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SCIENCE 



[N. S. Vol. XXXII. No. 816 



schools, and this is an unwillingness or in- 

 ability to work faithfully in cooperative 

 organization with others. This fault has 

 been trenchantly presented by your very 

 distinguished alumnus Mr. Frederick W. 

 Taylor, and he ascribes it to an overesteem 

 and a lack of seriousness on the part of 

 newly made graduates. The lack of seri- 

 oiisness I am not now ready to admit, and 

 I think the fault more likely to be caused 

 by the failure of our instruction to inform 

 students of the tremendous importance of 

 cooperative effort and common-sense busi- 

 ness processes in industrial life. It is true 

 that the same fascination as heretofore 

 lingers around independence in spirit and 

 in work, but industrial affairs have grown 

 so large and complex that a man can not 

 singly make a large influence. Cooperation 

 with others is necessary — loyal cooperation. 

 The conditions of the old-time one-man 

 shop have passed away, probably forever. 

 However high up a man may now go, he 

 must cooperate cordially and loyally with 

 associates, and they and their subordinates 

 must cooperate loyally with him. It is 

 said of Napoleon that, ' ' Grand, gloomy and 

 peculiar, he sat upon the throne a sceptered 

 hermit, wrapped in the solitude of his own 

 originality ' ' ; and Napoleon was an influ- 

 ence of tremendous effect. But historians 

 point out that even Napoleon finally failed 

 from lack of cooperation. However force- 

 ful, however original, a man may be, and 

 however far he may go by his own unaided 

 mind and effort, well-planned cooperative 

 effort of lesser men can always accomplish 

 his defeat. Also, besides the pervading 

 importance of personal cooperation, stu- 

 dents must learn the importance of coop- 

 erative or associate use of the mental proc- 

 esses gained from their study of science 

 and from the dictates of common business 

 sense. Some electric light plants make 

 money because they are operated in ac- 



cordance with principles of sound science 

 and economics ; others make money because 

 they are managed with admirable business 

 sense, though it may be without conscious 

 guidance of science or economics; but in 

 relatively few are found the invincible as- 

 sociation of sound engineering with sound 

 business sense. 



Mr. Taylor's proposal that each student 

 should be required to spend a year or more 

 in commercial shop employment before the 

 end of his course of study in the engineer- 

 ing school would do much to correct this 

 fault. It is to be welcomed as a construct- 

 ive suggestion in reference to the curricula 

 of the engineering schools; but I believe 

 much can be accomplished by improving 

 the processes iised in teaching, without 

 changing the curriculum. Teachers and 

 students when pursuing learning both be- 

 come so absorbed in the pursuit as to for- 

 get the end sought. The result desired 

 may be accomplished largely by the influ- 

 ence of the teachers, by the character of the 

 treatment of the students and by the sort 

 of ambitions that are put into them. It 

 can be done in some degree by the selection 

 of the work assigned to the curriculum, but 

 the subjects studied, in my opinion, are of 

 less importance than that the students 

 learn (as Kipling puts it) : 



Truth, and God's own Common Sense. 



In thus discussing certain faults of the 

 curricula of the engineering schools with 

 this audience, which I understand to be 

 largely composed of the students of this 

 Institute, I take the ground that it is de- 

 sirable for students as well as faculties to 

 recognize, reflect on and understand the 

 human shortcomings of the courses of 

 training. By no other means, it seems to 

 me, can earnest students be stimulated to 

 make the most of their opportunities and 

 belie the charge of inefficiency that is some- 

 times laid at the door of engineering grad- 



