Alumni Oration

"Alumni Oration" The University Monthly 41, 7 (May 1922): 214-221. (UA Case 67a, Box 1)

Mr. Cushing's address bore the following inscription: "This scriptum is affectionately and gratefully inscribed to the scholarly master who inspired the ambition for collegiate study, made the achievement possible by careful training, and took one-third of the University class of '84 with him from the St. John Grammar School when he came to these halls in 1881 as Professor of Classical Literature and History, Dr. H. S. Bridges."

In commencing his address, which was entitled "The Engineer," Mr. Cushing quoted the verses from "The Army of God—Knows Where" (Civil Engineers), which appeared in the February issue of The University Monthly in 1910 by an unknown author, and which are reproduced herewith :

No bands are playing gaily and no crowds are madly cheering!
No telegraph behind them tells their deeds of derring-do;
But forward goes the legion, never doubting, never fearing—
Their colors on the sky-line and their war cry, "Put it through!"

Ahead of bath and Bible and of late repeating rifle,
The flags can only follow to the starting of their trail,
They heard the leagues behind them every mile the merest trifle;
They mark the paths of safety for the slower sail and rail.

They work the Quite Impossible, they scoff the earth and water—
They've solved the problems of the air and found them easy too.
They quell the ocean's raging, the mountain's fearful hauteur,
As they march toward the sky-line with the war cry, "Put it through!"

* * * * *

No time for love and laughter, with their rods upon their shoulders
No time to think with vain regret of home or passing friends.
They are slipping down the chasms, charging up the mighty boulders,
The compass stops from overwork, the pathway never ends.

* * * * *

You'll find their pickets watching in the unexpected places;
You will hear them talking freely of the Things-That-Can't-Be-Done.
Oh, the faith they speak so strongly and the Hope that's in their faces—It lights the gloom of What's-the-Use as brightly as the sun.—Ex.

The speaker commented briefly on the value of that undergraduate journalistic enterprise, which had its birth during the year in which he himself had become an undergraduate, to the engineering student in preparing for him a method of clear convincing expression which would prove invaluable to him in later years.

Another source of great opportunity for the embryo engineer mentioned by the orator was the Debating Society of the University. The words used by Mr. Gushing in this connection stated his own views upon the matter in a convincing manner. "Every one, no matter how diffident he may be," he said, "should take every opportunity to stand upon his feet and express his views upon the subject under discussion. This is a great forum in which one may fortify himself with self confidence for the future occasions when called upon to lay his views before his fellow workers or employers, or to convey his ideas of management to his employees.

"The engineer, as well as the clergyman, lawyer, and those charged with the political administration of our civic, state, and national life, must perform these obligations frequently, especially if he attains prominence, or even prominence in his chosen profession. The rising engineer continues his post-scholastic self-improvement by being enrolled with the membership of the local and national engineering societies, and, in order to become a leader, he must make his knowledge and judgment known to his fellow members by public expression and argument."

The Requirements of An Engineer

Discussing the changes in the retirements of an engineer in his profession as outlined in a work published by David Papillon Gent, of London, in 1645, compared with those of the present day engineer, it was stated that that University is the best Alma Mater which teaches the fundamental basis of arts and science in the most thorough manner. It includes as well their practical application to the design of the structures which he is going to build, and to the research work which he will undertake to study and make known to his fellow engineers in a report upon the results, and his conclusions.

Mr. Cushing carefully traced the history of the civil engineer from the time that the name was first used in the formation of a club or society in 1771, which later gave rise to the Society of Civil Engineers, now known as the Smeatonian. This club at the time of its inception consisted of seven members. In the course of the following twenty-one years the membership reached a total of sixty-five. In referring to the presidential address given by William Barton Worthington to the Institution of Civil Engineers on November 1st, 1921, Mr. Cushing applied the following extract:

Mr. Worthington in his address speaks at length upon the education of the young engineer and says: "In the old days a boy often went straight from school into his pupilage to a civil engineer. To-day, if well advised, he takes this university or college course of at least three years before doing so."

The choice to an engineering student "lay among civil, mechanical, and mining engineering; now the selection must be made from aeronautical, agricultural, architectural, automobile, bridge, cement, ceramic, chemical, civil, construction, electrical, heating, highway, hydraulic, industrial, lighting, marine, mechanical, metallurgical, mill, mining, railway, sanitary, steam, textile, telephone, topographical engineering, and engineering administration. No one school offers curricula in all of these specialties. But all are offered somewhere, and enough are given at every school to render the selection during the freshman year of his life's specialty a peculiarly difficult matter for the student."

From this it will be seen that the field of the engineer is so large that no one can hope to be completely instructed in all the branches while in college, and therefore that education is best which lays the groundwork solidly, makes the fundamental bases so clear that they will always be ready for immediate use, and trains 'the reasoning faculties so that they will respond to the requirements of new problems. The mind must be stored with a knowledge of world history and scientific facts which can be drawn upon as the occasion arises. These require the study of foreign languages, and those most useful to us are derived largely from the Latin and Greek tongues. The young student engineer often says that Latin and Greek never will be of any use to him, but they lead to the languages which lay open before him the scientific research and engineering experience of his fellow-engineers in France, Italy, Spain and Germany. One of the lovable and notable engineers with whom it was my good fortune to be associated on the Pennsylvania system for many years, the late Thos. H. Johnson, was asked to report upon the question of ventilation of a railway tunnel of considerable length. By reason of the numerous and long tunnels in Switzerland and Italy, Mont Cenis 7.98 miles long, St. Gotthard 9.3 miles, and Simplon 12.3 miles, the subject of ventilation had commanded long study and exhaustive experimentation at Pracchia by a commission appointed in 1894 by the Italian Government to make a thorough study of artificial ventilation of tunnels proposed by M. Saccardo, which consists of forcing, by means of fans, a current of air through the tunnel from one end to the other, in accordance with the principles established by the French engineer, L. Ser, in 1818. The report which Mr. Johnson styled as "a masterly and exhaustive treatise on the subject," was written in Italian, but although he had not studied Italian he was not dismayed, for he had been a good Italian student, and was accomplished in the knowledge of mathematics, the universal language. With the help of an Italian dictionary and grammar, and his knowledge of Latin and mathematics, he availed himself of the principles established by the report in his recommendation of a plan for the solution of our own problem.

Knowledge of Literature

Knowledge of literature serves the engineer in many different ways, for unless he writes clearly, logically, and convincingly he cannot carry his case with those requiring his experienced judgment. The engineer must have technical knowledge, but, as a rule, when a student, he does not know in which branch his greatest effort should be directed, and his training should embrace as much general knowledge as he can acquire, for then, when he enters the portals of commercial enterprise, he will direct his study and activity deeper into the work where his inborn talent and inclination lead. In all these studies, there is one word which should be engraved on the banner of ambition and idealism for following unswervingly to the end—thoroughness. Until the theory and fundamental bases of problems are clearly understood, the knowledge has not been acquired and stored up for future use. This is particularly true in the case of pure science and applied mechanics, the application of mathematics to the strength of materials and mechanical design.

The ambitious engineer is not satisfied with technical knowledge alone, because he expects to widen the fields of his efforts and become a manager and director of enterprises. He hopes to become a man of vision, the man who has been one of the leaders of civilization onward and upward, in which progress the engineer has been a powerful and vital force. Then he draws upon that store of general knowledge and becomes a Stevenson, father and son, the one to build the successful locomotive engine of modern transportation, and the other to design and construct the extraordinary Victoria tubular bridge over the St. Lawrence river at Montreal; or a De Lesseps to put through the Suez Canal which changes the routes of trade and subsequently becomes a factor of vast import in strengthening the British Empire to meet the deadly German onslaughts upon popular self-government; or a Cassatt to run the great Pennsylvania System under and above the waters of New York harbor to connect New England direct with the busiest inland transportation system ever built, so as to mend the arteries of trade, and cause it to flow more freely to meet the growing needs of a growing nation.

As a result of a study of Engineering Education made by Charles Riborg Mann for the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching, said Mr. Cushing, Mr. Mann considers that "practical engineering work is essential for the Freshman not only because it appeals to his professional ambition, arouses his enthusiasm, and gives him training in practice, but also because it helps him to master the theoretical work more fully and more quickly. Every one knows that at present the engineering professors are seriously handicapped in their work with Juniors and Seniors because the students are notoriously unable to make professional use of the principles of physics, mathematics, and mechanics with assurance and accuracy. One of the most common complaints of employers is that even college graduates have serious difficulty in applying theory to practice.... "There is a widespread agreement among professional engineers that the college curriculum should aim to give a broad and sound training in engineering science rather than a highly specialized training in some one narrow line; that considerable attention should be paid to humanistic studies like English, economics, sociology, and history, not merely because of their practical value to the engineer, but also because of their broad human values; and that the young graduate should have some conception of business management and of the most intelligent methods of organizing and controlling men."

In connection with the business knowledge which Mr. Mann states above, the young graduate should have, he adds that "most of the technical colleges now include short courses in economic theory, banking contracts, and specifications, etc.; a few give some small amount of practice in figuring costs and making bills of materials from drawings assigned by the instructors. Here and there the attention of the student is directed to the practical difficulties of construction and the controlling power of costs."

The Practical Side

Turning from the sphere of more or less theoretical speculation upon the education of the engineer, the speaker directed his address towards the practical side of the profession as presented to the young graduate, particularly with regard to railroad engineering, and the comparative value of a college education. Quoting in part from a reply given by Samuel Rea, president of the Pennsylvania System: "You have asked the following question: 'Is there opportunity for the man graduating from college to secure a foothold in the railway business where the training he has had will be likely to advance him more rapidly than the man of his age who lacks this training?' My answer is an unqualified 'Yes.'"

Civil Engineers entering the service of out railroad, start as rodmen and work up through the transportation grades. Mechanical Engineers generally start as Special Apprentices in the Altoona Shops and work up through the motive power grades. The preponderance of the former over the latter is due to the fact that there is need for more technically trained transportation men than motive power men, although it would be altogether wrong to form any disparaging conclusions as to the chances for those who are accepted for motive training. As a matter of fact, our present Vice-President in charge of Operation, General W. W. Atterbury, is a motive power man, being a graduate of Yale University and having started as a Special Apprentice at Altoona.

The 81 operating officers in question, including as they do those of the highest rank and longest experience, necessarily embrace quite a few men who are well on in life and in a number of cases are approaching the compulsory retiring age of 70 years.

If we confine our study to the younger operating officers, we would find nearly 100 per cent, are college graduates. The reason for this is that for quite a number of years past it has been a rule of the company that graduates of recognized colleges or universities in Civil, Mechanical or Electrical Engineering, or their equivalents, have been given preference in the service for development into operating officers.

In the other departments of the railroad, the principal of which are traffic, accounting, purchasing, financial, insurance, real estate, legal and the Secretary's staff, the training received in a scientific course is naturally of no particular direct advantage outside of its effect of general mental development.

The training of an academic course, however, gives young men entering those departments as much relative advantage as it would in the corresponding departments of any other large business. Ten of our leading traffic officers are graduates in academic courses and there are a number of others occupying positions of high responsibility in the other departments.

Comparatively few young men who have specialized in economies at college seem to have entered the railroad business. Just why this is the case, I do not know, but there should be a good field for them in the non-operating departments, particularly traffic, accounting and financial. That this is true is indicated by the fact that a number of our officers and responsible employees in these departments, especially accounting, have found it profitable to themselves and useful to the company to take courses and lectures in economies, while pursuing their work; indeed, in a few cases they have in this manner completed full courses.

As to the relative desirability of the reward which the college graduate may reasonably hope to obtain in the railroad profession as compared with, say, manufacturing, mining, finance or commerce, the answer largely depends upon the ambition, type of ability and personal viewpoint of the individual candidate.

I would not advise any young man whose principal conception of success was to become rich, or quickly to obtain a very large salary, to enter the railroad business. A generation or two ago the situation was different. The period was one of adventure and pioneering and the railroad enterprise in this country was undergoing extremely rapid transition and marvelously swift growth. The projection, construction and development of a new railroad in those days was, in the majority of cases, necessarily a highly speculative undertaking, with, on one hand, the possibility of rapid achievement, and, on the other, an equally great hazard of disastrous failure.

The speculative area has now passed. With the settlement of the country, the opening to agriculture of nearly all tillable land, the placing of industry on a permanent basis, and in more recent years the firm establishment of public regulation as a definite policy accepted by all, the controlling factors have combined to remove railroading almost wholly from the realm of speculative enterprise, at least as far as those who work in it for salaries are concerned. As a result, the work of the railroad officer has become one of the most highly stabilized of remuneration and certainty of employment.

To a young man of ability, about to graduate from college, and confronted with a choice of professions, I would, therefore, say that railroading offers a more certain career than most branches of commerce or industry, with less likelihood of suffering through the mistakes or wrongs of others and also with somewhat less probability of gaining the very highest monetary return.

A Tribute to the Engineer

In concluding a fitting tribute was paid to the engineer for the part played by the members of the profession in the great war, and the wars of the ages.

The part of the engineer in the mightiest war of all was titanic, and the demands for scientific education have swamped the colleges. It was veritably a war of machinery, and the greatest development of machinery ever attained by mankind, much of its accuracy and reliability having come to perfection under the stress of the necessity for answering with lightning rapidity the problem of administering countless numbers of moving cities of men, and providing them with the necessities of life, and unknown and unheard of engines of war. Along with these engines, science by its engineers gave increased use of electric energy both for power and means of instantaneous communication between the officers of an unprecedented war organization, and yielded increased knowledge of the elements of nature, which when separated or combined gave the high explosive force of ammunition, and the overpowering fumes of gases. Not a gun was fired that was not directed by the scientific precision of the range finder. The power of the engineer and the skilled mechanic was felt and seen everywhere; the infantryman's rifle and machine gun, the artillery-man's field pieces and heavy ordnance, the wonderful rifled ordnance of the navy, the machine driven vessels of the sea and air, the railway trains and motor cars, the telegraph and telephone instruments for communication service both with and without wire connection, and the tools for fashioning them all in a phenomenally brief period of time.

These things being ready, aye! and long before they were ready in sufficient quantity, the patriotic manhood and womanhood of the Allied Nations rushed forward at the Nation's call, with, strong in their hearts, the glorified vision of holding fast to the onward and upward steps of civilized life for the continued advancement of the standard bearers of the future ages, in order to repel and crush the degrading and decivilizing purposes of the invading hordes, even to the supreme sacrifice. Everywhere the college men with their high ideals gave bountifully of their trained force.

With these legions of citizen soldiery, the Engineer was always at work, a designer, a builder, a director and a fighter.