Transactions of the American Society of Civil Engineers, Vol. LXX, Dec. 1910 | Page 2

it a part of the main land by the building of tunnels and bridges. In all our work it might be said that we are hastening, with feverish energy, from one problem to another, for the so-called purpose of saving time, or for the enjoyment of some new sensation; and we have also made possible the creation of that which might be deemed of doubtful benefit to the human race, that huge conglomerate, the modern city.
There has been no hesitancy in grappling with the problems of Nature by engineers, but they seem to be diffident and neglectful of human nature in their calculations, leaving it out of their equations, greatly to their own detriment and the world's loss. We can say that matters outside of the known are not our concern, and we can look with pride at our individual achievements, and of course, if this satisfies, there is nothing more to be said. But it is because I feel that engineers of to-day are not satisfied with their position, that I wonder whether we have either fulfilled our obligations to the community, or secured proper recognition from it; whether, in fact, the engineer can become the force that he should be, until he brings something into his equations besides frozen figures, however diverting an occupation this may be.
One may wonder whether this state of affairs is caused from a fear of injecting uncertain elements into our calculations, or whether it is our education or training which makes us conservative to the point of operating to our own disadvantage. We may read the requirements of our membership and learn from them that in our accomplishments we are not to be measured as skilled artisans, but the fact remains that, to a great extent, society at large does so rate us, and it would seem that we must ourselves be responsible for this state of affairs. Our colleges and technical schools are partly to blame for the existence of this idea, on account of the different degrees which they give. We have a degree of civil engineer, regarded in its narrowest sense, of mining engineer, mechanical engineer, electrical engineer, and by necessity it would seem as if we should shortly add some particular title to designate the engineer who flies. In reality there should be but two classes of engineers, and the distinction should be drawn only between civil engineers and military engineers. As a matter of fact, fate and inclination determine the specialty that a man takes up after his preliminary training, and so far as the degrees are concerned, the only one that has any right to carry weight, because it is a measure of accomplishment, is that which is granted by this Society to its corporate members. The schools, in their general mix-up of titles, certainly befog the public mind. It is as if the medical schools, for instance, should issue degrees at graduation for brain doctors, stomach doctors, eye and ear doctors, etc. Very wisely, it seems to me, the medical profession and the legal profession, with histories far older than ours, and with as wide variations in practice as we have, leave the variations in name to the individual taste of the practitioner, in a manner which we would do well to copy. The Society itself has adopted very broad lines in admission to membership, classing as civil engineers all who are properly such; and there is good reason for the serious consideration of the term at this time, as we cannot fail to recognize a tendency in State and other governments to legislate as to the right to practice engineering. It was owing to the introduction of a bill limiting and prescribing the right to practice in the State of New York, that a committee was recently appointed to look into this matter and report to the Society. This report will be before you for action at this meeting.
As to the manner in which engineers individually perform their work, no criticism would properly lie, and in fact it is fortunate that our work speaks for itself, for, as a body, we say nothing. We are no longer, however, found working for the greater part of the time on the outskirts of civilization, and it becomes necessary, therefore, for us to change with changing conditions, and to use our Society not only for the benefit of the profession as a whole, but for the benefit of the members individually. Whether one of our first steps in this direction should be along legislative lines is for you to determine. For myself, having been confronted with legislation recently attempted in New York, I am convinced that we shall have legislation affecting our members, and this legislation should properly be moulded by some responsible body like our own Society.