i 4 4 SECTIONAL ADDRESSES 



make technical blunders in diagnosis or in treatment, involving even death, 

 or he may neglect panel patients ; but neither patient nor relative dare move 

 against him for fear of the professional organisation of which he is now a 

 part. On the other hand, except in extreme cases, he knows that his 

 colleagues will view mercifully any untoward ' accidents,' and his certifi- 

 cate of death will rarely be questioned. 



Fortunately, the great majority of the medical profession are men whose 

 lives are beyond reproach, but that this protection may sometimes go too 

 far is shown in the following instance. A relation of mine died in the 

 nursing home of a well-known surgeon. I discovered afterwards that this 

 surgeon had for some time been addicted to the drug habit. It had such 

 a hold upon him that even in the operating theatre he would slip behind 

 a screen to give himself an injection. Such a weakness could not be un- 

 known to the doctors and nurses ; and indeed it was a nurse who first 

 told me and a doctor who confirmed the statement. Notwithstanding 

 this common knowledge, no action was taken, and for at least five years 

 after the events mentioned this surgeon continued to practise. Ultimately, 

 of course, his brain was affected, and he died in a mental home. 



Contrast this with the position of the engineer. His training also takes 

 about six years from matriculation, but he then has no status that is 

 nationally recognised. Yet he is held to be legally and financially 

 responsible if he fails to apply such knowledge as is in keeping with the 

 ' state of the art,' and he has no legal assistance from his professional 

 Institution when he is attacked. The example of the Johannesburg 

 engines aptly illustrates this point, but there are many instances of far 

 less importance where the courts have held the engineer responsible. 

 I remember a case in which, under exceptional circumstances, an iron 

 staircase collapsed, and the engineer was held liable for the faulty design 

 or material of the brackets that supported it. 



The fact is that, as the years pass, even at home, each one of us becomes 

 more and more dependent upon the skill, knowledge, and good faith of the 

 engineer. Three simple examples will illustrate this point. 



(i) Gas authorities all over the country are at present actively pushing 

 the use of the gas-cooker on which the engineer has provided an outlet 

 for a flue connection. Even where stoves are installed by a municipal 

 authority, it is rare to find this outlet connected to a chimney or flue. 

 Consequently, all the products of combustion and cooking pour into the 

 room until the air of a small kitchen becomes foul, and acid-laden moisture 

 runs down the walls. In this instance it is usually the commercial man 

 who is to blame. The engineer is not allowed to control what is obviously 

 an engineering matter. 



(ii) Coke is sent to many houses for central heating, etc. It is often 

 delivered with 20 per cent, of water in it. Suppose that the price of coke 

 is 305. per ton. Then for every twenty tons of coke ordered, the sales- 

 man delivers sixteen tons of coke and four of water. Dirty water at 

 305. per ton is dear. It is said that the water is due to the quenching 

 of the coke as it leaves the retorts, and therefore the engineer is to blame. 

 That, of course, is no excuse. The engineer would be quite willing to 

 dry the coke, or alternatively, to declare the moisture content, so that a 



