"For three consecutive years now, the accuracy of the Gold Cup Regatta course has depended upon Gurley transits," reports Phil S. Bessor, Registered Engineer and Land Surveyor of Bellevue, Washington. "In 1951, '52, and again in

'53, we were commissioned to design and lay out the race course on Lake Washington, Seattle. In '53, the course was 334 statute miles.

"Long before the buoys were set, there were many technical problems to be solved. The course had to be drawn and approved by the American Power Boat Association in Detroit. Curves had to be far enough from shore to prevent spectator mishaps. Naturally, we also kept in mind the best possible course for spectator viewing-as well as location of underwater cables, bridge clearances and the like.

"The Coast Guard tender Rhododendron worked with us in setting the 22 marker buoys which were anchored by 1450-pound iron balls. We used walkie-talkie communication be

tween groundbased transitmen and the buoy placers aboard ship.

"All buoys were set by triangulation, using three Gurleys-two transits on the Seattle shore line, a third on Mercer Island. All points "Four feet starboard...two were USC&GS feet to port": transitman monuments. Some walkie-talkies instructions were set as far for laying buoys to tender. back as 1901, so Even in fog, buoys were eas- they were rerun ily spotted with Gurleys. and checked. Some shots were as great as 7300 feet, and setups were as long as nine and one-half hours at

GURLEY

Surveying and Scientific Instrument Makers Since 1845

"Men behind the buoys": Phil Bessor (with chart) and BMC Lester Green discuss course. Bessor says: "We especially appreciated the Gurleys on mile shots where accuracy was the same as at 500 ft." a stretch. We worked in hot and cold weather, wet and dry-with water as deep as 378 feet.

"On the morning of the big day, we set up again, and checked once more to make sure the buoys were still on line. We saw the race only through our transits, since we checked constantly to see if the markers had moved. After the race, the course was again checked for the official report.

"With the great accuracy required, the long distance shots, the time and weather and many other elements, I was glad to have Gurley transits on the job, just as I was when first using a Gurley 23 years ago."

"The Surveyor's Notebook" collection is packed with unusual stories like this-plus many helpful surveying tips and field problems. Write for your free copy of Series 2.

"Want to trade in

your present instrument?"

Many surveyors have asked us if it is possible to trade in an old transit or level on a new Gurley instrument. We will be pleased to receive your serial number and a brief description of your present instrument. Our answer by return mail will give details of our offer in your case.

A

PERENNIAL PROBLEM of surveyors

and mappers is that of preserving their professional status. In spite of the fact that the courts have long given surveyors the same legal responsibility as other fully recognized professions—namely, the professional prerogative of liability limited to the exercise of ordinary care, skill, and prudence-nevertheless there periodically occur situations in which the professional status of surveyors and mappers is questioned.

For many years one of the stumbling blocks in the path of full professional recognition for surveyors and mappers was the fact that we were listed in the U. S. Census occupational directory under the heading "semiprofessional." As a result of concerted effort on the part of The American Congress on Surveying and Mapping, that classification was changed in 1950 to the title of "Professional, Technical, and Kindred Workers." It is under this classification that architects, engineers, lawyers and judges, authors, clergymen, physicians and surgeons, and others also appear.

However, in January 1953, solicitation of bids for engineering and surveying services was demanded in connection with a proposed topographic and location survey for a Federal Government agency at American Lake, Wash. Firm protest by the Committee of Professional Relations of The American Society of Civil Engineers brought a reply from the Federal agency, in April 1953, to the effect that "it is not the intent of [this agency] to have professional engineers participate in competitive bidding on a price basis. Therefore, a procedure has been established whereby in the future, when engineering services are required on a con

* See also "Competitive Bids for Surveying Services" under Comment and Discussion in this issue.

Nevertheless, periodically attempts are made, and probably will continue to be made, to downgrade surveying and mapping to a nonprofessional level. How, then, can we best protect ourselves against such attacks?

Let us first try to determine the meaning and significance of the words "profession" and "professional."

We quote the following definitions from Webster's New International Dictionary, Second Edition:

PROFESSION-(a) The occupation, if not purely commercial, mechanical, agricultural, or the like, to which one devotes oneself; a calling in which one professes to have acquired some special knowledge used by way of either instructing, guiding or advising others, or of serving them in some art; the three professions or learned professions is a name often used for the professions of theology, law or medicine;

(b) Broadly, one's principal calling, vocation or employment.

PROFESSIONAL (1) Of, or pertaining to, a profession, especially a learned or skilled profession, as professional training or ethics . . . . ;

(2) Characteristic of, or conforming to, the ethical standards of a profession or an occupation regarded as such. . . .

...

The following is quoted from the TaftHartley Law:

The term "professional employee" means: (a) Any employee engaged in work (i) predominantly intellectual and varied in character as opposed to routine mental, manual, mechanical, or physical work; (ii) involving the consistent exercise of discretion and judgment in its performance; (iii) of such a character that the output produced or the result accomplished cannot be standardized in relation to a given period of time; (iv) requiring knowledge of an advanced type in a field of science or learning customarily acquired by a prolonged course of

specialized intellectual instruction and study in an institution of higher learning or a hospital, as distinguished from a general academic education or from an apprenticeship or from training in the performance of routine mental, manual or physical processes; or

(b) Any employee, who (i) has completed the course of specialized intellectual instruction and study described in clause (iv) of paragraph (a) and (ii) is performing related work under the supervision of a professional person to qualify himself to become a professional employee as defined in paragraph (a).

The following is quoted from "The Engineering Profession," by Messrs. Hoover and Fish:

A calling has become a profession (1) when to practice it one must have acquired a fund of special, organized, theoretical learning and training in applying it and (2) when it recognizes that, above each member's responsibility to his client, his colleagues, and himself, is his responsibility to the public.

One of the fullest discussions of professional qualifications was written by Dr. W. E. Wickenden under the title "The Second Mile." In that paper Dr. Wickenden lists four qualifications which he calls the legs of the table in that "they give a profession a stable base of support." Those four qualities he lists as:

(1) an attitude of mind;

(2) a kind of work;

(3) a special order in society;

(4) a confidential relationship between a client and his agent.

Dr. Wickenden says further:

What is the distinctive mark of the professional man? First, we may say that it is a type of activity which carries high individual responsibility and which applies special skill to problems on a distinctly intellectual plane. Second, we may say that it is a motive of service associated with limited rewards as distinct from profit. Third is the motive of self-expression, which implies joy and pride in one's work and a self-imposed

standard of excellence. And fourth is a conscious recognition of social duty to be fulfilled among other means by guarding the ideals and standards of one's profession, by advancing it in public understanding and esteem, by sharing advances in technical knowledge, and by rendering gratuitous public service, in addition to that for

ordinary compensation, as a return to society for special advantages of education and status. Next, what attributes mark off the corporate life of a group of persons as professional in character? We may place first a body of knowledge (science) and art (skill) held as a common possession and to be extended by united effort. Next is an educational process based on this body of knowledge and art, in ordering which the professional group has a recognized responsibility. Third is a standard of qualifications for admission to the professional group, based on character, training, and proved competence. Next follows a standard of conduct based upon courtesy, honor, and ethics, which guides the practitioner in his relations with clients, colleagues, and the public. Fifth, we may place a more or less formal recognition of status, either by one's colleagues or by the state, as a basis for good standing. And finally, there is usually an organization of the professional group, devoted to its common advancement and its social duty, rather than to the maintenance of an economic monopoly.

Now, how do we as surveyors and mappers qualify under these various definitions? Surveyors of necessity must undergo a long period of education and training in mathematics, the sciences, and their applications, before being properly qualified to perform such work. The land surveyor, in addition, must be thoroughly grounded in the ramifications of the law of boundaries, local statutes, their interpretations, and court decisions dealing with land titles. The surveyor must maintain a position of complete impartiality of opinion, and must render advice to his clients based upon his accumulation of education and experience.

Surveyors and mappers, through their professional societies, particularly The American Society of Civil Engineers and The American Congress on Surveying and Mapping, have imposed upon themselves certain ethical restrictions closely akin to those of other recognized professions. In The American Congress on Surveying and Mapping, many of the Divisions have established standards of practice of high order, and have imposed upon themselves the responsibilities to the public welfare in keeping with professional practices of other groups. These responsibilities extend in some localities to the prohibiting of advertising in nontechni