June 2, 1911] 



SCIENCE 



845 



day's. work in a day," of meeting his obli- 

 gations on time, and let him realize that 

 this can not be reasonably demanded if the 

 instructors must in fairness accept ex- 

 cuses because of an undue diversion of time 

 and energy to other things. Although the 

 sciences actually owe many of their ad- 

 vances to "grinds," it is probably fortu- 

 nate that few of our engineering gradu- 

 ates of to-day belong to that class; but 

 there is little lilielihood of an undue in- 

 crease in the proportion of such over-de- 

 veloped scholars under existing conditions ! 

 An impartial survey will, I believe, show 

 that our recent graduates are, as a body, 

 less open to the charge of lack of adapta- 

 bility, and want of social resources than 

 formerly and that they are improving in 

 this respect as the need of such improve- 

 ment is more generally realized, and also 

 that there is ground for the belief that this 

 has so far been accomplished without seri- 

 ous sacrifice of professional efficiency. 



In what I have just said I have had in 

 mind particularly the business and social 

 relations of the young engineer with his 

 colleagues and superior officers. It is 

 often stated that some or many of the grad- 

 uates also lack an appreciation of the 

 proper way to deal with those whose labors 

 they must direct. This, again, is doubtless 

 in some considerable measure true, and in 

 fact it can hardly be otherwise when nearly 

 all of these young men pass directly from 

 the public schools to the higher educational 

 institutions. It is not, however, true that 

 no effort is made to bring this phase of 

 their future responsibilities to their notice, 

 for not only is the subject discussed in its 

 general aspects from the lecture platform, 

 but the young men are advised to secure 

 summer employment as far as possible to 

 the end that they may learn to know in- 

 dustrial conditions. 



In this connection I should like to point 



out to those in control of our industrial es- 

 tablishments that there is a large store of 

 energy, combined with a desire for oppor- 

 tunity to work and ability to render intelli- 

 gent and willing service, which goes to 

 waste in the summer because our students 

 are unable to secure temporary positions. 

 This is particularly true in the industries 

 into which the men in whom I am espe- 

 cially interested, the chemical engineers 

 and chemists, will go. I am, of course, 

 aware that the net return in value to a 

 concern from this temporary service is not 

 relatively large, especially during the first 

 summer, and that in certain industries 

 there is a risk in trusting to the integrity 

 of these men with respect to information 

 acquired regarding operating methods. 

 But I can not avoid the conviction that if 

 the industrial managers would cooperate 

 with the engineering schools in the consum- 

 mation of an arrangement whereby young 

 men whose ability and character could be 

 vouched for could be given summer em- 

 ployment for two or three of the successive 

 summers intervening during the four years 

 of study, the concerns thus cooperating 

 would actually find that they would derive 

 appreciable benefit from the plan. That 

 it would enable the schools to add at least 

 fifty per cent, to their efficiency so far as 

 these students are concerned, I have no 

 question whatever, and surely no better 

 means could be afforded for the acquisition 

 of a knowledge of the problem of the 

 laborer in the works. Let me add that I 

 do not urge the placing of these young men 

 at once in positions of responsibility but 

 rather in such positions as will afford them 

 working experience under industrial con- 

 ditions. It seems to me, however, that it is 

 not improbable that, say, in a third summer 

 the majority of such men might be utilized 

 to much advantage in the immediate direc- 

 tion of specific processes or operations, 



