INDUSTRIAL AND ENGINEERING CHEMISTRY
EDITORIAL
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Municipal Customers
Tokyo, Japan 12 Iikura Katae-Siachi Azabu M n a t o - k u Patrick P. SfcCurdy ADVISORY BOARD : Thomas Baron, \Villiam C. Bauman, Robert B. Beckmann, Carroll 0 . Bennett, Floyd L. Culler, hlerrell F. Fenske, Robert L. Hershey, Ernest F. Johnson, Charles A. Kumins, Frank C. SlcGrew, Robert N. Xladdox, Charles N. Satterfield, lVarren C. Schreiner, Eric G. Schlvartz, Thomas K. Shenvood, Joseph Stewart
AMERICAN CHEMICAL SOCIETY PUBLICATIONS 1155 Sixteenth St., N.\V., lVashington, D. C. 20036 Director of Publications, Richard L. Kenyan Dirrctor of Business Operations, Joseph H . Kuney Publication hfanager, Journals, David E. Gushee Executive Assistant to the Director of Puhlications, Rodney S . Hader Assistant to the Director of Publications, lVilliam Q . Hull Advertising Sianagement R E I S H O L D PUBLISHING C O R P O R A T I O X (For list of offices,see page 66)
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he myth of the double society has managed to attach itself to as to scientists. In the latest version a technoscientific society and a lay society are supposed to exist side by side with fe\v, ineffectual interchanges. T o promote integration of the t\co societies is a divine mission for many people. One national organization, contrary to the usual practice of explaining things scientific to the laity, has engaged lay reporters to explain the world, particularly the governmental portion of it, to the technoscientific community. A more familiar result, also being attributed to the existence of a double society, is the attempt to have engineers involve themselves in government. The rationale seems to be that we have entered an era of historic change in the relationship between man and his environment, due almost entirely to the impact of developing technology. Since technology has created the problems, it is up to technology to solve them. Much of the confusion centers about the complex and nebulous character of the problems. Rather than exert more pressure to have sonleone solve the problems, it might be productive to examine the matter from a different viewpoint. If \ve think about it a bit, we might conclude that the essence of the problem area is that municipalities have become coiisuiiiers, and occasionally producers, of goods and services to an extent previously unkno\cn. It is true that rnunicipalities have ahvays made use of engineers, but usually as consultants on purely technical problems. The involvement of municipalities in the niarketplace has now reached the point where the engineer must also be present at the point of voting appropriations. There is precedent for this in nearly every private enterprise of any size. The only difference appears to be the extent that municipalities have entered the marketplace. It seems completely unnecessary, therefore, to drag the double society, into the picture, particularly \rhen the double society has yet to be proved in fact. Engineers have always been highly adaptable by necessity. Adapting to the unique needs of a municipal customer, federal or local, will be a problem for individuals but nothing any more difficult than problems already overcome. Lye simply must adjust to meet the needs of the municipal as well as the private customer.
Tengineers as well
VOL. 5 9
NO. 3
MARCH 1967
5
