The present state of the world and (from a narrower perspective) the waste from the local hostilities, demanded its contribution from their profession to ensure the elimination of such absurd and impracticable means of attaining an end. Could they do anything about it?
"Individual nations, the League of Nations, political and religious bodies, can make statements, pass resolutions and lay down all manner of rules for the preservation of peace, but such action is ineffective to prevent the use of force in pursuit of a policy of interference with others.
Labpur unions, religious associations and uch like have sed their voices, but we who make the tools for war and inadvertently or deliberately contribute our skill to assist the propagators of war, know that we are being exploited for a purpose which is foreign to our principles. our training and our ideals, yet we make no effort to promote peace. We should, for these political and religious bodies can and will do nothing to bring about the satisfaction of the really fundamental desires of the majority of the world's inhabitants, "We, a handful of engineers in China, cannot stop war, but techni-prevail.
"Finally, I think that one of the most important steps towards the ultimate prevention of war is that engineers themselves shall realise the tremendous resources to which they have access and shall aim at applying them to this end. It is, of course, a task of almost depressing magnitude, but it ought not to be shirked, for it is a great task of true scientific endeavour. I believe that if engineering principles could be applied on the international scale as thoroughly and efficiently as they often are within a single industry, the most astonishing progress could be made, and I would remind you that in these days most problems are only solved by competent organization, patience and determined effort"
He concluded:—
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.