From left to right. Stanley Robson, Honorary Overseas Secretary of the Society of Chemical Industry; V . G . Bertram, President, Shawinigan Industries, L t d . , and V i c e President o f S C I ; T . W . Smith, Canadian Industries, L t d . , and Wallace P. Cohoe, N e w York Consultant and President of SCI.
"TARGETS FOR TOMORROW" Canadians Form
CHEMICAL INSTITUTE of CANADA By WALTER J. MURPHY, EDITOR CHEMICAL A N D ENGINEERING NEWS
DRAMATICALLY featuring the theme "Targets for Tomorrow", well over 1,000 chemists, chemical engineers, and executives attended the 27th annual Canadian Chemical Conference and Exhibition, held at the Royal York Hotel, Toronto, June 5 to 7. The meeting, t h e most important ever held in Canada, w a s climaxed by the formation o f the Chemical Institute of Canada, which in the future will represent more t h a n 6,000 members of the chemical profession. This unity and strength were achieved when the Canadian Chemical Association, t h e Canadian Institute of Chemistry, a n d the Canadian Sections of t h e Society of Chemical Industry agreed t o combine activities in one new and greatly enlarged body. The Society o f Chemical Industry will continue, but will drop a l l functions which would be considered competitive with the new organization. SCI's relationship to the 1006
Chemical Institute of Canada might be likened to the relationship of the American Section of SCI CHEMICAL SOCIETY.
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The Canadian Chemical Association, the Canadian Institute of Canada, and the Society of Chemical Industry will continue to function actively for the balance of this year with R. S. Jane of Shawinigan Water and Power, L. E. Westman, Associate Director, National Selective Service, War Industries, Ottawa, and C. J. Watson, Dominion Department of Agriculture, Ottawa, as chairmen of these respective groups. The Chemical Institute of Canada will take over with the turn of the year and the following directors were elected a t the Toronto conference: R. McLaughlin, Toronto; R. K. Stratford, Sernia; L. E . Westman, Ottawa; R. V. V. Nicholls, Montreal; Léon Lortie, Montreal; W. E. Pomroy, C H E M I C A L
Toronto; R. H . Clark, Vancouver; T. Thorvaldson, Saskatoon; C . C . Coffin, Halifax; and H . R. L. Streight, Montreal. Even t h e most optimistic members of the committee in charge of the arrangements for t h e annual chemical conference did n o t expect an attendance topping the 1,000 figure. Indeed, plans were made for a n attendance o f not more than 500, yet the meeting m o v e d smoothly and those attending were unstinting in their praise of t h e work o f the committee and the facilities a n d service of the Royal York. Based on the relative population figures of Canada a n d the United States, the turnout a t t h e Toronto meeting would mean over 10,000 a t an AMERICAN CHEMI-
CAL SOCIETY meeting. Canadian chemists, chemical engineers, and chemical executives viewed t h e move to form the Chemical Institute of Canada as the most important and significant happening in AND
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the history of things chemical in the Do minion and rightfully so. From a psycho logical point of view the timing was perfect. Canadian chemical industry has been expanded at an astronomical rate in the war period, Canadian chemists have made a number of outstanding con tributions to the common effort, and they justifiably are proud of their accomplish ments. Luncheon meetings were held on Mon day, Tuesday, and Wednesday; dinner meetings on Monday and Tuesday. General meetings were well attended on Monday afternoon and Tuesday after noon. Several technical sessions drew large attendances including Biochemistry and Food, Chemical Engineering, Plas tics, Paint and Varnish, Pure Chemistry, and Rubber Chemistry. The Monday luncheon group was wel comed by His Worship the Mayor, Dr. F. J. Conboy, and with N. S. Grace, chief chemist of Dunlop Rubber, acting as toastmaster. Ε. Τ. Sterne, Canadian controller of chemicals, was the principal speaker. "If technological advance continues at its present rate without compensating advances in the humanities, in social and economic life, we will build a Franken stein which will destroy us", Mr. Sterne declared. H e continued:
A n historic picture—D. P. Morgan, Chief of the Chemicals Bureau of WPB, and E. T. Steme, Canadian Controller of Chemicals, seem to be enjoying themselves—the subject? We can't say—secrecy ordersl They can be pleased with the flow of chemicals to war industries.
Modern life is molded by the technologi cal advances in all scientific fields. Chemi cal men must realize that the job of work i n our particular field is only part of our job as citizens of Canada and of the world. We should lead in applying the scientific method of straight thinking to other sides of life, for it is the only way to
solve social problems which will come in an avalanche after the war.
meet competition in any markets of the world.
Urging importance of the contributions of men in all branches of chemical work— research, production, and distribution— he emphasized the need of good executive directors. He concluded:
Mr. Sterne urged that scientists and technically trained men engaged in re search and production stop "looking down their noses" at those who are engaged in the distribution and merchandising side of t h e chemical industry. We must remem ber, the speaker reminded his audience, that there can be no research or produc tion unless industry can market its goods and at a profit. Men engaged in distri bution are vital to the success of the
Good executive directors will bring our costs down. Unless we do that, we can't meet our postwar employment situa tion or go into world markets. Our tech nical men are equal to any in the world, our labor is of high standard. With this combination, given a fair field, we can
Left. L. E. Westman, Canadian publisher and Associate Director National Selective Service. Above. J. C. Honey, Chairman of 1944 Canadian Conference Committee and associated with Canadian Johns Manville; R. R. McLaughlin, Professor, Chemical Engineering, Toronto University.
Professor Léon Lortie of the University of Montreal, delivering his historic address "Labor Legislation as It Affects Chemists and Chemical Engineers"· V O L U M E
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T. A.Faust,Yocum,Faust,Ltd., acted as chairman of Tuesday afternoon general meeting.
chemical industry. The speaker pointed out that in the postwar period many men with technical training will be needed in sales, market development, technical service, and in managerial positions. He urged that the colleges and universities recognize these requirements of the chemical industry by pointing up their courses to train men better to fill such positions. Great Future for Plastics The rapidly growing plastic industry is one with a mighty future, declared Willard H. Dow, president, Dow Chemical Co., speaking before the general meeting on Monday afternoon. Urging continued research for improvement, he said: We must not be satisfied with our present advances. For instance, we may be headed for plastic furniture much lighter in weight. But we're still a bunch of imitators and if we produce a plastic table we would have it look as much like mahogany as possible, although we can produce slabs of plastics much more beautiful than mahogany. We should aim at creating a demand for tables that look like plastics instead of mahogany, and eventually we'll get something more beautiful than the products of Nature itself. Suggesting technical improvements required in processing to give productions of uniform quality at lower cost, he stressed, the present unnecessary disparity between costs of providing raw materials and of fabrication of the finished articles. Fabrication of finished articles from polymeric substances is of equal importance with polymerization, but I'm afraid it's still in the country blacksmith stage. Attention must be paid to reduction of costs of fabrication. The Tuesday afternoon general meeting featured three speakers—Gustav Egloff, director of research, Universal Oil Products of Chicago, who spoke on "Petroleum as a Chemical Industry"; Don1008
ald Othmer, head of the Department of Chemical Engineering, Polytechnic Institute of Brooklyn, "Developments in Chemical Equipment"; and G. S. Whitby, University of Akron, "Polymerization". Dr. Egloff, in discussing Canada's resources and their use in the next few years, declared:
into commercial use. Take the matter of inner tubes. The synthetic product is far more efficient than natural rubber. The leakage of air through the walls of the inner tube is reduced to a minimum, and the day will come when it won't be necessary to put air in tires more than once in six months, or even longer.
Canada should be able to stand on her own legs in the postwar era. You have the hydrocarbons which Nature has produced, the basic raw materials from which to make the derivatives. I place no stock in those stories that the United States is approaching exhaustion as far as petroleum is concerned. And your country has a long, long time to go before its resources come anywhere near exhaustion.
It is difficult, in these days of advance in chemical engineering and industrial chemistry, to differentiate sharply between equipment and process, according to Dr. Othmer, professor of chemical engineering at Brooklyn "Poly" and well known designer of chemical equipment. While the title of the present discussion is seemingly limited to the former, it might be well to note that probably by far the major contributions of the design chemical engineer to the war effort and to developments of chemical and related industries during the past five years has been in the matter of processing flow sheets and developments of methods and skills in using chemical equipment rather than in the improvements in the mechanical design of the equipment itself. Fortunately, our developments in design of equipment have been made heretofore; and in most of the unit operations, equipment had already been standardized of types to give satisfactory and efficient production. Indeed, the major novelties of equipment design per se in these war years have been in working down from what had been considered optimum designs in order to minimize critical materials of construction, or indeed to eliminate them altogether. All of us have experienced the considerable pressure in design and construction of plants, these past several years, owing to the tremendous shortage of our normal materials of construction, particularly metals such as copper and stainless steel. Such pressure has found relief in the redesign of equipment, using available materials, often new, and having entirely different properties. Wood is an ever abundant natural resource, always available in immediate back stock because of the long time Nature requires to produce it. It has been more and more used until the supply has been diminished sharply
Test 12,000 Synthetic Rubbers Synthetic rubber is here to stay, and the postwar era will find the synthetic being employed in thousands of uses. From petroleum a million compounds may be derived, and this is a conservative figure. One company in the United States has experimented with over 12,000 synthetic rubbers, of which about 200 will prove useful. Out of the welter of research will come synthetic rubber that will give us, for example, a tire life of over 100,000 miles. Ail that we need to do is tell the chemist what kind of characteristics you want in rubber, and he can produce it for you. The price of raw rubber before the war was about 22 cents a pound. Plantation owners over a period of years had a price range of from 2 to 3 cents to $3.00. Because of self-interest, we on this continent can never again depend on far distant sources for our rubber. We don't need to. This is not to say that natural rubber will disappear entirely. It will have certain specific purposes, but so great has been our advance in synthetics that we can produce any kind of rubber for any kind of purpose. "Tailor-Made" Rubber It is possible to make rubber so hard that it can replace metal for piping. Transportation of all kinds is too noisy today. In the future synthetic rubber would create a semi-noiseless world. The rubber emerging from the war will be "tailor-made" to suit any and all needs. The synthetic rubber we have for civilian use today is not the kind we will have tomorrow. Don't forget, we took processes out of test tubes and threw them Hugh Cameron (right) Cheney Chemicals, Ltd., thanking Willard H . Dow, President of Dow Chemical, for the stirring address he gave on the subject of the future of plastics.
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Third from left is O t t o Maass of M c G i l l and now Director of Chemical Warfare, Department of N a t i o n a l Defense, who received the Society of Chemial Industry M e d a l (Canadian Sections). Others in the group are R. S. Jane, Director of Industrial Research, Shawinigan Water and Power, W a l l a c e P. Cohoe, Society of Chemical Industry President, who made the presentation, and V . G . Bertram, SCI V i c e President.
because of t h e difficulty of obtaining woodcutters. I t has been used wherever i t s limitations as t o strength and other physical a n d chemical properties would allow; a n d many and novel are the uses t o which i t has been placed. Distilling columns, both packed and plate, have been built of wood. Bubble caps a n d t h e entire plate assemblies have been constructed with only small amounts of metallic fasteners. Some of the packed columns have ceramic shapes and some even have been constructed using wooden slats for cont a c t surface. Last week I was in Cuba, where the scarcity of metals is, if anything, worse than i n North America, and saw such plate and packed columns ingeniously constructed. With scrap copper selling there a t from $1.75 t o $2.00 a p o u n d , and no facilities for rolling, i t is e v i d e n t that the tremendous expansion o f the alcohol industry in Cuba during the past year has been accomplished under some difficulties. The same m a y be said for t h e tremendous expansion of the alcohol industry in the United States, particularly that of the distilled spirits industry, when it became necessary t o convert, a l m o s t overnight, plants designed for m a k i n g 160 proof alcohol to producing units for industrial alcohol for the butadiene and rubber program. M a n y and ingenious were the devices used; and, in s o m e plants, old steel smoke stacks were purchased and used for column shells. T h e current issue of Chemical & Metallurgical Engineering, for example, carries a n article on t h e use of lignum-vitae in the chemical industries. A similar b u t s y n thetic lignum product of the chemical industry for many uses i s Masonite die stock which, however, so far has had its main applications in the mechanical industries, such as for making dies and forming parts for light metals in airplane factories. Other plastic and semiplastic materials have found their w a y into a diversity of applications, and their successful use has, in most cases, surprised even their advocates. Another remarkable development has been in plastic piping. Glass has also come to the fore and especially noteworthy have been various developments in metallurgy for special equipment. A division might well be noted a t the start, between unit operations, which include the usual steps having a physical background, such as fluid flow, heat transfer, evaporation, gas absorption, etc., as opposed t o the unit processes which constitute steps involving chemical change, such as hydrogénation, alkylation, esterifiV O L U M E
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cation, etc. These subdivisions will call to mind the fact that chemical engineering is, like all the other branches of engineering, based on applied physics and mechanics; and, uniquely, is also based on applied chemistry. The applied p h y s ics and mechanics are also used in equipment design. It is the unit operations of which we think most in terms of equipment, although quite frequently in working with a unit process, such as destructive distillation, for example, very interesting applications of mechanical and chemical treatment must be worked out simultaneously. T h e principal difficulty in general in such work is in operating a pilot plant on a scale smaller than t h a t of a major unit. T h u s in a plant now being designed for chemical treatment of wood in blocks u p t o 20 pounds and in batches of 100 tons t h e operation of the m e c h ano-chemical progress cannot be studied except on a very major scale. Another aspect in the study of the background of chemical equipment is the relation of what m a y be called the theoretical approach to the design of the individual parts of the process or the individual pieces of equipment. Just as it is necessary to have the basic chemistry of any new process of chemical manufacture correct, it is also necessary t o have the underlying physics correct and properly accounted for i n the design of equipment. F o r e x ample, there is t h e theoretical approach to fluid flow with an evaluation of R e y n olds numbers, friction factors, relations of viscosity and velocity; in heat transfer there m u s t be considered fluid films, overall coefficients of heat transfer, film coefficients of heat transfer, thermoconductivities, etc.; while in the diffusional operations, such as distillation, extraction, and gas adsorption, there must be evaluated rates of molecular diffusion, over-all coefficients of diffusion, theoretical units of equilibrium, (i.e., the unit of space where every molecule in two or more phases is assumed t o contact or come to an equilibrium with every other molecule), etc. Usually, such theoretical background for the design of equipment is laid b y the determinations of various types of coefficients which, after all, are merely measures of the efficiency of operation. T h i s may be done in equipment which m a y usually take quite a different form from the equipment to be designed therefrom. Thus, if it were desired to determine t h e heat-transfer coefficient which would determine the necessary size of an evaporator, there might have to be devised a piece of equipment entirely unrelated in physiJ U N E
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cal appearance to any unit used in a commercial operation. I n algebra, one separates the variables t o solve an equation; and in order to separate the complex variables in any unit operation, the u t most of designing skill is used in building small units for eliminating the variation of all which cannot be controlled, and then studying these which can be controlled carefully and thoroughly. Thus the background data for design of equipment for unit operations is secured. T h e industrial chemist does an identical thing in his testing of the unit processes involved by first working with pure reagents rather than with t h e mixed materials involved in many chemical processes. After he determines his reaction characteristics o n pure materials he extrapolates his results t o t h e crude chemicals of t h e plant which are so often contaminated with many other materials. Failure of plants and equipment may be divided into two types—technical and economical; and t h e engineer may be responsible for either. One bulwark against serious failure is the cautious increment of operations from t h e smallest possible scale to the finished units in a number of stages rather than in a single jump. N o one has ever been heard t o complain of the cost of the development steps after the final plant is in successful operation, yet often are heard the wails of he who has built his plant with only test tube data.
Willard H . D o w speaking on the subject of plastics at the M o n d a y Meeting. 1009
Speakers at the Tuesday General M e e t i n g : G . S. W h i t b y , University of A k r o n , who lectured on "Polymerization'*, Donald Othmer, H e a d of the Chemical Engineering Department of the Polytechnic Institute of Brooklyn, who discussed "Developments in Chemical Equipment", and Gustav Egloff, Director of Research, Universal O i l Products, who spoke on "Petroleum as a Chemical Industry".
Dean C. J. Mackenzie, Acting President, the past, present, and future of the Council.
W . G . Claus, of M i n e Safety Appliances; Howard Farkas, Sales Manager, of the United States Stoneware C o . ; N . A . Walsh and William S. Lang, both of Chamberlain Engineering, Canadian representatives of United States Stoneware Company and its affiliated organizations.
A distinguished visitor from the States, Percy Kingsbury, of General Ceramics. S. Sunderland, valuable assistant to E. T. Sterne, Canadian Controller of Chemicals, and G e o r g e D . M a l l o r y , Department of Trade and Commerce, O t t o w a , interested observers at the meeting. 1010
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Right. R. I. Kellam, Kirkwood Engineering; E. J . Tyrell, Eatons Research Bureau, R. Y. Ward, Johnson, Mattley.
D. P. Morgan, Chief, of the Chemicals Bureau of WPB, guest speaker at the Wednesday luncheon, discussing the chemical industry's role in the war effort.
W. D. McFarlane, Chairman of Symposium on "The Organization and Development of Chemical Research in Canada".
Left to right. H. W. Lee, Wartime Bureau of Technical Personnel; George Hemmerick, General Manager of Dow in Canada; A . G . Rogers, Sinclair Processing, Norman Grace, Chairman of Exhibits Committee, and Chief Chemist, Dunlop Rubber; R. L. Rude, British American O i l . V O L U M E
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R. K. Stratford, chief chemist, Imperial Oil, retiring president of the Canadian Institute of Chemistry. Marco Polo, some centuries ago, marveled at the efficiency of organization of the Great Khan's army and was told that it was due to the fact that increments of rank were on a 1 to 10 ratio. Ten soldiers were in charge of a minor officer, 10 of these commanded by a higher officer, and so on up to the Great Khan who directed 10 generals himself. This same decimal system is safe to follow in engineering design and development work, each successive step being on a scale of not over 10 times that of the preceding. T h e mistakes in design, and the possible failure of methods and equipment, are thus caught before they can become of dangerous magnitude; and improvements may be made at each step as the work progresses. Seldom is a n operation conducted in such large units that more than four such steps would be necessary (the fourth or plant operation thus being on a thousandfold scale with the first serious test) ; and seldom, indeed, that new data and features of design are not incorporated at each new attempt. Usually, of course, t h e greatest skill and ingenuity will be displayed in the earlier stages. The economic as well a s the technical sides are studied simultaneously in such development work. And these economic factors are of large importance—no one who has been in the chemical industry for any length of time b u t has known plants which though correctly designed technically missed some corollary in the one great economic law of supply and demand. One little factor such as the cost of chipping or hogging the wood may mean the difference between success and failure in an installation for waste wood utilization. An old saying in some other fields of engineering runs that you could build a street, car so durable that it would last forever and never have t o b e replaced, if you were willing to put enough money and weight into it. There are two objections to such a monster. (1) In these times of changing transportation, one does not want a street car so expensive 1012
that it would last forever and have a n indefinite period of amortization. (2) The operating cost of so ponderous a v e hicle would be so high t h a t it would soon pay for the cost of one less perpetual. The result is, as always in design, a compromise between the opposite factors. T h e question of obsolescence is of particular moment in the rapidly changing chemical industry where a new research may topple over the house of cards almost overnight; and it is only in t h e most standardized industries where one may look ahead and gamble that the process and equipment will be in identical operation for longer than five years. In m o s t cases, if the contemplated changes cannot pay for the equipment within that period, the equipment will not be purchased ; and in many more meteoric industries the period of amortization will have to b e considerably shorter. I t was not intended that this presentation of Developments in Equipment should sound like the report of a postwar planning committee; and predictions and even discussion of trends are purposely minimized. The engineer can probably, like the meteorologist, make his best prédictions for the conditions pertaining in a distant future when there will be known and completely understood the mathematical methods for handling the infinite number of variables, the large number of rates and coefficients of all phases of
Smith, vice president of Canadian Industries, Ltd. Mr. Bertram stated : It is interesting t o note that postwar planning is international in scope, and that in Canada not only our government agencies, but various associations and groups such as ours, as well as m a n y i n dividual companies, are giving serious thought to the postwar world. Canada is in a position where m u c h of her postwar planning must be based on w h a t happens t o the international scene. We have no extensive home market to rely on in many lines. Our whole economy is tied up in export prospects and our standard of living more or less depends upon our ability to compete in the postwar export field. Before the war Canada was recognized as the third or fourth export nation. Because the export situation has such a bearing on our postwar economy naturally Canada will be dependent to a great extent on what happens in t h e international situation. It is encouraging to note from recent press reports that at least t h e United Nations as a group have agreed to a stabilization fund that will, if properly manipulated, most likely assure a stable currency on which export prices and conditions can be based. This i s a step in the right direction. In addition t o stabilization of currency, our export position will naturally be affected by tariff policy, and in spite of some wishful thinking on the part of certain interests i t is evident that more than ever t h e question of our national economy will depend upon w h a t happens to tariff policy throughout the world. The final international decision with regard to tariffs will have a considerable bearing on Canada's economic life, especially in the postwar era. This, then, brings to m y mind another problem that must be faced b y Canada and t h e Empire. We h a v e on this Continent, particularly in the United States, two schools of thought. One school, as emphasized by the tactics of Washington, as a government policy condemns all international cartels; the other school, as emphasized by past experience in Britain and on the European Continent, is in favor of cartels. In spite of much
L. F. Livingston, of Du Pont, who discussed "New Materials for Tomorrow's Products" at the Annual Dinner Meeting of the Canadian Chemical Association. kinetics, the thermodynamic aspects and chemical behavior of all sorts of chemicals with each other on all sorts of materials of construction, and the properties and mechanical design methods for their evaluation in all shapes and types of vessels and tools accommodating these processes. Until such a Utopia of the design engineer is reached, he will have much pleasure in creating partly by art and partly by science and then trembling until his unit proves his numerous assumptions.
Bertram Discusses "Targets for Tomorrow" The annual dinner of the Canadian Section of the Society of Chemical Industry was held on Tuesday evening with addresses by V. G. Bartram, president of Shawinigan Industries, Ltd., and vice president of the society, and H. Greville C H E M I C A L
C. A. Sankey, Ontario Paper, whose paper "The Production of Ethyl Alcohol from Sulfite Liquors'* attracted a record audience. A N D
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immediately after the last war and during economic depressions that followed, by businessmen getting together, placing the cards on the table, and arranging matters in their own way, as businessmen, to help solve the economic chaos through which the world was then passing. Instead of being complimented on their business acumen the men who had the foresight and brains to arrange these matters for the benefit of industry and consumer alike are being condemned right and left by so-called economists and politicians. Many of the men who then posed as economists, and many of their disciples in the years that followed, have been damning business and teaching a policy that is based more or less on theory with very little practical application to our everyday business world. If we as businessmen sit idly by, we will have our business world run by economists, whose whole basic knowledge of business is founded on theory. They have not been producers of goods; they haven't been peddlers or salesmen; they have graduated with high degrees from their universities and have gone into government positions with nothing back of them but theory. Put one of these men into an executive position running an organization with perhaps hundreds or thousands of employees, faced every day with the multiple problems that come across the ordinary executive desk, and I am sure his viewpoint would change. Business is a hard road. We recognize theory: we recognize economics; we recognize ability, but to base all of these attributes, in business, on theory without any practical knowledge, and have men who lack practical experience dictate to business, and in this I include not only our own industry but business at large, seems to me preposterous. We in the Canadian chemical industry came up the hard way: in many instances, like Topsy, we just growed, but in growing we learned many fundamental facts of business. We have established an industry that is recognized in many ways throughout the world. Canadian chemists have not yet been given full credit for their achievements; maybe they are too modest. I think possibly it is due t o the fact that we live next door to such a powerful neighbor with such resources that anything we have done here, although it may be outstand-
J. R. Donald of the Canadian Controller of Chemicals office speaking at luncheon.
publicity, and in spite of the attitude of certain outstanding individuals on the American scene, cartels in the past have done for industry and for the consumer, because of sane arrangements between competent businessmen, a work that has not to my mind been fully appreciated. I would like to quote here from an address delivered in the United States by J. Anton De Haas on "Economic Peace through Private Agreements'' : The Atlantic· Charter expresses the desire of the British and American Governments to "bring about the fullest collaboration between all nations in the economic field". This is a laudable desire. Even the most ardent isolationist should have learned from the events during the 25-year period following the last war that absence of effective collaboration does not lead t o world stability- That period was characterized by attempts on the part of all countries t o cure their economic ills by unilateral action. Each country, in turn, put into effect measures of economic control without any regard for the effects which such action might have upon the economic life of other nations. Indeed, if it became known that other nations were injured by the measures adopted, this fact was often taken to b e certain proof that they were desirable. This practice is not surprising; national economic action has frequently been based upon the principle that a nation gains to the extent to which it can injure the "foreigner". We can now see clearly how such unilateral activities inevitably brought on a condition of chaos. Collectively the nations committed economic suicide. T h e fruits of the failure to regard the economic welfare of others were almost total collapse of international trade, monetary disorganization, unemployment, and war.
ing, has been dwarfed b y the achievements of our cousins to the south. I would like here t o pay tribute to the cooperation and assistance we in Canada have received from our neighbors to the south, especially in so far as the chemical industry is concerned. I n connection with our war effort, even before Pearl Harbour, the United States' chemical concerns voluntarily contributed vital information and know how to Canada; in helping us establish production of products here necessary for the war effort which were never produced comrnercially in Canada before. I, therefore, feel it is right and proper to acknowledge publicly our indebtedness to our American friends for their splendid cooperation. Dealing with ''Targets for Tomorrow" and forgetting for t h e moment our immediate objective, which is winning the war, I would like to point out some possibilities that affect Canada's postwar position. As we all know, we have greatly expanded our productive capacities in many lines. We have many plants making products here now which never produced commercially in Canada. We have new technical knowledge and as a result of the war have developed not only new processes and techniques but new skills in our work people, and a new sense of our responsibility and importance as a producer, not only in a commercial field but as an arsenal of Empire. There is no reason why we should not capitalize on the knowledge and ability gained through our war effort, and unless we are wide awake to this situation and take advantage of it, others will. We are a young country and for this reason envied. Luckily most of our industrial activities are now in the hands of men in executive position, who are still young, able, and vigorous enough to help carry us through the postwar era. On top of this we expect return of the flower of our youth from the war. These boys are coming back with a basic training and a confidence that are going to be of inestimable value to the country, not only industrially but I hope politically. They know what they have been fighting for; they know the way of life they desire, and personally, 1 am confident when they get their feet back on Canadian soil they are going to see that what they have been fighting for and what they desire are going to be accomplished.
This statement indicates possibly futility of tariff control of world trade. Mr. De Haas goes on farther to state : The Atlantic Charter announces the intention of the two principal trading nations to follow a different course in the future. The world may take hope from this welcome news, hope that the future will see n o recurrence of this spreading cancer of economic insanity.
In spite of the chaos mentioned in the preceding paragraphs, very considerable constructive work was done, especially V O L U M E
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professional status for Canadian chemists and chemical engineers parallels t h e situation in the United States. Professor Lortie; in a masterful analysis of the question, stated: The terms of P.C. 1003 do not permit professional people to sit idly and look at labor regulations with academic interest only. They have every reason to feel and to fear that they are included in t h e definition of an "employee" a s set forth in the regulations. "Employee" means a person employed b y an employer to do skilled or unskilled manual, clerical, or technical work; but does not include (i) a person employed in a confidential capacity or having authority to employ or discharge employees.
Meeting attracted many visitors from the States, including L. P. M o o r e , of the American Cyanamid company, and Charles P. N e i d i g , of the H e y d e n Chemical Corporation.
What should be done under these conditions to get for Canada the best possible return for the future? There are many factors to be considered. Overshadowing the whole economic postwar picture is the question of disposal of our war plants. T o me it is peculiar that certain economists and certain politicians believe that many of these plants can be sold o n a basis that will give some reasonable return on the investment involved and result in the adaptation of these plants to postwar activities. I have discussed this question with many men more technically trained and more able than I, and 1 think I can sum up the situation in just a few words—most of these plants with very few exceptions can be considered as a shell that is made to be fired at the enemy. They were built for specialized purposes; to adapt them to commercial use for the production of a variety of products would most likely result in an uneconomic unit of a hybrid nature that eventually would soon become obsolete and worthless, so that the money spent on such a program would eventually be lost by private industry. There are, of course, exceptions to every rule, some of which I could mention here, but time prohibits a discussion of individual units. These plants might be maintained for a limited period as a safety factor in connection with war production, b u t industrially many of them cannot be adapted economically to the demands of ordinary industrial production. With regard to the tendency toward lower tariffs, as evident from various news reports and articles more or less from official quarters, it i s essential that some sane tariff policy b e adopted for Canada and announced a s soon as possible so as to stabilize the domestic situation. This will enable Canadian producers to lay their plans on a firm foundation with reference to Canadian requirement, and would also help Canadian industry with regard t o its own individual postwar planning, thereby aiding the postwar Canadian employment situation. Possibly the currency stabilization program that has already been announced b y the United Nations may not make this additional point necessary, but it seems to me in a country like ours, which is so dependent on export for its economic wellbeing, that some sort of a reasonable
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scheme should be developed and adopted in connection with export credit insurance. Further, a government policy should be adopted in line with that already announced from the United Kingdom, so framed as t o assure a more aggressive research program for industry, and in the term "industry" I include our natural resources, such as lumbering, mining, fishing, agriculture, and all those various production efforts that constitute industrial Canada. N o industry can long maintain a competitive position unless it devotes effort and money to scientific and industrial research. We must realize that the Canadian domestic market is extremely limited in many lines. There are plants in Canada in some established industries that have sufficient capacity so that their output in a week, or a month, can take care of Canadian requirements of such commodities for a year. These plants must live in the export market and must have intelligent cooperation from the Canadian Government authorities to help maintain their position. To this end, I believe the Imperial Preference Policy must be maintained, at least until the world gets on an even keel, and that greater efforts than ever should be made for reciprocity between Canada and the United States, our greatest and closest prospective market.
Many people are apt to think that professional people are not covered by this interpretation because professional people do not do technical work or, a t least, t h a t it is not their principal occupation; a n d because most, if not all, professional people are employed in a confidential capacity. Answers to these objections are quite simple. First, there is, in the Department of Labour, a Wartime Bureau of Technical Personnel, the duties of which are to look after the logical allocation of chemists, engineers, and other professional people, to the Armed Forces and the essential industries. We may realize now that the term "technical" was a mistake and that our neighbors i n the United States were better advised when they set up a Roster of Scientific and Specialized Personnel. But this will not correct the situation. There is further the fact that even if w e may believe t h e majority of chemists, engineers, and architects are employed i n a confidential capacity, there are a good many young graduates, chemists, and engineers in training, and routine analysts in the lower salary brackets who m a y not strictly be considered as being so employed. Chemists, and chemical engineers, a s well as other professional people are about to make a most important decision which may change the whale picture of professional organization in this country. At the crossroads, we m a y envisage three ways leading t o the future. We m a y choose: 1. 2. 3.
Collective Bargaining in Canada Wednesday morning was given over to an elaborate symposium on postwar planning arranged by R. K. Stratford, P. E. Gagnon, and R. D . Whitmore. Labor legislation a s it affects chemists and chemical engineers was discussed by Léon Lortie; t h e National Research Council and its part in the war effort were described by D e a n C . J. Mackenzie, acting president of the council; and research in industry and research in the universities were reviewed by R . S. Jane, director of research, Shawinigan Water and Power, and R. R. McLaughlin, professor of chemical engineering, University of Toronto. In many respects the problem of collective bargaining and the maintenance of
CHEMICAL
To be included without restriction in the terms of P.C. 1003. To form special "'professional employees bargaining agencies" operated and controlled by professionals. To be specifically excluded from the order, whether by a permanent ruling of the board, or by an amendment t o the order, or by a new Order i n Council for the learned and scientific professions.
The first choice is definitely out of order because it would b e unfair and detrimental both to the public and the professions. It would mean that the professional, whose training and duties are of a high order, and who is always in a minority group, would b e ruled and controlled b y a majority ignorant of professional requirements. Even labor leaders h a v e recognized that it would be unfair. T h e president of the A. F. of L., William Green, has already stated in no a m biguous terms, in a dispute concerning employees of t h e Joseph E . Seagram Corp. that, "if engineers and chemists perform professional work they should be classified accordingly". In the United States also, the National Labor Relations Board has ruled, in t h e case of the Shell Development Co., t h a t professional employees cannot be forced
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into a heterogeneous bargaining group set up by a labor union i n its negotiation with an employer unless a. majority of professional employees express, through a vote confined to their group, their desire to be included in the bargaining unit. When the vote was taken, the professional employees concerned voted against inclusion. Many other instances may be cited in the United States and one example at least in Canada—that of the CIO organization dealing with Research Enterprises, Ltd., where professional employees were excluded from t h e bargaining agency. The second wav open to professional employees would be the inclusion in collective bargaining units restricted to professional employees o r in which they would be a majority. This eventuality has quite a strong appeal to a good many professional employees. W e must admit that many wrongs have t o be righted as far as wages and working conditions are concerned among professional peoples. Collective bargaining may be deemed to be the best way for employers and employees to discuss freely and in good faith the matters concerning employment, wages, and working conditions. The Association of Professional Engineers of Ontario even goes so far as stating that "collective bargaining is becoming in effect the law of the land". Let us examine in the cold light of facts and reason, how professional people could set up their own bargaining agencies. I t is obvious that no present organization may possibly act as a collective bargaining agency. The reasons are principally that our present institutes and societies consist of both employers and employees, most of the latter being already excluded because they are employed in a confidential capacity. They therefore cannot be an " 'employees' organization, which means an organization o f employees" [Section 2 (h) ]. Any bargaining agency must then be free from employer's influence, which is not the case with any of the institutes and professional associations. Consequently, this would mean the setting up of a great number of small groups, the ultimate destruction of all professional ideals, the lowering of professional standards and ethics. Union has always meant strength, whereas division and dispersion of effort spell disaster. Each of these small groups would only comprise a relatively small number of professionals and their financing should be wholly on an individual basis, which would mean either a heavy burden on each individual or chronic shortage of funds and subséquent failure to obtain what the group would be seeking. Let us remember here that collective bargaining is only successful when there is ample finance to back the revendications of employees. Labor leaders are well paid, and this is no discrimination against them. They do their job and they do it well. They work full time on that job and labor organizations have finally found that a well paid official i s most immune against bribery. Employees foot the bill and when the union i s large, each individual does not resent very much what amounts to another kind o f insurance premium. They are not afraid to strike whenever they think fit t o d o so because they know that they have the strength of number. Collective bargaining may be a very good weapon but the accent i s on collective much more than o n bargaining. Some may still believe that it would at least deserve a trial. A census of professional people would show readily that we would lack the power o f number. Let us see who would still remain after we cull those who are excluded from the act.
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Employers are evidently out, which represent a fair number of architects, consulting engineers, and chemists. Government employees are also excluded since His Majesty as an employer is excluded. Chemists and engineers in executive and administrative positions are also excluded. Chiefs of staff, directors of laboratories, research chemists, and engineers are evidently employed in a confidential capacity. We would again believe that a control chemist, on the decision of whom products are declared good or not has a confidential job. University and college professors are not concerned with the Act. All this would leave a very small group of individuals doing routine jobs, and engineers or chemists in training. Would this small nucleus of people earning relatively low wages be sufficient to support a healthy bargaining agency? And we presume here that they would form a solid group of all the professions. Even at that, experience would lead us to believe that they could not survive. They would be an easy prey to trade unions which would undoubtedly offer better advantages. I n order to be absolutely free from influence of the employers, this group would have to sever links with the present professional institutes and associations and this would mean that they would lack the prestige and backing of these groups as well as a lowering of professional ideals, standards, and ethics. Chemists and engineers have a duty toward society and their country that they are not allowed to forget. Besides being a natural link between labor and management, theirs is intellectual and technical power to transform raw material, natural resources, and human labor into profitable good. Their natural gifts of intelligence, creative imagination, and inductive reasoning, coupled with their factual and specialized training, enable them to play an important part in the future of our country.
Place of Professional Groups Present professional institutes and associations may not be without faults in so far as they have not always given all necessary attention to the economic welfare of their members. Many reasons may be given for that, one being that they adopted the general policy of laissez-faire that was the hall-mark of all prewar activities. In these trying times, the days of such liberalism are counted, if they are not already gone. Labor activities, state control under the War Measures Act have for the present rendered it impossible and we are ready to believe that in the days of reconstruction conditions may even be more drastic. It is not surprising, then, that many professional employees look to collective bargaining as the only way to defend their right to work and t o a decent salary. Within the present associations one finds it possible to develop and maintain professional ideals, to exchange views and ideas, to pool the knowledge and experience of all in finding solutions to problems of national and local interest, and, in a period of emergency, to offer collectively his services to the country. Disruption of the present societies would have rendered impossible the organization of the Wartime Bureau of Technical Personnel. This country may be proud of the splendid achievements of its scientifically trained professionals and it must not be allowed to forget that the foresight of the professional institutes has rendered it possible t o register and Organize the whole of professional people. If our country found i t good to rely on the initiative of its professionals, it should also find it good t o let
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them organize in such a way that they shall always be willing to cooperate. Introduction of labor legislation of this nature in professional circles may mean a temporary betterment of conditions for a small group of people but in the long run it leads to the dislocation of the natural partnership between management and the scientific personnel without which technical and industrial progress would be impossible. These people are apt to forget that their societies may, and will undoubtedly set up the necessary machinery t o provide them with advantages equal and even better than what they could obtain through bargaining agencies. All this may be organized within the present framework of the present societies, by methods in accordance with professional standards and code of ethics. This is t h e third way out of the present situation. In order t o achieve that end, the professional bodies should arrive at some definite conclusions on the following: 1.
A clear definition of a professional employee. Such a definition has already been given by the Administrator of the Wage and Hour Division of the United States: The term "employee employed in a bona fide professional capacity" in section 13 (a) (1) of the act shall mean any employee who is
(A) engaged in work (1) predominantly intellectual and varied in character as opposed t o routine mental, manual, mechanical, or physical work, and (2) requiring the consistent exercise of discretion and judgment in i t s performance, and (3) of such a character that the output produced or the result accomplished cannot be standardized in relation to a given period of time, and (4) whose hours of work of the same nature as that performed by nonexempt employees do not exceed 20% of the hours worked in the work week by t h e nonexempt employees; provided that where such nonprofessional work is a n essential part of and necessarily incident to work of a professional nature, such essential and inci-
R. D. Whitmore, now serving the Canadian Government, one of the speakers on the vital subject of "Postwar Employment Problems of Chemists and Chemical Engineers". 1015
dental work shall not be counted as nonexempt work; and (5) (α) requiring knowledge of an advanced type in a field of science or learning custo marily acquired by a prolonged course of specialized intellectual instruction and study, as distinguished from a general aca demic education and from an apprentice ship, and from training in the performance of routine mental, manual, or physical processes: or predominantly original and creative in character in a recognized field of artistic endeavor as opposed to work which can be produced by a person endowed with general manual or intellectual ability and training, and the result of which de pends primarily on the invention, imagina tion, or talent of the employee, and (B) compensated for his services on a salary or fee basis at a rate of not less than $200 per month (exclusive of board, lodging, or other facilities); provided that this subsection shall not apply in the case of an employee who is the holder of a valid license or certificate permitting the practice of law or medicine or any of their branches and who is actually engaged in the practice thereof. Λ shortcoming of this définition is that it d o e s n o t mention specifically professionals in training, such as s t u d e n t s working during t h e summer holidays o r waiting t o b e recognized as members of the professional bodies. T h e memorandum prepared by E . P. M u n t z takes care of these categories a n d also contains a useful a n d shorter classification, v i z : "persons employed in a professional capacity ( . . . ) such persons must be 1- Members of a professional body consti• tuted under a Dominion or Provincial Charter or Act. and 2. employed upon work requiring technical knowledge, or such persons must be 1. in training for professional standing and 2. recognized by a professional body as a student or junior member or as a professional i n training." B y combining these t w o definitions it is possible t o arrive at a fairly good o n e which m a y well be t a k e n a s the basis of a new Order in Council concerning professional e m p l o y e e s . 2.
Once the professional employee i s clearly defined a n d identified, it is the d u t y of t h e professional bodies to materialize what t h e y are supposed t o d o for the economic welfare of their members. It is good t o
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remember there that professional people are individualists a n d t h a t o n c e t h e y have arrived a t a certain s t a t u s , they will a l w a y s prefer individual bargaining on the basis of their worth, merit, and reputation t o a n y kind of collective bargaining. E x c e p t in very f e w o c c a s ions, p r o m o t i o n b y seniority a l o n e is a practice a g a i n s t which t h e y a r e rightly prejudiced. W h a t is m o s t important is t o secure t h e y o u n g professional a decent startingsalary.
3.
4.
T h e AMERICAN C H E M I C A L
SOCIETY h a s already beaten a path in this direction. T h e very nature of its m e m b e r s h i p m a d e it possible to arrive at s o m e definite agreement, closely adhered t o b y b o t h industry a n d t h e S O CIETY, through which a n initial salaryis assured. Thereafter, promotion, a d v a n c e m e n t , a n d increases will b e according to w o r t h a n d merit. T h e s e r v i c e s of an e m p l o y m e n t clearing house could only b e available t o those w h o c o m p l y with t h e s e agreements. A s s u g g e s t e d i n t h e m e m o r a n d u m prepared b y M r . M u n t z . it is i m p e r a t i v e that a tariff b e fixed a n d approved b y federal or provincial authorities for the services of a c h e m i s t , chemical engineer, or a n y other professional e m p l o y e e . W e a r e i n urgent need of publicizing, within t h e professions themselves, what are real professional standards a n d ideals. If engineers a n d c h e m i s t s were really imbued w i t h t h e true spirit of the profession, t h e y would not look to collective bargaining as such a panacea. They would s e e a t first hand that to b e successful such bargaining must resort t o t h e m e t h o d s t h e y frown on in labor circles and t h a t a r e incompatible w i t h professional ethics." T h e y also would r e m e m b e r that a n y college graduate has m o r e than a moral d e b t t o society a n d h i s country and t h a t h e w h o h a s t a l e n t s a n d h a s h a d a chance t o c u l t i v a t e t h e m m u s t bring them t o fruit for t h e benefit of t h o s e w h o have rendered possible t h e schools, colleges, universities, e n d o w m e n t a n d research funds from which he drew his knowledge. M o r e specially in this time of national emergency, those engineers and c h e m i s t s o n t h e home front m u s t not forget t h a t , if their j o b is essential and filled w i t h s w e a t and possibly uncertainty, o t h e r s are doing another j o b filled w i t h blood and a g r i m fatality t h a t d o e s n o t d i s t u r b them. Professional people m u s t t h e n b e reminded of their place i n s o c i e t y , a position of trust and service to m a n k i n d . T h e y s h o u l d n o t be. on t h e o t h e r hand, t o o proud to fight.
CHEMICAL
T h e pioneer attitude t h a t brought c h e m ists a n d engineers i n u n c h a r t e d fields must t a k e t h e m a l o n g o n c e m o r e . P r o fessional people were in high spirits n o t long ago w h e n t h e y were p l a n n i n g for t h e postwar world w h i c h t h e y w o u l d e n g i neer. A s s o o n a s collective bargaining legislation w a s e n a c t e d , a good m a n y were frightened a n d h a v e n o t y e t recovered from a s e v e r e case o f jitters. F a i t h in the professional ideals would h a v e stiffened their a t t i t u d e . M i d g l e y Sends M e s s a g e President
of
the
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SOCIETY, T h o m a s Midgley, Jr., congratulated t h e three C a n a d i a n societies o n t h e formation o f t h e n e w Chemical Institute of C a n a d a in a m e s s a g e r e a d a t t h e Wednesday luncheon. M o r g a n Luncheon Speaker Guest speaker at the Wednesday luncheon meeting was D . P. Morgan, director of the Chemicals Bureau, United States War Production Board. Dr. Morgan reported: N e v e r has there been such friendly and sympathetic cooperation in the international field a s h a s existed between Canada and the United States in the explosives and chemicals war effort. Immediately after Pearl Harbor the United S t a t e s drew heavily upon Canadian resources for ammonia, a m m o n i u m nitrate, fabricated explosives and many other items. More recently Canada has been supplying substantial quantities of alcohol for the United States synthetic rubber program. Discussing international cartels, Dr. Morgan said: I t seems clear that international trade agreements, which are restrictive in character, should not be privately negotiated. This audience hardly needs t o be reminded of the important position of the German chemical cartel, the I.G., in the world distribution of chemicals, o r t h e manner by which this enormously powerful organization through i t s control of important chemical patents became a source of great power in domestic and world affairs, of CONTINUED ON PAGE 1 0 5 6
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MEETINGS medical profession, and the public regarding the quality, purpose, and uses of vitamins, adopt terminology and standards of publicity practices in connection with sales, and confer with medical societies, medical schools, health organizations, and government agen cies with respect to the industry.
Plastics-Plywood Conference
Specify TRI-LOK OPEN STEEL FLOORING CONCRETE A R M O R I N G
.
SAFETY STEPS T. T R I - L O K
DRAVO CORPORATION REPRESENTATIVE
Progress and problems of the plastics and plywood industries will be discussed at a regional conference of manufacturers and users in Seattle, Wash., July 13, sponsored by the Society of Plastics Industry. The con ference will include exhibits and equipment demonstrations, and a tour through plywood factories and plants producing plastic arti cles. Reservations should be made through W. H . Lampert, Ballard Plastics Cοrρ., 530Ο 14th Ave., N.W., Seattle. At the May 26 meeting of the Cleveland Section, Society of Plastics Industry, Ray mond R. Dickey, Monroe Auto Equipment Co., spoke on "Metal-Plated Plastics", and William J. Miskella, Infra-Red Engineers and Designers, spoke on "Preheating and Dehydrating Plastic Materials by Infrared".
Chemical Institute of Canada (CONTINUED FROM PAGE
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vital importance t o the German govern ment. D r . Morgan suggested that: T h e industrial advisory committee sys tem which is used in the United States "affords a practical mechanism for the cooperative solution of the joint problems of industry and government".
New Technical Processes call for
BETTERDRYINGAGENTS
