMCO - congress material, 1924: Printing of congress material, list of brochures and lectures in print, solicitation and dispatch of congress material. Sign. XI.7b, ser. no. 1046, b. 339.
PIMCO - press response, 1924: Daily press, weeklies and the specialist press, foreign press responses. Sign.XI.7b, ser. no. 1048, b. 340.
Emigration Institute (Institute for Economic Relations Involving Emigration and Settlement affiliated to MAL) - reports from Czechoslovak representative offices in the USA submitted to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Ministry of Social care on opportunities and conditions for emigration, on emigration legislation and on conditions for Czechoslovak emigrants, their associations and activities 1923 - 1926, 1932, 1936. Sign. XII.6 b, ser. no. 1127, b. 356.
Emigration Institute - relations and collaboration with foreign institutes and organizations on emigration questions, with associations of Czechoslovak emigrants, questionnaires, information and reports, 1923-38: United States Lines, Prague, directory of Czechs in the USA, list of prominent Czechs in the USA, list of Czechoslovak associations in the USA, compatriots' magazines in the USA, American magazines arriving in Czechoslovakia, information on the American Social Hygiene Association. Sign. XII.6b, ser. no. 1130, b. 358.
Emigration Institute - reports by Czechoslovak emigrants on life and conditions in the USA and on the opportunities for Czechoslovak citizens of further settlement (reports and information material, settlement proposals, newspaper cuttings), 1923 - 1931. Sign. XII.8, ser. no.: 1131, b. 359.
Psychotechnical Institute - relations with foreign countries - collaboration with psychotechnical foreign institutes and researchers, 1921 - 1925: A. Hrdlička, The Iron Age Publishing Co., NewYork, F. Gilbreth, his visit to Czechoslovakia. Sign. XIII.8, ser. no. 1149, b. 362.