INDUSTRIAL AND ENGINEERING
4
Industrial and Engineering Chemistry
CHEMISTRY
News
Edition
containing powders, all of which went into the water in the still. He then did a lot of fumbling with the numerous valves under the still, finally getting the right on 3 opened for the gas, which he lighted. All present lighted their cigars and sat down t o await developments. In half an hour beautiful water white gasoline began to distil over. Comment is unnecessary.
Chemical Achievement Exhibits
Many of the leading entries for the Court of Chemical Achievement, to be held in conjunction with the Tenth Exposition of Chemical Industries, commemorating notable discoveries and achievements in the field of American chemistry over the past few years, have been passed upon by the approval committee of the American Chemical Society and accepted for the Court. Editor: HARRISON E. HOWE Managing Editor: ROBERT P. FISCHBUS Dr. Marston T. Bogert is chairman of the Committee of Approval. Assistant to the JZdilor: N . A. PARKINSON Associate Editor: D . H. KIIAEFFBR All exhibits to pass the committee have been strictly of American development and notable in the field of chemistry or chemical engineering. *fe EDITORIAL OPF-ICB: ADVERTISING DEPARTMENT: Some of the chief entries which have been accepted include: 706 NTills Building, 19 E. 24th St., Washington, D. C. New York, Ν. Υ. four colors and dyes, two rubber accelerators, duco, tontine, fabricoid, low freezing explosive, and a special shotgun powder, all by du Ponts; germanium dioxide made commercially, spectroEntered as second class matter at Easton, Pa. Issued three times a month; scopically pure cadmium and zinc by the New Jersey Zinc ComIndustrial Edition on the 1st, News Edition on the 10th and 20th. pany; six new products from the Chemical Warfare Service; Subscription tc* Industrial & Engineering Chemistry, $7.50 per year; News permalloy for high speed submarine cables by the Bell Telephone Edition only, $l.SO per year. Single copies, 10 cents. Subscriptions Laboratories; commercial metallic tantalum by the Fansteel shouldfc>esent t o Charles L. Parsons, Secretary, 1709 G St., Products Company; fibrin, haemoglobin, and serum albumin b y N. W., Washington, D . C. the American Protein Company; catalytic oxidation of benzene to maleic acid and its derivatives by Weiss & Downs ; tetraethyl lead by the Ethyl Gasoline Corporation ; crodon, a special plating Vol. 3 A U G U S T 20, 1925 N o . 16 alloy, by the Chemical Treatment Company ; bakélite by the Bakélite Corporation; 259 special organic chemical products by the Eastman Kodak Company; recent chemical development of Chemical Fakes I Have Known special optical glass by Bausch & Lomb Optical Co.; chemical development of pyrex glassware by the Corning Glass Works; B Y JOSEPH H. JAMES ethylene for coloring citrus fruits, fireproof fumigation of grain against weevils, and the preparation of invertase b y the Bureau Several years a g o the writer was asked to take up work in of Chemistry; thyroxin b y the Mayo Foundation; karolith and connection with t h e testing and checking up on a process that its development from casein b y the Karolith Corporation and was stated t o produce from inexpensive raw materials a veryothers. valuable product heretofore produced only in nature. The inverrtor had been backed in his experiments up to that time b y a couple of capitalists, one of whom was beginning to have doubts. In his (the inventor's) laboratory was a very Standard S u b s t a n c e s for Biological Assays complete set-up of autoclaves, gas, water, and supply pipe con of Drugs nections, a n d at t h e demonstrations great show was made of sending out one of the visitors with one of the laboratory staff Prof. E. F. Cook, chairman of the Revision Committee of t h e to a nearby wholesale drug and chemical house to get the raw United States Pharmacopeia announces that word has been rematerials necessary for the process. These were added to a cer ceived from the Bureau of Chemistry that they are now prepared tain one of tlie numerous autoclaves and a series of "unit opera to supply standard substances conforming to t h e biological tions,'* autodaving, distilling, etc., were carried out, the crude assay requirements of the U. S. Pharmacopeia, Tenth. Manproduct finally being run into buckets. ufacturers are invited to make application and to indicate the The product as brought to the writer's laboratory was very approximate amount of material they m a y desire to receive from impure, and what was worse, there seemed to be no uniformity the Bureau. All who desire such standard substances against in the concerntration of the compound desired. which to check their biological assays should make application During t h i s period of "production" a t one end and testing at at this time, addressing their communication to the Bureau the other, I happened t o be running over some patents when my of Chemistry, Department of Agriculture, Washington, D. C. eye was arrested by the name of this inventor. It appeared Biological assays have been made • mpulsory for a number of that he had patented a process several years before that might important drugs and preparations iix the new revision of the be construed to be the first step in the process he was now pro U. S. P. which becomes effective January 1, 1926. I n order posing. Wfciile I had been skeptical up t o this point, believing the to facilitate the adoption of these standards and t o provide a whole thing "to be a fake, I now began to think I might have done greater degree of uniformity in the application of these assays, the inventor- an injustice. the officials of the Bureau of Chemistry of the U. S. Department A conference was arranged, with one of the capitalists inter of Agriculture at Washington have indicated their willingness ested, the inrventor, and the writer present. I started out with to supply substances conforming t o the new pharmacopeial some remarks of a congratulatory nature and brought into standards. the discussion at once the inventor's previous patent. I saw It is understood that the use of these Bureau of Chemistry from the look in his face that he was plainly surprised, and standards is optional but they will doubtless be made the basis although h e rallied and said that in one modification of his of comparison by all manufacturers. process he σονΜ use this patent, I was convinced that he had been faking absolutely in this later work. Subsequent events proved this; he agreed to work the process, starting with his C h e m i c a l Exposition Tickets to Be Restricted old patent aaid was to let me have his conditions so that I might repeat his process at m y end of the line. These notes were T w o types of tickets will be issued for the Chemical Exposition never sent, "the capitalists who were now thoroughly convinced which is to be held this year at the Grand Central Palace, N e w that the inventor had been faking, withdrew their support and York during the week of Sept. 28th t o Oct. 3rd. General adthe whole mtatter dropped out of sight. mission tickets which have been used exclusively a t past exposiThe second story coucerning fakes relates to the observations tions will be subject to restrictions, being good only after six of a group o>f chemists and capitalists who were called to witness o'clock in the evening until closing time, 10.30 P.M. each day. a "demonstration** of one of the numerous processes purporting Between twelve noon, when the Exposition will open daily, and to be a metfhod of making motor fuel, using sixty to eighty per 6.00 P.M. admission will be by special invitations only. cent of watœr in the raw material charge. Cards of special invitation will be issued to all exhibitors at t h e This inventor also had an elaborate outfit—copper stills, Chemical Exposition for distribution to clients a n d prospects. numerous pape connections in and out of the room, gas supply On these invitations will be printed t h e name of t h e firm which pipes, water supply pipes for the condensing system, etc., etc. issues them and space will be left for the signature and business The demonstrator removed the manhole and filled the still connection of the guest. Such "invitations will be good for. adabout two-thirds full of water; then with the air of a mediaeval mission at any time from 12.00 noon until 10.30 P.M.. From t h e alchemist, l i e took from an inside pocket some powder held in invitations collected at the door each day lists of visitors swill a red paper envelope and dusted it into the still, in like manner be made-up b y the Exposition management each, evening and b e he produced, from other pockets, yellow, blue, and green envelopes available for the use of exhibitors the following daji. ^PuUiskcdhy thejfmeriean
Ghemieal Soeiety
NEWS EDITION
