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T H E J O U R N A L O F I N D U S T R I A L A N D ENGINEERING CBBMIS1’R.Y
ANOTHER GREAT DISCOVERY
A discovery of enormous potential importance t o t h e chemical profession has been made within t h e last few months by t h e general public. Hundreds of nemspapers a n d periodicals are devoting editorial space t o t h e discussion of t h e chemists a n d cheniical engineers a n d their relations, a n d especially their ohligations, t o t h e coal-tar dye industries. Thc public acknowledgment of our responsible connection ’ with this i m p o r t a n t industry is a great accomplishment for our profession when we recall t h a t only six months ago t h e chemist was known chiefly by t-lie drug store h e kept. Every worker thrives upon public recognition of his achievements. T h e chemist is no exception t o this rule, y e t from t h e obscure and involved n a t u r e of his work a n d his n a t u r a l secretive instincts h e has received less public acknowledgment t h a n t h e workers of a n y other profession. It matters little whether t h e chemical profession comes i n t o view riding t h e spectacular coal-tar dye h o b b y , v h e t h e r i t is “ t r i m m e d ” b y t h e public press for its lack of initiativc in seizing opportunities, or whether i t is charged with an u t t e r absence of business acumen, so long as i t comes t o be publicly recognized a s a n i m p o r t a n t a n d an essential factor in t h e industrial development a n d councils of this country. If t h e newspapers make mistakes in discussing our intricate scientific a n d industrial problems, we should n o t be content t o blink a n d chuckle in our superior wisdom, b u t should come out in t h e open and s e t t h e m right. If legislative styles point unmistakably t o pension log-rolling, bureaucratic logrolling, tariff log-rolling, i t is our d u t y t o teach legislators t h e value of rolling t h e logs t h a t will develop t h e industries v h i c h support our profession. T h e public have been left t o their own resources t o figure o u t t h e function of t h e chemical profession. We publish one thousand copies of our Journals each d a y i n t h e year, b u t t h e y are for t h e chemists, a n d are free from matters of public interest. T h e directory of our Society-the largest technical society in t h e world-gives n o hint of t h e vast a n d varied field of professional activity of t h e chemist. Our public work is obscured b y impenetrable technical detail a n d our industrial achievements are c u t off f r o m public view by high factory walls. Public sources of information as t o t h e field of activity of the chemist a r e t h u s limited t o t h e signs displayed on t h e corner d r u g storcs. TVe have labored €or years under cover. Is it a n y wonder, t h e n , t h a t we were still undiscow ered r h e n th.e foreign crisis disclosed t o t h e public t h e fact t h a t some of our great industries depended. for their development a n d continuance upon the work of t h e chemist? Severtheless, t h e r e are m a n y other fields of activity besides those which have recently become of interest t o t h e public, in Yhich t h e chemist a n d t h e chemical engineer have contributed much to industrial wealth.
Vol. 7, No. 4
T h e time seems ripe for coming out in t h e open a n d showing t h e public in clear and authoritative form t h e place of t h e chemist in industry. TVe publish io. T H I S ISSUE a series of papers written by eminent specialists--chemists, chemical engineers, administ r a t i v e officials and industrial. managers---who see a n d present from various angles t h e contributions of t h e chemical profession t o our industrial development. These papers cover b u t a few of t h e indus.. tries benefited b y t h e science of chemistry. We hope t o publish m a n y others of t h e same kind arid t h u s bring t o light a better understanding of t h e world’s work of t h e industrial chemist a n d t h e chemical engineer. ________~.
ON SYNTHETIC DYESTUFFS AND OUR EXPLOSIVES L‘nder t h e title of “ T h e Dyestuff Situation a n d I t s Lesson,!’ we printed in t h e March number of THE J O U R N A L a n address b y our ex-president, A r t h u r D . Little. Were i t not for t h e prominent position occupied by him, i n view of t h e m a n y reports and papers written, we would make no comment, as t h e subject has become threadbare. F r o m a standpoint of patriotism, however, if for no other reason, we challenge his conclusions. While he is stopping t h e “wasting precious a m m o n i a ” t h e no less precious benzol, toluol, carbolic acid, etc., are t o go t o waste, or be exported t o be returned t o us as finished products. It is a d m i t t e d t h a t we can have a dyestuff industry in this country if i t is protected with a n ad valorem d u t y of 3 0 per cent, plus a specific d u t y of 7s/2 cents per pound. Let us see what this means t o t h e mind of t h e m a n or woman who is called upon t o p a y t h e t a x . Dr. Hesse tells us: t h a t t h e cost of t h e dyestuff, including this d u t y , would not be over T S cents pcr a n n u m per capita of our population; t h a t t h e dyestuff entering i n t o a suit of clothes costing $ 2 j . 0 0 mould not buy a good cigar, and: including t h e proposed d u t y , mould be less t h a n j cents per suit. H e asks why t h e n “should m duplicate t h e m (i. e., German Color Works) only t o plunge into at?. industrial warfare against t h e most strongly fortified industrial position in t h e world.” I n answer: let us quote from what Dr. Schn-eitzer says in an articic on German militarism~ “The industry for the recovery of the by-products from the coking process, which we already mentioned as a source for sulfate of ammonium, has also been highly developed because Gcr- , man militarism needed some of the resulting coal-tar products €or the rnanuEacture of explosives. Benzol, toluol, carbolic acid, metacresol and diphenylamine are starting materials used in the manufacture of ammunition.” §caring this in. mind !et us see n-hat I l r . HCSSCs a y s on t h e subject in a report which was read i n t o t h e records of t h e House of Representatives, dated December I O , 1914, by H o n . Samuel Wallin: “The best information your committee has so far been able t o gather is that this country can produce so-called coal-tar raw matcrial in amounts sufficient for the needs of a complete domestic coal-tar chemical industry, inclusive of explosives
