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Professor M. Fukuoka

I would now like to present the Honorary Membership of the Japanese Society of Soil Mechanics and Foundation Engineering to the following five distinguished gentlemen.

First is Professor A.W. Skempton, Professor of the Imperial College of Science and Technology in London, who served as President of the International Society for Soil Mechanics and Foundation Engineering from 1957 to 1961.

Next is Professor A. Casagrande, who served as President of the International Society from 1961 to 1965 and who has long been Professor at Harvard University. Sickness has unfortunately prevented him from being here with us.

Third, Professor R.B. Peck, Professor at the University of Illinois for many years and President of the International Society from 1969 to 1973.

Fourth, Professor J. Kerisel, who has been President of the International Society sińce 1973 and is President of Simecsol of France.

Finally, Professor J.K.T.L. Nash, Secretary General of the International Society sińce 1969 and Professor at Kings College in London.

There is no need, I am surę, to introduce them to you in detail, as they have madę major contributions to the development of the International Society for Soil Mechanics and Foundation Engineering. They have followed the footsteps of Professor K. Terzaghi, the father of soil mechanics and foundation engineering and the first President of the International Society. They have guided our Society, producing outstanding results in promoting the development of our specialized knowledge and technology. For this they fully deserve our respect and gratitude.

Since the First International Conference on Soil Mechanics and Foundation Engineering was held at Harvard University, Japan has partici-pated in every International Conference. The Japanese Society of Soil Mechanics and Foundation Engineering was established in 1948, evolved from the Japanese National Committee for the International Society, and has sińce then grown steadily to its present membership of about 14,000. It is indeed our pleasure that we have been able to overcome all the difficulties with becoming hosts of this Ninth Conference and we are able to contribute thereby to the development of soil mechanics and foundation engineering and international goodwill as well. The successful beginning of this conference is a tribute to the whole-hearted cooperation of the International Society's President, the Secretary General, and the various national societies, to whom we are grateful. We also wish to express our sincere appreciation for the helpful advice given by the past presidents. To us, the sense of amity which pervades this conference is a sign of the continued futurę development of the International Conference.

In order to give an expression to this feel-ing of appreciation felt by all the members of the Japanese Society, we revised the eon-stitution of our society which madę possible our Annual Meeting in last May to nominate these five gentlemen as Honorary Members of the Japanese Society of Soil Mechanics and Foundation Engineering.

We would thus like to present them with the certificates and commemorative gifts. The gift is a tie-pin madę of Japanese pearl.

The white of the pearl symbolizes purity, and it is round and brightly sparkling. While the pearl also represents a variety of other ąualities, as a purely Japanese-made item, we thought that it would be an appropriate gift for the newly-elect honorary members. We hope that they will accept it as a sign of our appreciation and use it in happiness for many years to come. Now I would like to ask them to come forward as I cali their nanieś. Professor Skempton Professor Casagrande Professor Peck Professor Kerizel Professor Nash

To our new honorary members we offer our best wishes for good health and success as they continue their professional and academic activities and our request for their further contributions. We express our hopes for the speedy recovery of Professor Casagrande who is unfortunately not with us today.

Professor R.B. Peck

Professor Fukuoka, Distinguished Gentlemen, Ladies and Gentlemen. On behalf of the recipients, all of them, of course including myself, but particularly Professor Casagrande who could not be here, may I say that we are honored and touched to receive this distinc-tion.

We are honored because we have recognized for so long that the Japanese National Society has been such an active society, active sińce 1948, as evidenced by many things including the very excellent periodical, "Soils and Foundations," with which I am surę you are all acquainted, and which would be a major effort on the part of any national society; and certainly including the prepara-tion for and conduct of this Meeting. These two things alone indicate the vitality of the Japanese National Society, and we are indeed honored to be associated with it.

We are touched because we understand that it took some special acts to make honorary membership possible for those of us who have not previously been members of the society, and we greatly appreciate this particular distinction, to be able to become members of your family. We thank you very much indeed.

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