of all National Societies, the nomination of Professor Schermerhorn as honorary
member of the International Society of Photogrammetry. The merits of Pro
fessor Schermerhorn in the International field of photogrammetry, are very
well known to everybody. Through a great number of publications he influ
enced the development of our science and our techniques. He was the first to
draw attention through a publication in 1938 to some peculiarities of the pro
pagation of errors in aerial triangulation.
As the fourth President of our International Society, as creator and direc
tor of our International periodical of photogrammetry, as President of our
Sixth Congress in the Hague in the Netherlands, as promotor of a new Inter
national Cooperation after the Second World War, as creator of the Interna
tional training center at Delft, he rendered photogrammetry unforgettable
services.
We all appreciate his very clear and human mind and his competence in
all questions of photogrammetry. I, therefore, very warmly recommend that
Professor Schermerhorn should be nominated as an honorary member of the
International Society of Photogrammetry.
Prof. Schermerhorn: Well, it is to a certain extent very good that just a
few minutes ago the International Society of Photogrammetry accepted a gold
medal, as highest of all awards for activities in the field of photogrammetry.
Gold is the material which always counts in the world against inflation.
I should like to say a few words about this honor given to me. First,
wholeheartedly, thanks to Mr. Harry, the man with whom I am feeling certain
relations next to certain differences in our combination of theoretical and
practical work: the man who endeavoured to apply photogrammetry in Swit
zerland more than anyone.
About my own career, I should like to make this remark: the most effec
tive time of my life in photogrammetry has been the short period between
1935 and 1941. Then I disappeared from photogrammetry by force of various
kinds.
Two years ago, I had to make a definite choice, I suppose, for the rest of
the few years of active life. And perhaps it was because of the love of photo
grammetry, I obtained in those few years, that I am here again in photogram
metry.
Why? Well, in those few years, I had the great advantage of cooperation
with many people and getting this honor today, I want to mention three
different thanks. First, I have a feeling always as an humble student, of my
own unforgettable friend Von Gruber.
Second, I have had that advantage of the cooperation with the Royal
Dutch Shell, with several authorities in the Shell, and especially my friend
Scherpbier, present here today and part of this honor comes to him; and to
certain men with whom I cooperated nicely in the period mentioned by Mr.
Harry, that is my friend Neumaier, who was for two and a half years my
assistant, with whom I developed, together with Roelofs, all of the activities
in air triangulation at a time where we discovered the difficulties for which
up to now I haven’t found even in this Congress the complete solution.
Well, those three men, I wish to honor more than myself for this honora
ry membership of the International Society.
President Reading: I should like to report the third award. It is for Pro-