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WALTER J. MURPHY, Editor
Mews The Conclave in Retrospect T w o very hectic but most enjoyable weeks have passed and the- Diamond Jubilee Meeting of the AMERICAN CHEMICAL SOCIETY and the meetings of the International Union of Pure and Applied Chem istry and the International Congress of Pure and Ap plied Chemistry are but memories—we trust very pleasant ones for all who participated and especially for our overseas guests. Months and months of detailed planning were needed for such a huge undertaking. John H. Nair, chairman of the Society's Diamond Jubilee Commit tee, and Harry L. Fisher, administrative assistant for the National Research Council, and their commit tees, together with thousands of other volunteer workers, deserve the plaudits and thanks of the American chemical profession. Likewise, special praise is due Ε. Β. Peck, project director of the Younger Chemists International Project, and all associated with him. We believe the meetings and special affairs were operated efficiently and in a manner pleasing to all, and again especially to our overseas guests. W e are sure our guests will have overlooked any momentary inconveniences, recognizing the problems involved in a registration of more than 16,000 people. International ties were greatly strengthened dur ing the past two weeks despite the unexplained ab sence of Union delegates from countries behind the Iron Curtain. Under the leadership of Arne Tiselius of Sweden, 1948 Nobel Prize winner and a leading authority on biological chemistry, we are confident the International Union of Pure and Applied Chem istry—the chief medium for exchange of chemical ideas at the international level—will continue to grow in stature with more and more recognition on the part of the chemists and chemical engineers in all parts of the world. The revamped structure of the Union on a section basis is now ready to function efficiently, and the caliber of the men who have been elected vice presi dents assures an active future for the Union. Vice presidents-at-large are Roger Adams (U. S. Α.), André Berner (Norway), and Arthur Stoll (Switzerland). Vice presidents and section chairmen are E. W. R. Steacie of Canada, physical chemistry; Pierre Jolibois of France, inorganic chemistry; Paul Karrer of Switzerland, organic chemistry; C. J. van Nieuwenberg of The Netherlands, analytical chemistry; Leslie Lampitt of Great Britain, applied chemistry; and E. C. Dodds of Great Britain, biochemistry. Raymond Delaby of France continues as secretary-general, and Dr. Lampitt as treasurer. VOLUME
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The Union voted to re-admit Japan and to grant membership to New Zealand and Western Germany. The next meeting, to be held two years hence, will be in Stockholm. The Swedish delegation at the 1947 meeting in London very graciously withdrew its invitation for 1951 so the Union and Congress meetings could be held in the United States at the time the ACS was celebrating its 75th anniversary. The international situation is tense and no one can say with certainty whether i t will improve or deteriorate further. Some foreigners were unable to obtain visas from the United States in order to attend the conclave in N e w York, and Russia and her satellite countries were not represented by even a single delegate. It is our understanding that the State Department was ready to accept diplomatic passports for official Union delegates from these countries, but none was presented. All w e can say is that we hope the meeting in Stockholm two years from now will see many representatives present from behind the Iron Curtain. Science is or should be truly international and free from political influences. As to the domestic angles of the meetings, we feel it is safe to say that the American public today has a much better appreciation of the chemical profession and what it has done for the welfare of the country than at any previous time. "Chemistrykey to better living" is a slogan that has brought home to our own people a realization that the chemist, the chemical engineer, and the great American chemical industry are responsible in large measure for the high standard of living in the world today and that, given proper support, these forces will continue to make greater and greater contributions to the betterment of all mankind. Our Diamond Jubilee will soon end- We have measured successes and failures. N o w we must realize that our achievements have placed upon us new and greater responsibilities. As w e return to our respective fields of occupation—in the laboratory, in the plant, at the designing board, in administrative and executive offices, in the classroom and yes, even in the editorial office—we are all conscious of a new pride in the AMERICAN CHEMICAL SOCIETY and what it has done for the advancement of the human race during the past three quarters of a century. We are supremely confident that those who will record the achievements of the next 75 years will speak of them with a pride equal to that which we have experienced in 1951 as we have reported the past 75 years' history of the ACS.
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