The Washington herald., 1920-02-18
inaugural Address to Mem
bers American Institute
Mining and Metallurgical
Engineers, Discusses
Present Social and Eco
nomic Situation Of the
United States.

United States.
New York. Feb. II. - Herbert
Hoover tonight, in his inaugural ad-
dress as newly elected president of
the American Institute Of Mining
and Metallurgical Engineers. dis
cussed the social and economic prob
lens facing the country. His ad-
dress follows, in full:
II have been greatly honored as
your choice for president Of this in
stitute with which have been assoc
eiated during my entire professional
| life. 1t is customary for your new
president, on these occasions. to
make some observation on matters
Of general interest from the ensin-
eer's standpoint.
The profession of engineering in
the United States comprises not
alone scientific advisers on industry
but Is In great majority Comprised
of the men i'm administrative posi-
tfons. In such positions they stand
midway between capital and labor.
The character Of your. training and
experience leads you to exact and
Iquantitative thought. This basis
OF training In a great group OF
Americans furnished a wonderful
recruiting ground for service in
these last years of tribulation. Many
thousands of engineers were called
into the army. the navy, the civil
ian service for the government.
Thousands of high offices were dis
charged BY them with credit to the
profession and the nation.
I'VE have in this country proba-
bly, 100000 professional engineers.
The events OF the past few years
have sreat1y stirred their interest
in national problems. This has
taken PRACTICAL form in the main
tenance of joint committees for
discussion of these problems and
support to free advisory bureau
in Washington. The engineers
want nothing for themselves from
Congress. They want efficiency, in
government. and you contribute to
the maintenance of this bureau out
tof sheer idealism. This organiza-
tion for consideration of national
problems has had many subjects
before II and ] propose to touch on
some of them this evening.
Mast Fnee World Problems.
Even more than ever before is
there necessity for your continued
interest in this vast complex Of
problems that must be met by our
government. We are faced with q
new orientation of our country to
world problems. We face a Europe
stfil at war: still amid social revo-
lutions; some of its peoples still
Stacking on productions: millions
starving: and therefore the safety
of Its civilization is still hanging
by a slender thread. Every wind
that blows carries to our shores an
infection of social disease from
this great ferment: every convul-
sion there has an economic reac-
tion upon our own people. II we
needed further proof of the inter
dependence Of the wofId. we have
~ today In the practical blockade
Of our export market. The world
Is asking for us to ratify long
delayed peace in the hope that such
confidence will be restored as will
enable her to reconstruct her eco
nomic life. We are today contem
plating maintenance OF an enlarged
army and navy in preparedness for
further upheavals in the world and
falling even to. provide some in
surance against war by q league to
ipromote peace.
| out of the strain of war weak
nesses have become even more evi-
dent in our administrative organi-
zation, in our legislative machin-
cry. Our Federal government Is
still overcentrsiized. for we have
upon the hands of our govern
nnent enormous industrial activities
\ IL ID l.
We are swamped with debt and
burdened with taxation. Credit Is
woefully inflated: speculation and
waste are rampant. Our own pro-
ductivity Is decreasing. Our in
dustrial population are crying for
remedies to the increasing cost OF
living and aspiring to better con-
ditions of life and labor. But, be-
yond all this great hopes and aspi-
rations are abroad: great moral
and social forces have been stimu-
lated by the war and will not be
quieted by the ratification Of
peace. These are but some part Of
the problems with which we must
deal. l have no fear that our peo-
/ pie shall not find solutions: but
progress is sometimes like the old
fashioned rail fence-some rails
are perhaps misshapen and look to
point the wrong way, but in the
end the fence pro-,
The Danger OF NationnIixation.
Your committees Jointly with
those of other engineering socie-
ties have had before them and ex-
pressed their Views in many mat
ters concerning the handling of
the railways. shipping. the reor-
ganization of the government en-
cheering work, the national
budget, and other practical items.
The war naturalization. of rail-
ways and shipping are our two
greatest problems in government
control awaiting rehabilitation.
There are many fundamental OBJ
jections to continuation of these
Experiments in socialism necessi-
tated by the war. They lie chiefly
in their destruction of initiative
in our people and the dangers of
political domination that can grow
from governmental operation. Be-
yond this the engineers will hold
that the successful conduct of great
industries is to a transcendant de-
gree dependent upon the personal
abilities and character of their
employees and staff. No scheme of
political appointment has ever yet
been devised that will replace COM
petition in it's selection of ability
and character. Both shipping and
railways have today the advantage
of many skilled persoune1 siftad ouf