578 



SCIENCE 



[N. S. Vol. XXXIV. No. 879 



which affects the welfare and progress of 

 the nation. We as electrical engineers 

 can not escape that duty, in case we wish ^ 

 to maintain the professional character of 

 our occupation. 



It may be retorted that questions rela- 

 ting to the welfare and progress of the 

 nation are matters of economics and soci- 

 ology, and not of engineering. The affir- 

 mation contained in this retort I will admit, 

 but the negation I deny. 



The theory of modern economics is built 

 up under the influences produced by the 

 introduction of steam power, with its po- 

 tent agencies comprised in the steam rail- 

 road, ocean navigation and the use of 

 steam power in industrial operations. 

 These agencies are the creatures of engi- 

 neers. Watt, Stephenson, Fulton, Erics- 

 son, Boulton, Arkwright, Nasmyth, Bes- 

 semer, Siemens, Corliss, Holley and the 

 other fathers of our modern industrial 

 economic conditions were engineers; and it 

 would be folly to deny to the parents an 

 interest in their offspring, and equally folly 

 to assert that the further developments of 

 economic theory are not largely dependent 

 on those industrial changes which are con- 

 tinually produced by the inventive activi- 

 ties of the great body of engineers. When 

 I speak of industrial operations or indus- 

 trial conditions, it must be understood that 

 I include amongst industrial affairs the 

 great means for transportation and inter- 

 communication which are comprised in 

 railways, telegraphs and telephones, in 

 addition to the manufacture and distribu- 

 tion of products which involve the applica- 

 tion of mechanical power as distinguished 

 from animal power, and the manufacture, 

 accompanied by distribution by pipe or 

 wire, of the media for providing illumina- 

 tion and power. The engineers have pre- 

 cipitated these affairs on the world by their 

 inventions: these affairs are in a large 



measure the support of the engineering 

 profession; and it is the duty of engineers 

 to do their share in molding their various 

 economic creatures so that the creatures 

 may reach the greatest practicable useful- 

 ness to society. In fact, it would show a 

 cowardly weakness to suggest that this 

 duty should be avoided by men who are 

 essentially responsible, as the engineers are, 

 for the existing conditions. Theologians 

 and physicians can practise their profes- 

 sions aloof from the ordinary affairs of the 

 world, but the engineers associated with 

 industrial events can not. Moreover, such 

 an avoidance of their duty by the engi- 

 neers, even if avoidance of responsibility 

 were possible, would be particularly unfor- 

 tunate in view of the fact that the professed 

 economists and sociologists apparently do 

 not yet hold themselves subject to all the 

 requirements of professional men, but still 

 interpret their duties as being more eon- 

 fined to the field of study and investigation 

 than to applying their knowledge to prac- 

 tical affairs. 



It may again be retorted that the tenets 

 which I am advocating will lead engineers 

 out of a professional spirit and into "com- 

 mercialism." It is worth while to pause 

 here to reflect on that point. The word 

 "commercialism" strictly means the char- 

 acteristics of business or commercial life, 

 but custom has made it applicable to any 

 undue predominance of commercial ideas 

 in a nation or community, and it has there- 

 by come to infer a willingness to establish 

 the strife for money in a position of prece- 

 dence over reason and righteousness. 



It has been alleged that learning loses of 

 its dignity by becoming fashionable. It 

 has also been alleged that learning loses of 

 its dignity by becoming useful. Of the 

 latter, at least, experience has proved the 

 contrary — happily for engineers who are 

 proud of their profession, for engineering 



