T H E J O U R N A L OF I N D U S T R I A L A N D E N G I N E E R I N G C H E M I S T R Y
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Vol.
IO,
No. I
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EDITORIALS THE CHEMICAL SERVICE SECTION OF THE NATIONAL ARMY
The importance of chemistry in the conduct of the war has received a gratifying endorsement from the War Department in the establishment of a new division attached t o the General Staff and designated the Chemical Service Section of the National Army. The two immediate purposes t o be accomplished b y the formation of this division are, first, the unification and more comprehensive development of the various research activities now being conducted for the War Department, and second, the creation of a chemical organization, complete in personnel and equipment, for service with the American Expeditionary Forces in France. The most significant feature in the formation of this Section is the growing appreciation on the part of the heads of the departments of the Army of the value and necessity of chemistry in modern warfare. General Pershing has urgently requested t h a t a chemical unit be organized and sent t o France a t the earliest possible moment t o care for the emergency problems of vital importance which are constantly arising in the conduct of the war. Both the personnel and laboratory equipment of this force are being prepared upon the basis t h a t the American armies in France have a right t o the service of our ablest scientific minds and the most complete and adequate facilities for the work which i t is possible for the United States Government t o supply. This chemical unit will serve as adviser t o General Pershing on all chemical matters pertaining t o the war, and will be attached t o his staff through Colonel A. A. Fries, head of the Gas Warfare Division. It will also act as the ‘chemical eyes of the unit in this country, transmitting information relative t o chemical problems of the war to the men a t work here. Able scientists throughout the country have responded eagerly t o this call t o national service. The unit will probably have sailed by the time this issue appears. The following have been recommended for commissions : LIEUTENANT-COLONEL Raymond F. Bacon MAJORS William A. Hamor
Gilbert N. Lewis CAPTAINS H. H. Hanson B. H. Nicolet
A. R. Norton L. V. Walker
J. K. Senior
J. H. Hildebrand F. G. Keyes
FIRSTLIEUTENANTS I,. H. Cretcher P. R. Parmelee W. L. Argo T.D. Stewart
SECOND LIEUTENANTS J. W. MacNaugher E. B. Peck H. W. Nichols, Jr. N. F. Hall L. H. Ashe R. B. Hall G. S. Skinner Allen Abrams D. H. McMurtrie C. B. Spofford, Jr. J. J. Hast A. R. Olsen P. G. Woodward A. H. Hooker, Jr.
About twenty-five enlisted men, including some of the best of the younger chemists of the country, make u p the remaining personnel as a t present organized. The names of these enlisted men are not yet available; they will be published in a future issue. As the work develops, more men will be added so t h a t the laboratory will be in position t o solve quickly the many problems which the constant changes in the methods and munitions of the war introduce. I n order t h a t the information collected by this force of scientific men may be of the greatest aid t o the research work now being conducted in this country, Dr. William H. Walker, of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, has been commissioned a Lieutenant-Colonel, and will have charge of the unification and coordination of many lines of research now being so ably carried on here. It is not expedient t o discuss the activities of these research groups, but it is gratifying to know t h a t real progress is being made in practically every field. The organization of this Chemical Service Section will provide a means by which men drafted into the service, and having special research ability, may be enabled t o serve the country as scientists in a way which will produce results of the very highest value.
A CHEMISTS’ CLUB FOR FRANCE
The war has effected in France, as in this country, a remarkable stimulation of the chemical industries. This has reflected itself during the past year in the organization of a French Society of Chemical Industry. The strong bonds of a common endeavor in the struggle against the Teutonic menace has led many of our chemists t o join gladly in the formation of an American section of that organizahion of French industrial chemists. Another evidence of t h a t same activity has just been received in the announcement of the organization af the Cercle de la Chimie, located a t 54 rue de Turbigo, Paris, 3 e . The association is composed, t o quote from its constitution, “de membres titulaires recrut6s parmi les chimistes de carrisre, les industriels, les nkgocian ts, les reprksentants de l’industrie chimique, les constructeurs et toutes les personnes s’int6ressant au dkveloppement de la Chimie.” The Association has for its object, t o quote again, “de permettre A tous ses adhkrents de discuter en commun de leurs int6r&ts matkriels et moraux e t de
Jan., 1918
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
s’inthresser au d6veloppement de la science e t de l’industrie chimiques fransaises.” The R e v u e des ProdGits Chirniques will be the official organ of the Cercle de la Chimie. The club building will contain a reading’room, a writing room, a lounge room, indeed all the conveniences and comforts of a modern club. Provision is made for the holding of scientific meetings, and extensive literature will be avail alsle. To those of our chemists who will soon be in France and to that still larger number who will go as the American Expeditionary Forces increase, the prospect of visiting such a chemistry home will indeed be delightful. Opportunity will there be offered for meeting the distinguished chemists of France and for t h a t fraternization among French and American chemists which so quicltly and so naturally develops whenever representatives of the two countries meet. For our own part, we could desire no stronger attraction t o such a spot nor need more certain guarantee of the genial atmosphere which will abound than is afforded by the presence of the name of Lieutenant Renh Engel in the list of the charter members of the Cercle. During the days of his connection with the French Mission in this country Lieutenant Engel won a warm place in the hearts of American chemists. THE CHEMICAL ALLIANCE
One of the most interesting developments of t h e past month has been the resuscitation of the Chemical Alliance. This organization, formed at the suggestion of the Department of Commerce, was incorporated during the past summer, Its primary object was to assist in the clearing up of questions connected with the importation of pyrites, a situation so acute a t t h a t time. The Alliance, however, was not called upon for this particular service. As originally organized, it consisted of the chairmen of the sub-committees of the Committee on Chemicals, provision being made for associate members of allied groups. The officers were Wm. H. Nichols, P r e s i d e f l t , Horace Bowker, ViceP r e s i d e n t , and J. D. Cameron Bradley, Secretary. With the gradual evolution of the war machine in Washington all of the semi-official committees, such as the Committee on Chemicals, have been discontinued. However, industrial advice is needed by the War Industries Board, so each group has been asked t o organize a trade association, without any official government connection, t o which t h a t Board can turn for expert advice. To meet this situation the Chemical Alliance has been revived. Dr. Nichols having resigned the presidency of the original organization, a meeting was held recently a t which the following officers were elected: Horace Bowker, Presideflzt, Henry Howard, V i c e - p r e s i d e n t , and J. D. Cameron Bradley, Secretary and T r e a s u r e r . These officers, together with A. H. Weed, Secretary of the Manufacturing Chemists’ Association, are now engaged in drafting a constitution and by-laws for the new organization. For the present, the Board of Directors consists of the original members of the Committee on Chemicals.
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All manufacturers of chemicals are eligible for membership and it is confidently hoped t h a t all such will become members a t once. The members are to be classified in groups, and a t a meeting t o be -held soon each of the groups will elect a director. Such a representative organization of chemical manufacturers has within itself great potentialities for usefulness. It can act as a clearing house for priority matters, and its recommendations may form the basis of action by the War Industries Board, though accorded no recognition in the form of official approval. Furthermore, this close union in national service suggests the approach of a day of more coordinated effort in a rapidly expanding industry, a coordination which must be effected if the industry is t o withstand squarely the shock of the intense competition which will assuredly have t o be met in the days t o come. Individual effort has been able to accomplish much under the unique conditions of a war period, but thoroughly coordinated and cooperative effort can alone safeguard the future. PROGRESS IN SELECTIVE SERVICE
I n so far as it applies to the wise utilization of chemists, some semblance of order seems to be arising out of the confusion incident t o the immediate expansion of the military forces through both voluntary enlistment and the operation of the draft law. Many chemists have been transferred from the line t o chemical service. I n effecting these transfers splendid service has been rendered by Dr. Charles L. Parsons. I n the next draft the new classifications issued by the Provost-Marshall, General Crowder, give assurance t h a t the selective principle originally contemplated in the enactment of the legislation will be substituted for the lottery system which prevailed in the hurried and inexperienced application of the first draft. The regulations recently issued by the same officer remanding drafted engineering students to their universities for completion of their courses partly insures a reserve of better trained chemical engineers. The organization of the Chemical Service Section of the National Army furnishes an official medium for collecting the scattered chemical forces. Finally, we have been informed, though not directly, that the Secretary of War grasps clearly the importance of r61e the chemist must play in the great army we are preparing t o send abroad. The disintegration of the Russian forces along the Eastern front and the Italian reverses in the South have brought clear conviction t o this Nation that we must prepare for a long war and on a great scale. With characteristic American pluck our people have accepted this situation, and with grim determination have set themselves t o the task of contributing the maximum of men and means of which this country is capable. If this conviction should prove correct, and no one to-day doubts i t , every possible means should be resorted t o for preserving the present inadequate supply of chemists and insuring full training of the younger men now preparing for the profession of chemistry,
