PHYSICAL WORLD

Evening Post, Volume CXX, Issue 139, 9 December 1935, Page 7

PHYSICAL WORLD

ENGINEERS' PAET

ECONOMIC PROBLEMS

As the expression of constructive energy, the engineer stands in the forefront of industry today, said Mr. W. Sommervillef secretary of the New Zealand Institute of Marine and Power Engineers, when speaking at the annual social gathering,of the institute on Saturday night.

The problems which faced the engineer today were economic rather than technical, said Mr. Sommerville. The engineer successfully solved all the technical problems in connection with the building of the Sydney Harbour Bridge, but he was beaten by the economic problem, which, through unforeseen alteration in exchange rates, caused him to lose over £250,000 in the venture.

"Faced with the laws which challenge man, the engineer does not accept present conditions as final," said the speaker. "He uses other laws as levers to force Nature to obey his will. He fights every obstacle' which stands in the way of the prosperity and advancement of mankind, and so down through the ages we have seen and witnessed the great accomplishments of the engineer. We have seen the wonders of electricity coupled with wifeless telegraphy and its immediate associations; the annihilation of space per medium of the airship, aeroplane, steamship, motor-car, and the locomotive; the controlling of the waters of mighty rivers and \ lakes; the tunnelling of mountains and the spanning of great rivers and spaces by bridging. • "To put it briefly, we have witnessed the remoulding of the physical world to the heart's desire of the engineer." CO-OPERATION NECESSARY. The great nations of history expressed their greatness ■ through two classes of men, the law-maker, and the engineer, but in these enlightened ages one could not accept that dictum for it must be apparent to all that the cooperation of all professions was necessary for the advancement and wellbeing of civilisation—for what it was worth—towards the ' common good of all.

"I do not hesitate to say," continued Mr. Sommerville, "that when the historian comes to record his judgment of the British Empire, it will be the works of the engineer to which he will point as the supreme evidence of the beneficial work of the Empire. British justice and British engineering— these are our gifts to the world.

"It is well known that New Zealand is as much a factory' as a farm, ahd, having regard to this fact, through the expansion of our secondary industries the engineering industry should not be permitted to lag. Our engineering shops should be more than ordinary repair shops as .we find many of them today. They should be a combination of both, and I sincerely trust that the - present will see that every protection and encouragement is afforded the industry in the future.

"New Zealand as a factory is still expanding, and possibly more so than the average citizen realises. In 1934 the total output of factories was £63,720,000. Out of this £17,910,000 was produced from dairy factories; £14,034,000 from meat works, etc., and £31,780,000 from manufacturing industries. Of a total of 182,000 persons employed in. 1934 in industries, 66,700.were employed by manufacturing industries. "These figures give some indication of the extent of our secondary industries of which the engineering industry is one."