The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1893-08-19

! gineer In charge. Reports to principals
| direct should only be made when there
is no engineer in charge not then, when
! there has been an engineer in charge
whose professional acts are impeached in
I such report, without prior tender of a
| OF a copy of such parts of the report as
| may personally concern him, for his pc
rusal and response.
HOW VIOLATIONS ARE CONSIDERED.
ut is difficult to speak with charity or
patience of violation of the spirit of this
rule, for every man with any sense of
honor in him will feel instinctively
that it is base and cowardly act of the
very essence of dishonor.
Some such instances have been re-
corded in these columns, and not so very
long ago. Others have come to our
knowledge which have not been so re-
corded.
"In defense Of such instances, we take
1t there will be found no man to speak a
word; but why should man violate even
the forms of courtesy?
''If this be true even of the forms of
fairness and courtesy, what shall be said
OF those cases, by no means unknown in
high professional circles, though we hope
rare-in which both the form and sub
stance of fairness are violated through
out professional engagement; in which
call is accepted over the head of the
engineer in charge and without his
knowledge; in which the latter is syste-
'matically ignored and the principals only
consorted with; in which a report involv-
ing serious charges against his profession
al work is finally handed in over his head !;
in which Judgment is rendered by non
professionals against the engineer on the
strength of that report and his engage
ment terminated without his being asked
or permitted to defend his acts, and IN
which 1t finally appears Tor does not APP
pear that grave and palpahle errors of
fact or theory. or both, were contained
in that report, seriously affecting it's sub
stance} 1t is asserted that no such in
stances ever occur among reputable engi-
neerS. We will not assert that they have
occurred but we will say that we have
strong reason to believe that they have
occurred. We will say, also, that they
may occur at any time so long as it is con-
sidered pardonable for one engineer to re-
port about the conduct of another behind
his back.n
PURPOSE OF BOTH RULES THE SAME.
The American Architect in comment
ing on the article just quoted says: 1.-THE
purpose of both of these rules is the same
to prevent men who have probably done
their duty with fidelity and skill from be-
ing grossly injured behind their backs,
by their fellow professional men, to
whom they should have a right to look
for appreciation of their work; but we
need hardly point out that the observance
of them is quite as much for the advan-
tage of the consulting expert as of the
professional man in charge A physician,
called in consultation, who should pro-
nounce Judgment on the case without
learning all that he could about the symp-
toms and the treatment from the medical
man regularly in charge, would be rated
as an ignorant quack, and there is no en-
gineer or architect whose opinion on
work in progress would not be rendered
more valuable by consultation with the
expert who has been connected with it
from the beginning.
DANGER OF DOING INJUSTICE.
"* y As the Engineering News saws,
unless the consulting expert knows at
first hands what the engineers plans
were and are he cannot be sure
Of doing justice either to himself or his
employer, or to his fellow engineer, and
certainly not to all three and most en-
gineers can recall instances where a con-
sulting expert has made himself ex-
tremely ridiculous in the eyes, even, of
his employers, by pronouncing Judgment
upon matters in regard to which he had
not been honorable enough to inform him
| self by application to the person who
could have given him the facts required
as basis for an intelligent opinion. It
may be imagined that blunder of this
sort does not help consulting engineers
reputation among owners, most of
whom go to experts to get
the best information possible, leav-
ing to them the means of obtaining
it, while the small minority, who call in
experts simply as cats paws to help them
play some dirty trick upon man to whom
they are already under obligation, and
whom they dare not NEEDLE with maided,
are still less likely to be grateful for
collapse of their plans brought about in
such way.
violations of either of the rules y 4
is at the best and in every case
boorish, bad manners even, when it is
nothing else and worse. If engineers do
not respect themselves who will respect
them2 Certainly not those who buy them
for price to humiliate their fellow engi-
neer discourteously, whether the humilia-
tion be deserved or undeserved. They
will rather the more despise them"
ARRESTED A BURGLAR.