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T H E J O U R N A L OF I N D U S T R I A L A N D ENGINEERING C H E M I S T R Y
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EDITORIALS CHEMISTS AND PREPAREDNESS
The following l e t t e r is n o w being sent t o e v e r y c h e m i s t i n A m e r i c a whose n a m e could b e s e c u r e d : By request of the Council of National Defense, the Bureau of Mines, in cooperation with the American Chemical Society, will procure a Roster of Chemists of the United States. Data covering the qualifications, experience and skill of each chemist are desired to determine the line of duty in which he could best serve the country in time of need. European experience has shown that nothing is more important in time of war or other national emergency than a knowledge of the qualifications and experience of the country’s expert technical men. Men whose knowledge was invaluable t o the production of munitions ordnance, and supplies were killed in the trenches during the first months of the European war. This was due to lack of early information regarding individuals and has now been remedied in every European country. It is therefore important, especially a t present, that this information be available in the United States. You are accordingly requested, as a patriotic duty not only to fill out the card which you will receive herewith, but to see that every chemist within your acquaintance receives one and does likewise. Additional cards will be furnished upon request. You will please check only those subjects in which you are expert, especially where you have had actual manufacturing experience. Please return the card promptly, using the enclosed franked envelope. The information received will be carefully classified, carded and indexed, Your prompt response t o this matter will be very much appreciated. VANH. MANNING, Director, Bureau of Mines JULIUS STIEGLITZ, President, A merican Chemical Society The l e t t e r is a c c o m p a n i e d b y blank f o r m s o n which is r e q u e s t e d information as t o personality, experience and special qualifications. T h i s i n f o r m a t i o n will be carefully classified, i n d e x e d , a n d c a r d e d for f u t u r e use. It is the h o p e of t h e B u r e a u of M i n e s t o k e e p t h i s work u p - t o - d a t e in f u t u r e years.
For the p u r p o s e of mobilizing chemical investig a t o r s the following l e t t e r is also being mailed: To assist the Chemistry Committee of the National Research Council in its efforts to prepare for the use of the Government a classification of our chemical investigators, it is requested that you fill out the reverse side of this card. As the matter is urgent, i t is hoped that you will give i t your careful attention. MARSTON TAYLOR BOGERT, Chairman, Chemistry Committee, National Research Council T h e i n f o r m a t i o n r e q u e s t e d includes lines of work, willingness t o aid the G o v e r n m e n t in the s o l u t i o n of p r o b l e m s affecting the s e c u r i t y and defense of o u r c o u n t r y , preference in research and a v a i l a b l e t i m e f o r s u c h work. No w o r d of a p p e a l is n e e d e d f o r t h i s p a t r i o t i c d u t y . T h r o u g h President Stieglitz we h a v e already offered o u r services t o o u r c o u n t r y . This is the first r e q u e s t m a d e of us. T h e a n s w e r s t o t h e s e questionnaires s h o u l d b e immediate a n d unanimous. The s u b j e c t matter is so t i m e l y , a n d t h e experience of E n g l a n d is so v i t a l l y i n t e r e s t i n g t h a t we r e p r o d u c e elsewhere an article on “ C h e m i s t r y i n W a r t i m e ’ ’ from the E n g l i s h J o u r n a l , The Chemical Trade Journal and
Chemical Engineer.
AGAIN I SAY “AMERICA FOR AMERICANS”
I n o u r l a s t issue we a n n o u n c e d t h e policy of a l w a y s being willing t o publish criticisms of m a t t e r a p p e a r i n g i n THISJ O U R K A L , w i t h t h e f u r t h e r s t a t e m e n t that t h o s e so criticized would b e given o p p o r t u n i t y t o r e p l y . W i t h c o m p l e t e willingness we i n c l u d e ourselves a m o n g t h o s e s u b j e c t t o criticism, at the s a m e t i m e reserving t o ourselves t h e s a m e privilege of reply. On t h e evening of M a r c h 9 t h I w a s h a n d e d t h e following c o m m u n i c a t i o n in person b y Professor Alexander Smith, H e a d of the D e p a r t m e n t of C h e m i s t r y i n C o l u m b i a U n i v e r s i t y and a P a s t - P r e s i d e n t of t h e A m e r i c a n C h e m i c a l Society, w i t h t h e r e q u e s t t h a t i t be published i n THISJ O U R N A L .
............ CRITICISMS OF CEEMICAL LEQISLATION WEICH NOT WISE, BUT OTHERWISE
ARE
B y ALEXANDBR SKITH
The editorials in THISJOURNAL, and the reports of addresses by the Editor, Dr. Herty, have called the attention of chemists, and all interested in chemistry, to the wording of one paragraph of the tariff bill of September 1916,in which the dyes relieved from the 5 per cent per pound tax are specified. The classes mentioned include “ . . . . . . .natural and synthetic indigo and all indigoids whether or not obtained from indigo. . . , . .” M y purpose is not to discuss the matters of public policy involved in these exemptions, but simply to call attention t o a serious error in the arguments used by the critics of the section in question. Dr. Herty refers to Nietzki’s Chemie der Organischen Farbstoffe, and says “that if our chemists did not know what ‘indigoids’ were, Professor Nietzki did know.” “In the f i f t h edition (1906)I found the group of dyes known as ‘indigoids’ completely specified. The list included all forms of sulfur dyes.” Now no argument is really supported by a misrepresentation of the facts, although in this instance the misrepresentation was entirely unconscious and unintentional. In 1906 Nietzki did not know what “indigoids” were, because the word does not occur in the book, and was in fact first introduced to the science two years later by Friedlander’ in a paper entitled “On Indigoid Dyestuffs.” In 1896,aside from some halogen derivatives of indigo, and one or two dyes related to indigo and found in natural indigo, practically no dyes closely related to indigo were known, and there was no need for a class-name. The invention of thio-indigo red in 1905 was followed by the production of a large number of substituted indigoes, all of which contained the = C-CO-and so in 1908 the chromogenic group -CO-C term “indigoid” was suggested to cover the members of this group. Authoritative works2 now all mention indigoids, and define them as indicated above, and the definition in every one of these books absolutely excludes the possibility t h a t any chemist could even think of sulfur colors in the same connection. Numerous other references could be given to show that the word “indigoid” is always used with the meaning stated above. It is sufficient t o quote Thorpe: “1ndigoids.-The congeners of indigo may be divided into two different classes. One of them contains the true derivatives of I
1
Ber.. 41 (1908), 772.
2
Cain-Thorpe, “The Synthetic Dyestuffs,” 1913, 174. Green, “Analysis of Dyestuffs.” 1915, 123 and 38. Thorpe, “Dictionary of Applied Chemistry,” 1 9 l I , 8 , 130. Wahl, “L’industrie des MatiPres Colorantes Organiques,” 1911, 3 1 7 , 346.
