Los Angeles herald., 1909-11-17
ENGINEER WILL DEFEND
NEW LICENSE ORDINANCE

Los ANGELES, Nov. 15.-[Editol
Herald: A short while ago a new
engineers license ordinance was passed
by the city council and approved by
the mayor That ordinance is the em-
bodiment of fairness to the running
engineers and at the same time all
that is required of the general publiS
to safeguard it against accidents.
The ordinance which was in force
prior to the present one was not con-
stttutional; 1t could not be enforced
and in many cases was not enforced
Because of its peculiarities and loose
ness of construction its operation
worked a hardship on the running en-
gineers of the city.
From the viewpoint Of the lay citizen
this new ordinance gives him better
service. l know Of a number of in
stances where an employer needed an
engineer and called before him a GER
tain man whose ability and industry
he well knew He was the man he
needed for the position, but for some
reason the engineer did not have the
grade of license required by the old
ordinance for the plant in question
and the employer, to be in keeping
with the old ordinance, could not en-
ploy the engineer,
Most any engineer will say that If he
can run 100-horse power boiler he can
run one of 500-horse power, the prin-
ciples of operation being the same IN
both cases and the examination to be
passed by the engineer should likewise
be the same in both cases.
A good engineer may not be the man
who holds a high grade of license
under the old ordinance, but rather he
is the man who has built up a record
for himself by being studious, pro-
gressive and reliable in former places
of employment. And the employers of
engineers, especially in the larger
plants, always hire an engineer on his
established record and not on the grade
of license he may carry, for they know
that the grade of his license is not GER
tain evidence of his ability as an en-
gineer.
/ have discussed this license law with
great many engineers of the city.
They are all agreed that 1t is a very
good law-just what was needed-it
giving the engineers more equity i1
the matter of licenses. A large major
ty of the engineers of the city want
the new ordinance to stand. There is
a very small minority who want 1t re-
pealed. That minority is a small group
of engineers who hold chief engineer 5
licenses. Their reasons for wishing
the new ordinance revoked and the old
one continued Is obvious. This small
group OF small engineers mas naQ con-
troll of the engineers examining board
for many years. Certain members
among them have said repeatedly, I'VE
do not want any more high class en-
gineers in the city; there are enough
of them now," and it has been their
policy to issue very few high grade
licenses. 1t has been next to impos-
sible to get a chief engineers license,
the same being refused to men wing
| know personally to have greater
ability than the examiners themselves.
They do not want to issue chief en-
gineers' licenses for the reason that
there are some good positions in the
city which, under the old ordinance, re-
quire an engineer with a chiefs license
This fittle group of chiefs wants to con-
troll those positions. The new ordi-
nance strips them of their power and
leaves them in honest competition with
all ether engineers of equal ability.
| appeal to the running engineers II
Los Angeles Read over this new or
dinance and if in your judgment you
deem it fair and honest I ask you to
back it with your moral support and
demand that it shall stand under ap-
peal.
/ hereby challenge any engineer TO
debate with me on the merits OF this
new license ordinance in public before
a common body of engineers of Los
Angeles, and at the end / am willing
to leave the judgment of its merits in
their hands. LEWIS NJ. KELLOGG.