of the Committee resident in San Francisco. The work of the Resident hlembers has been assigned to different sub-committees, and Chairman Durand has made the following appointments: EXECCTIVE COMMITTEE : Ib:. F. Durand, Chairman, ex-oficio; 1%’. A. Cattell, Secretary, ex-oficio; E. H . Benjamin, W. G. Dodd, A. hI. Hunt. FINAXCE COMMITTEE: 1%‘.G. Dodd, Chairman; li’ewton Cleareland, R. S. hloore. PAPERS COMMITTEE: -4. 11. Hunt, Chairman; A. L. Adams, H . F. Bain, G . W. Dickie, W. R. Eckart, C. D . Marx, C. R. m’eymouth. PUBLICITY COMMITTEE: \V. A. Cattell, Chairman; C. Derleth, Jr,, W.S. Xoyes, T. 1%’. Ransom. LOCALAFFAIRSCOMMITTEE: E. H . Benjamin, Chairman; J. G. De Remer, H. P. Frear. The scope of the Congress has not as yet been definitely determined, but i t is hoped to make i t widely representative of the best engineering practice throughout the world, and i t is intended that the papers, discussions and proceedings shall constitute an adequate review of the progress made during the past decade and “an authoritative presentation of the latest developments and most approved practices in the various branches of engineering work. The Committee of hhnagement has extended a most cordial invitation to the officers and members of the American Chemical Society to attend and to participate in the proceedings ,of this Congress. The formal invitation, handsomely engraved, is now in the hands of Secretary Parsons and will be presented a t the next meeting of the Council. ’
AMERICAN ENGINEERS ENTERTAINED IN GERMANY
Upon invitation of the Verein Deutscher Ingenieure, three hundred American engineers and their lady companions attended the Fifty-fourth Lleeting a t Leipzig, Germany. A tour of insLection throughout Germany was arranged for the foreign guests by the society.
I
WILLIAM JAMES EVANS RESOLUTIOKS
BY
THE
CHEXISTS’
E. G. LOVE __
~~~
-
A CRITICISM OF CHEMICAL ABSTRACTS
Commitiec.
MINE SANITATION SECTION O F U. S. BUREAU O F MINES The United States Bureau of Mines is about to investigate the conditions under which a miner works, believing that the unsanitary conditions which exist in some of the mines as well as in some of the mining towns are a factor in the death rate among the men. It is intimated that these conditions not only unnecessarily cause the death of miners through disease, but are often responsible for accidents which might not happen if the miners were in perfect health. The bureau has organized what is known as the Mine Sanitation Section, in charge of J. H . White, engineer.
NOTES AND CORRFPONDENCE
Editor of the Journal of Industrial and Engineering Chemistry: In the July number of THISJOURKAL, in an editorial entitled “rin Index to Chemical Literature,” Dr. I,. H . Baekeland makes a criticism of Chemical Abstracts which has the appearance of being so serious that I feel some reply must be made to it. He quotes from a report on the Patent Office in which the Government indexers state that they compared 6 pages of the index of the Journal of the ( L o n d o n ) Cheniical Society for 1909 with 1909 index of Chemical Abstracts and that out of 256 articles indexed in the former they failed t o find 159 in Ckemical Abstracts. This certainly looks bad, and might lead the reader to conclude that Chemical Abstracts is not half covering the field. I have gone minutely over three of the six pages referred t o and find the following: Out of I 2 j articles indexed in the London index, only 4 have not been found in Chemical Abstracts. One cause for failure to find entries is that in 1909 Chemical Ahstracts was behind on many journals and struggling to catch u p (Chemical Abstrczcts was only in its third year and just getting started); about 50 of the missing entries are to be found in the 1910 volume and so would eventually have come into the card index of the Patent Office. But the principal discrepancy is due to different methods of indexing. For instance, the London journal indexes aminoacetanilide under acetanilide, while
CLCB
On the occasion of the death of William James Evans, the Board of Trustees of the Chemists’ Club of S e w York City passed the following resolutions in token of their esteem a n d respect: The Board of Trustees of the Chemists’ Club, for itself and for the members of the Club, take this opportunity of recording its sorrow and regret a t the passing of William James Evans, a member of the Board and former Treasurer. The kindly and friendly interest which Mr. Evans took in the Club and all its functions, his sincere and cordial meeting with all its members, and his efficient and unflagging cooperation in forwarding the interests of the Club made him not only a member of unusual usefulness but also a warm, personal friend of each of us. The Board of Trustees also takes this opportunity of extending to the family of hlr. Evans its sympathy in the affliction that has befallen them. WALKERBOWMAN B. C. HESSE CHAS.BASKERVILLE I,. H. BAEKELAND
I
Chemical Abstracts indeses it under Am. The same applies to nitro and many other compounds. ‘Furthermore, the English journal takes great liberties with the names of organic compounds as they appear in the article, renaming them if it thinks desirable. This has advantages and disadvantages ; Chemical Abstracts has never done so much renaming. This variance in indexing between t h e two journals only emphasizes, of course, the difficulties in t h e way of preparing a general index. il letter received by us from 11r. \%‘.F. \Voolard, Chief Clerk of the Patent Office, says: “It is probable that no two chemists, making this comparison, would exactly agree in the number of articles covered by one index and not mentioned in the other, without consulting the original monographs. Different abstractors will treat the same article from different view points, so t h a t i t becomes a t times difficult to say whether or not an article has been abstracted by one journal and omitted by the other, without reference t o and study of the original articles. For this detailed study there was neither time nor necessity in our investigation. “The object which the office had in making this comparison was not with a view to criticism of the work of the American Society, but to ascertain whether subject matter appeared in the English work, which could not be found in the American in order to decide whether or not it was advisrble to index both works.”
7 84
T H E J O G R S A L OF I S D C S T R I A L AND E:\‘GISEERISG
CHE-WISTRY
Val. 5, s o . g
I t is evidently out of the question for Chemical Abstracts when a yellow order sheet is found in the manufacturing deto index so minutely as to cover all the entries in the English partment it is a t once easy to see that some one from the shipping index. We have already three times as many entries’as it has, department is there investigating the date when an order was and it, as well as the index t o Chemisches Zentralblatt, has, for some filled. I could continue this, but i t would take too much space. time, been regularly checked t o see that no article is omitted. Suffice it to say that these small matters go a great way toward We do not pretend that of the articles in the 600 journals which making a factory “fool-proof.” we now have listed, all have been abstracted quickly. Many LMAXIMILIAX TOCH 9 T H ST. AND W E S T AVE. have been delayed and perhaps some missed altogether. ParticuLONG ISLAND CITY lar journals are constantly falling behind for various causes and August 5 , 1913 i t is a continual struggle to bring them up-to-date. Nevertheless, ON METHODS OF ANALYSIS OF CRUDE GLYCERINE in 1909 the abstracting was not in the state that Dr. Baekeland’s well-meant criticism might imply, and a t the present time the Editor of the Journal of Industrial and Engineering Chemistry: material in nearly all departments is reaching u s very Promptly I wish to open a discussion on the present system of the analysis indeed. AUSTIN M. PATTERSOX of crude glycerine, and would say a t the outset that I believe July 25, 1913 there is an unhealthy condition existing somewhere. Let me mention a case, withholding the names. A sells two car loads PAINTS FOR INDICATING THE USES OF PIPES of Soap Lye Crude to B, with C named as referee. A, upon careful analysis, finds 83.8 per cent Glycerol by the International Editor of the Journal of Industrial and Engineering Chemistry: Standard Method, and bills it accordingly. B reports that his I note with interest, THISJOURNAL, p. 609, July, 1913, the extract of an article from Engineering that in 1911 German chemists find 85.2 per cent Glycerol, but will split the differengineers “came t o a preliminary understanding that i t was ence. A has been very careful with his work (having been there before), and has his figures from two chemists, who are expedesirable t o paint pipes so as to avoid confusion, etc.” I do not know whether this practice was original with me, rienced in carrying out the International Standard Method. but I instituted it in the late fall of 1896, and a t the same time A, therefore, has a third portion of the sealed sample, taken b y instituted a method of painting barrels so as to be able to dis- a public sampler, sent t o C for analysis, requesting a detailed report, that he may check up the work of his chemists. I n a tinguish them a t a glance. I n 1903, when we built our present few days the report comes in as follows: plant, the method of painting pipes was carried out to a nicety Per cent and color charts were distributed a t various places so that every ......................... 12.60 workman had the key to the colors. Every year that R e s i d u e a t ............................. 5.4 students in industrial chemistry visit our plant, the superin-. Water. ’ ’ ’
tendent makes it a Point to show the various pipes and their meaning. &fyobject in writing is, however, notto claim priority, although I never saw it anywhere until some years later I noticed it in one of our battleships. I wish, however, to point out that certain kinds of paint are better than others for this purpose, For instance, it is stated that pipes should be white, This is a mistake, because almost all white paints turn yellowish brown in time when subjected to continued heat. The varnish enamels of the Demar mastic type remain white but eventually become brittle and flake. At the same time, all steam pressure pipes excepting those used for heating are usually insulated with magnesia covering. I n our plant we found that aluminum paint is ideal for all steam pipes whether covered or uncovered like exhaust pipes and this aluminum paint can be bought from any reputable manufacturer. It should be composed of a hard copal with plenty of diluent in it and must not be of the collodion type. The other paints should be enamel paints and not oil paints. Enamel paints dry with a smooth gloss and do not take the dust readily. Oil paints take dust and are difficult t o clean. Nothing is more obnoxious in a factory than a fine artistic layer of dust on the top and sides of painted pipe. In addition t o the enameling of pipes, we mark each one with a key number showing the contents. This system is carried out in our works t o other apparatus. For instance, we have about twenty eccentric rotary pumps for handling volatile and other liquids. These pumps are all enameled to correspond with the pipes and the chart. I mentioned the subject of barrels, and we paint all insulating and water-proof paint barrels one color and all oil-paint another color, so that there can never be a mistake in labeling them afterwards. The color scheme is carried out in every department. The factory orders which come from the New York office are made out in quintriplicate of different colors. All stationery and instructions to the shipping office are on bright yellow paper. All manufacturing slips are blue, and so on. I n this manner,
Glycerol by the International Method,
.............
82.80 82.85 Av. 82.87 82.95
Correction for acetylizable impurities in the residue a t
Any:ir,“u;
erol:
; ; ;; :;;;; ; ;; :;:;; :;;; ;; ;; ,’
0.45 82.42
This is not a full report. According to the British Standard Specifications and Recommendations of the Executive Committee, the report should be as Per cent Total Acetyl Value as Glycerol., . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . , , , Acetyl Value(a) of Residue as Glycerol., , . , , , , . , . . , . . , , , , . .
...
Correction for Acetyl Value of Residue as Glycerol., . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Glycerol (I. S. M., 1911) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Ash . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Organic Residue.. . . . . . . . . . . . . ... ....... Free Acid in terms of NanO., . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .......... Alkali Hydroxide, and Carbonate, in terms of N ( a ) Not determined if Total Organic Residue is 2.5 per cent or under in the case of Soap Lye Crude.
Note that in C’s report there is no mention of Ash, Organic Residue, or Acetyl Value of Residue as Glycerol. By the correction, we take i t for granted that Organic Residue was over 2.5 per cent, and that it was acetylized. A, wishing to compare results more fully, wrote the referee asking for the percentage of Ash, Organic Residue a t 160“ C., and the Acetyl Value of the Residue as Glycerol. The reply was: “It is not customary to give a detailed report.” Why? We pay for it. A insisted on a detailed report and the reply was as follows: “It is our custom in making the analysis of samples of Crude Glycerine to make those determinations which are necessary to enable us to report the total glycerol figure. For this reason the only determinations we make are Total acetylizable matter in the sample as received. Total residue a t 160’ C. Acetylizable matter in the residue non-volatile a t 160‘ C.
“Our customary charge for the above determinations is $15, and when additional information is desired there is a n additional charge.” h*ow how can C tell whether the non-volatile organic residue
