The Engineer And Society

Dominion, Volume 31, Issue 278, 20 August 1938, Page 1 (Supplement)

The Engineer And Society

t b , VERY fresh advance in research or technique has its effect and H its repercussions innumerable in other branches and in other countries,” said Lord Weir, at a conference of engineers at the Jj Glasgow Exhibition. “Due to the way in which the work of the ( engineer affect.the social life of our time, and has in fact revolutionised that social life, we find that he is becoming more and more involved in its political and economic problems, and that the technique of his thought is finding application in new and unexpected quarters. It will be admitted that there is an engineer’s type of mind, and that his method of thought has certain characteristics arising from the nature of the problems he has to deal with, and the immediate results which follow from any failure of his to deal satisfactorily with them.

“It may seem ‘presumptuous, but I venture to suggest that that type of mind and method of thought may be applied with advantage to the treatment and solution of some of the major world issues today. Even world statesmanship itself may learn that there are other ways of approach, to the solution of its problems than on the traditional lines of political thought. “The papers to be read at the Congress appear to justify the claim that, with freedom, law and order, the scientist and the engineer, in fulfilling their responsibilities, can give to the communities of the world a substantially increased rate of material progress and prosperity over what has been achieved in the past, and I believe it is not too much to say that in progress of that character there will be found the cure for the disease of economic nationalism, which is perhaps the main source and cause of war itself.

“Armaments, of course, have a measure of attraction even for the scientist, the engineer, and the fabricator, due to the wonderful variety of technical problems they present, and to some extent to the lessons which may be applied to peaceful purposes.

“But those attractive aspects fade into insignificance when compared

with the possibilities of applying the same energy, activity, and financial resources to peace-time progress.

“The picture that presents itself is a world composed of national units, each seeking to be economically independent, a world characterised by the minimum of international trade and exchange, a world in which every obstacle is placed on the peoples dealing with one another, and a world where the life of every individual is limited and conditioned by the constant fear of a potential enemy.

“Against that sombre picture, wherein the law of the jungle appears to he the chosen principle of evolution, it is with relief that we can descry the compensating forces of science and reason. They begin to recognise more and more clearly the integrating and constructive quality of engineering achievements, and to see that their salvation from the dangers of conflicting royalties lies in the broadening of outlook which goes with increased knowledge.

“Above all men the engineer is the great leveller of barriers between peoples. For example, the Queen Mary, the Normandie, the Bremen, and the Comte di Savoia are typical contributions by engineers -of diverse nation alities to the common cause of better human relationship and understanding.

“Such vessels offer a new and hitherto impossible opportunity of cheap and rapid travel and of contact between communities, which should have enormous social and political value; but through defective world statesman ship and the lack of faith and confidence between nations free interchange is arrested and the economic load factor of such activities is reduced, operating costs are increased, and that nullifies the effective results of the. shipbuilders’ work and the ship-owner’s enterprise.

“It should be grasped by those who guide the destinies of their respective peoples, or, better still, by their peoples themselves, that a great part of their nationalism is no better than an outworn garment, no longer fitting the scientific thought and pregnant discoveries of to-day,”