The Wallace miner. [volume] (Wallace, Idaho) 1907-current, 1916-09-14
THE BUSINESS OF MINING
address Graduating Glass of Missouri by W
Ingalls, Editor Engineering Mining JournaD

oillce anu greeted me effusiyely He
was arrayei with elegance and ex-
!hlbited many evidences of prosperity.
he Informed me early in our CONVEX
sation that he had quit engineering
and had become salesman; that he
had lately closed a half-million doll
lar contract and was going to be the
general sales agent of his company.
: He was not even sheepish in his con-
fession also he had forgotten my
own advice to him.
| knew another young man who
threw up good but subordinate pc.
sition for which he vas well fitted to
go into the field as advisory engineer
urged him not to do it, pointing out
that he was untitled for it, and also
that the unattached engineer is likely
to experience six lean years to every
fat one; but unfortunately, he had a
fat one, right in sight After a while
the lean ones came and things began
to be harder and harder. He used to
send me desperate appeals for help
and advice. Finally he wrote me that
he was quite unable to earn living
by his profession: that he was just
managing to get along by selling soap;
what should | advise him to. do?
replied that if he had found he could
not get living by what he called his
profession, but could get it by selling
soap, the logic of the situation SEEM
ed to me to point to his continuing to
sell soap. However, in the course of
but modest niche in engineering and
then was we'll content to stay there.
My purpose in relating these anec-
dotes has been to point out to you
astray by pride in a supposed profess
sion, which really is not a profession
so much as 1t Is a business avocation;
and, secondly, that you should not
hesitate to abandon your now chosen
work If you find later that you are
untitled for it and made a mistake in
choosing it. We all make mistakes
and shall continue to do so so long as
we are human. The most that any of
us can hope for is not to make the
same mistake twice, but, alas! we do
even that 1t is no confession of in
capacity for young man to say five
years after graduation that he made
mistake in studying mining; that he
would better have been farmer or a
merchant 1t would, however, be dis
tinctly a confession of incapacity to
stick to something to which you know
Yourself to be united, or something
that is uncongenial to you.
Now, | am not the materialist that
perhaps my words have indicated. On
the contrary l am an idealist All my
life | have been doing those things
that | liked to do and have not
thought enough about what they paid
We have several kinds of engineers
There is first of all the great body OF
men who operate our mines and met.
allurgical works. They are the sub
alterns captains and colonies of oul
army. Fewer in number are those
who advise about the development Of
mines, build metallurgical works, de-
wise new metallurgical processes, They
are the staff officers. Many of then
are great scientists, whose work is of
ten inadequately requited. Finally
Lit. ~ in tlnf h
business instinct is highly developed
men like Jackling, Hoover, Hammond
Bradley--who are our generals.
| admire the engineers of each of thes
classes. Each in his own way hum
BILE or high, is doing necessary worl
and contributing to the wealth tina
the mining industry bestows upon tn
| world
However, in mining, as in every
, thing else, the scarcity is in good Off
, GERS and the higher you go, tn
greater is the scarcity. Every man IL
! the ranks, every one of you, like Ma
| poleon's soldiers, carries marshal
baton in his knapsack, meaning tina
: the road of promotion is perfectl
4 open. Whether you will travel tina
Y road rapidly or not depends upol
0 yourself aaone. Now, please note tina
among our engineering generals tn
s predominant characteristic is thei
: business instinct. Their engineerin
e training has been relegated to tn
t background. There have been ant
o are many generals who have had n
e engineering training, or have acquir
h ed 1t incidentally, without going
a school for it. Such a one was March,
= DAILY, a very great general, and anon
G the many stories of him l recall on
a that illustrates my idea. 1t is re
: ported of him that he used to say:
it II listen to the reports of my eng
d neers and then l lock myself in m
e room lest they influence my jude
b ment."
% This did not mean that he deprec
Is ated either his engineers or their az
lie vice. but simply that he had to cor
Is slider other phases of the questi6
l. than those of purely engineerir
character.
D. And similarly, John d. Ryan, al
at other great general, lately said to m
r. IF the Anaconda company shou
.z.t,. IN