News
INDUSTRIAL & ENGINEERING Edîûom CHEMISTRY Published by the American Chemical Society
APRIL 10, 1925
Vol. 3, No. 7
Council Activities Open Baltimore Meeting Plans for Fiftieth Anniversary M e e t i n g , P u b l i c a t i o n of Decennial Index of Chemical Abstracts and Selection of M e e t i n g Cities Occupy^Greatest A t t e n t i o n — T u l s a , Okla., to have Spring Meeting, i n 1926—Anniversary M e e t i n g a t P h i l a d e l p h i a — R i c h m o n d i n 1927 A well attended meeting of the council ushered in the sixty-ninth convention of the American Chemical Society at Baltimore, on Monday afternoon, April 6. One hundred and fourteen Councilors and substitute Councilors were present when President James K. Norris called the meeting to order in the banquet hall of the Emerson Hotel and expressed his appreciation of the honor which had been conferred upon him since the last meeting of the Council. H e assured his listeners that he had been actively engaged in furthering the work of the Society since assuming the office of President last January and that i t was his earnest purpose, with the help of the membership a t large, to further expand the influence of the Society. Greatest interest in the Council discussions centered around the plans for the fiftieth anniversary meeting of the Society which will be held in the fall of 1926, t h e publication of a second Decennial Index t o Chemical Abstracts and the selection of meeting places for the three semi-annual meetings following the Los Angeles meeting. An invitation from the Oklahoma Section to hold the spring meeting of 1926 at Tulsa was unanimously accepted. Philadelphia and Detroit invited the Society t o hold its fall meeting in 1926 within their respective confines and when it was learned that t h e fiftieth anniversary of t h e founding of the Society would b e celebrated at that time, Detroit graciously withdrew its claims because Philadelphia is so close t o t h e first meeting place and Philadelphia was unanimously chosen a s the convention city. A stirring appeal on behalf of the City of Richmond resulted i n a unanimous choice of that city for the spring meeting in 1927. An invitation, signed b y a group of wellknown Canadian chemists, t o hold the fall meeting of 1928 at Toronto was received with much enthusiasm, but could not be acted upon under the constitution of t h e Society which does not permit selection of t h e place of meeting more than two years in advance. Philadelphia having been selected as the meeting place for t h e fiftieth anniversary convention, it was suggested b y Secretary Parsons that advantage might be taken of the sesqui-centennial exposition in that city t o properly portray the
great advances in chemistry during the past half century in an exposition building devoted exclusively to chemistry. Heretofore at national and international expositions chemistry has occupied a subordinate position in the various exhibits shown and it was the general opinion that a great effort should be made to place chemistry in the forefront of exhibits this time. 'In this connection t h e Court of Chemical Achievement to be organized in connection with the Chemical Exposition in New York this fall was cited as a good nucleus upon which t o expand. The details of this proposed Court of Achievement were outlined briefly b y H. B. Howe, the originator of the idea and are given on another page of this issue. Dr. McKee suggested that suitable honors be conferred upon the founder and charter members of the Society living a t the time of t h e fiftieth anniversary and
Abstracts of Baltimore Papers Available The A. C. S. News Service, 706 Mills Building, Washington, D . C , will be in a position to supply a limited number of complete sets of the abstracts of papers presented t o the Baltimore meeting of the American Chemical Society, at $1.00 per set. The abstracts will be as furnished by the authors of papers and will b e mailed almost immediately after the Baltimore meeting. While we cannot guarantee these sets of abstracts t o be complete, they do contain all abstracts that can be obtained from Division and Section Secretaries u p t o and through the dates of the meeting of the Society. The low price of $1.00 has been maintained in spite of the increase in the number of papers. In order t o save unnecessary correspondence and the keeping of records, those desiring sets of abstracts are requested to remit $1.00 with their order. It will facilitate matters greatly if those desiring abstracts will notify the A. C.^S. News Service a t once.
that they be the guests of t h e Society upon that occasion. Following the general discussion of plans for the fiftieth anniversary meeting, the Council authorized t h e President of the Society t o appoint such special committees as may be necessary t o prepare for the celebration and take care of the details which will require special study and attention. Deep interest and a firm conviction that the Society must not fail i n the publication of a second Decennial Index to Chemical Abstracts characterized the discussion of this subject which was presented to the Council b y Secretary Parsons and Editor Crane. Details of t h e project have been published i n the N e w s Édition of March 20. Briefly, the problem before the Society is to finance a publication which is estimated to require six volumes for completion and will cost in t h e neighborhood of $90,000. I t is estimated that the cost of the complete index, per copy (six volumes) will be $30 if 3000 are sold, $25, if 4000 are sold, and $20 if 5000 are sold. The Council finally adopted a recommendation of the Executive Cotnmittee providing that the Secretary b e authorized t o send a letter t o all subscribers to Chemical Abstracts, with a n order form for t h e decennial index, explaining that the conditions under which orders wfll be accepted are that a check for $15 must accompany the order. This amount will be used as a guarantee fund toward the publication of the index and will not be returnable unless t h e total ntimber of orders received are insufficient t o warrant publication of the index on t h e basis planned. The payment of the full balance required shall be made before trie author index is delivered. The amount of the second payment will depend upon the cost of paper and printing the quantity of books ordered. The author and subject indexes will not be sold separately. The price to those who do not subscribe in advance is to be at least $10 higher than the full price under the advance payment plan. The letter to subscribers i s to call for an immediate reply in order that the Directors m a y determine definitely at their next meeting whether they can assume t h e financial responsibility involved in the preparation and printing of the index.
INDUSTRIAL AND
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News Edition
ENGINEERING CHEMISTRY
Dr. Ira Remsen was nominated for honorary membership in t h e Society. W. A. Noyes was reelected editor of Scientific Monographs for a three-year period. H. K. Howe was reelected editor of Technological Monographs for a three-year period and recommended t h a t t h e number of associate editors be increased from three to nine. T h e recommendation was adopted a n d t h e following additional associate editors were selected: C. E . K. Mees, F . W . Willard, a n d E . R. Weidlein. F . A. Lidbury and A. D . Little were reappointed associate editors. William McPherson was reelected as a member of t h e Executive Committee. The selection of Neil E. Gordon as editor of t h e Journal of Chemical Education b y the Division of Education was approved b y the Council. Professor K. C . Bingham presented two resolutions by mail which were referred t o t h e Executive Committee. T h e first of these resolutions requested the Council to consider t h e possibility of organizing s t u d e n t chemical societies in colleges as a p a r t of the American Chemical Society. T h e second resolution provided for an appeal to the National Education Association t o consider favorably the teaching of the metric system in the public schools. Secretary Parsons was authorized t o provide t h e Society's emblem in a smaller size a s there was a considerable demand for the smaller p i n . The Secretary announced to t h e Council t h a t notice h a d been received from t h e executors of the Frasch estate t h a t t h e will is being contested and considerable time will elapse before t h e Society m a y be called upon to a c t in an advisory capacity in connection with t h e selection of recipients of awards for agricultural research provided for in the will. Reports from the various committees of the Society were received a n d will be printed later. Among t h e other m a t t e r s of business disposed of were t h e granting of divisional organization to the Section of Gas and Fuel Chemistry a n d t h e acceptance of the by-laws proposed for t h e new division; granting of a charter for the formation of a N o r t h Jersey Section of t h e Society; reference of t h e proposed a m e n d m e n t to article 8 of t h e constitution of the Society, making i t possible t o o m i t a general meeting when deemed advisable, t o the membership through the News Edition, for a v o t e ; authorizing publication of t h e proceedings of local sections of t h e Society in t h e News E d i t i o n in place of the Journal of tlie American Chemical Society, where they are now published; authorizing t h e elimination of addresses of new members of t h e Society when their names are published and referring to their location according t o the local section with which they are affiliated. It w a s announced t h a t t h e endowment fund had reached a p proximately $28,000. Before adjourning, t h e Council adopted a vote of t h a n k s to p a s t president h. H . Baekeland for his genero u s gift to the e n d o w m e n t fund and directed the Secretary to cable t h e greetings of t h e Society to Dr. Baekeland. About 100 Councilors a n d guests partook of a dinner in t h e b a n q u e t hall of t h e E m e r s o n Hotel a t 6.30 P . M. a n d were later joined by members of the Maryland Section in a reception and dance.
Editor, News Edition, I. & E. C: I look back t o t h e journey of the members of the American Chemical Society t o San Francisco for the annual meeting in 1910 as one of t h e most delightful and helpful events of my life. N o one can ever be a complete American until he has had a chance to see t h e marvelous western country a n d to feel on the spot the breezy enthusiasm of the westerner. On t h e special train which took us many delightful a n d close friendships were formed, each car of t h a t train being a little community and the constant visiting from one coach to another made time pass all too quickly. T h e entertainment given by t h e western chemists was a revelation of hospitality in the most exquisite form. Such a journey is worth any sacrifice and will leave life-long impressions of happiness, good will, a n d more thorough understanding.
CHAS. H. HERTV
Editor, News Edition, I. cf. E. C: Of t h e many meetings of the A. C. S., which I have a t t e n d e d since joining the Society in 1808, the one held at San Francisco in J u l y , 1910, ranks foremost in my memory for the variety, vividness, a n d grandeur of its impressions. The week which we spent together upon the special train from Chicago gave frequent opportunities for pleasant acquaintance and sociability, while t h e breaks in our long journey a t Pike's Peak, Garden of the Gods, Petrified Forest, Grand Canyon, Los Angeles, and Santa B a r b a r a (not t o mention the violent intermezzo of a train wreck) enabled us to enjoy t h e numerous scenic wonders along the way. In San Francisco t h e smoker, t h e dinner in Chinatown, the trip up M t . Tamalpais, the excursion to S a n t a Rosa, and other entertainments b y our California hosts, bring u p most enjoyable recollections. Of t h e scientific part of the meeting I recall nothing b u t I do remember t h a t after the sessions I made a very pleasant three-day excursion t o the Yosemite a n d to the Mariposa Grove of Big Trees with Dr. and Mrs. W. D . Bancroft, R . N . Shreve, and " D e r A l t e " Fink and t h a t on m y return east I spent six very delightful days on a camping trip i n Yellowstone P a r k with Dr. C. H. Herty. I am looking forward to equally pleasant events a t t h e meeting of the A. C. S. in Los Angeles for next August and would urge all members who can attend to m a k e the trip. Very sincerely yours, C. A. B R O W N E
A Floating Chemical Plant T h e steamship " E t h y l , " formerly t h e U. S. Shipping B o a r d "L,ake Harminia," now owned by the E t h y l Gasoline Corporation, N e w York, is being refitted as a complete chemical plant for t h e recovery of bromine from sea water by a special process developed by her owners. In the process the bromine will be combined with aniline to form tri-bromaniline which will be used directly in t h e production of t h e tetra-ethyl lead. T h e demand for bromine for use in "ethyl fluid," the anti-knock compound containing tetra-ethyl lead and manufactured by this company, h a s
California Galls To those who are d e b a t i n g whether or not t o make t h e trip to Los Angeles with the American Chemical Society this coming summer, t h e experiences in retrospect of some of o u r distinguished members who m a d e the trip to the Pacific coast in 1910 when the Society m e t a t San Francisco will doubdess be of interest. We publish herewith several letters from these members and they tell their o w n story.
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Editor, News Edition, J. cf. E. C: I a m about t o leave for a long voyage—a m u c h ' n e e d e d rest, although i t may involve some "roughing it." Change in surroundings and i n work is a rest in itself. If I am back before the Los Angeles meeting I intend to be t h e r e . I shall never forget t h a t splendid trip to California in 1910, which D r . Parsons organized so well. Although I can tiardly conceive it, i t is possible the Los Angeles meeting m a y even be more interesting. Parsons knows how to do it, and t h e American Chemical Society a n d t h e California Section h a v e g r o w n enormously in the meantime. Such events a s t h a t California trip have been milestones in t h e history of o u r Society, and have furnished t h e cement for m a k i n g t h e Society w h a t i t is today. Cordially yours, L. H. B A E K E L A N D
been so great t h a t steps were necessary t o prevent possible shortage of this material and by the use of a plant located on a ship on t h e high seas it is hoped t h a t a continuous cheap supply m a y be assured. This is t h e first a t t e m p t of the kind and it is possible t h a t the success of this venture m a y lead to similar undertakings to remove t h e valuable constituents of sea water for use. T h e E t h y l is expected t o sail on April 15 on her maiden voyage as a chemical plant. T h e advantages which are claimed for her over a plant located on land are t h e low price a t which she was bought from t h e discarded Shipping Board fleet, which was much lower t h a n t h e cost of land and buildings would have been ; a plentiful supply of sea water, which in addition t o other considerations is uniformly cold ; and t h e complete absence of a n y sewage and waste disposal problems.
