“It is a great profession. There is the fascination of watching the figment of the imagination emerge through the aid of Science to a plan on paper. Then it moves to realization in stone or metal or energy. Then it brings jobs and homes to men. Then it elevates the standards of living and adds to the comfort of life. That is the Engineer’s high privilege. The great liability of the engineer compared to men of other professions is that this works are out on the open, where all can see them. His acts, step by step, are in hard substance. He cannot bury his mistakes in the grave like physicians. He cannot argue them into thin air or blame the judge like the lawyers. He cannot, like the architects, cover his failures with trees and vines. He cannot, like the politicians, screen his shortcomings by blaming his opponents and hope that the people will forget.
The engineer simply cannot deny that he did it. If his works do not work, he is damned forever……
