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T H E JOURiV,IL O F I N D C S T R I A L i l Y D E X G I X E E R I S G C H E X I S T R Y
PRESS AND PUBLICITY COMMlTTEES FOR LOCAL SECTIONS In t h e February issue of t h e Catalyst, published by t h e Philadelphia Section, a n account is given of t h e steps being taken for t h e appointment of a Local Press and Publicity Committee of members expert in different fields of chemistry who mill supply t h e newspapers within t h e territory of t h a t Section “with correct information a n d honest criticism” and who will “stand ready a n d milling a t all times t o be consulted by t h e press.” One of t h e first fruits of t h a t movement was t h e presence of Mr. 11. D. Edmonds, Business Editor of t h e Public Ledger, a t a local section meeting with consequent intelligent publicity of important papers presented at t h e meeting. T h e Chicago Section has for some time had such a Committee. The Pittsburgh Section, on February I j t h , took similar action, authorizing its chairman t o develop a similar Committee for t h a t section. Such steps are heartening. Too long we have talked solely t o each other a n d then wondered why our profession was not more highly appreciated by t h e general public. Too often we have cried out among ourselves against some of t h e travesties appearing in t h e daily press and purporting t o be representative of what t h e public wished t o read a n d therefore of what t h e managing editors were willing t o publish. We are convinced t h a t our criticisms of both t h e public taste and newspaper policies have been unjust. We have been selfishly lazy and neglectful in this important matter, a n d sometimes we have held ourselves aloof from popular presentation, though well qualified for such, assuming t h e snobbish attitude t h a t such effort was t h e part of minds of lower order. Wherever t h e press has been approached in a spirit of true cooperation t h e response has been immediate: t h e collection of recent newspaper clippings presented t o our office by t h e Press & Publicity Committee of t h e American Chemical Society furnish ample proof of these contentions. I n this connection vie would suggest t o President Stieglitz t h a t t h e Chairman of each Local Section Press and Publicity Committee be appointed a member of t h e similar Committee of t h e Society. Through such connections t h e work of all of these Committees can be coordinated and their effectiveness largely increased. ANNOUNCEMENT While bringing t o the office of Editor a mass of ignorance concerning technical details of t h e work, we also brought with us a deep-rooted conriction as t o t h e undesirability of controlyersial communications being drawn out from month t o month until t h e attenuation almost reaches t h e 7-anishing point. Our columns s t a n d gladly open for communications in criticism of matter 11-hich has previously appeared, b u t we hereby announce t h a t t h e future policy of THIS J O U R N A L will be t o submit copy of such communications t o t h e authors so criticized with t h e request for their reply. Both communications will then be printed in t h e next earliest issue and it is hoped t h a t this amount of discussion will suffice all parties concerned.
V O ~9. , NO. 3
NO NICHOLS MEDAL THIS YEAR This brief announcement, following the meeting of t h e Committee charged with the responsibility of annually awarding t h e Nichols medal for the best research in pure chemistry, gives pause for serious thought. After careful consideration of American chemical literature and with t h e suggestions of t h e Secretaries of the Local Sections in hand, t h e Committee felt t h a t during t h e year 1916 no research had been published which mas of sufficient fundamental importance and.intrinsic worth t o justify t h e award of t h e medal. I t is possible t h a t such researches are in progress but are not yet sufficiently completed t o justify publication. If so, all is well, for nothing could be more unfortunate t h a n undue haste in publication. On the other hand, t h e thought constantly obtrudes itself t h a t t h e immediate necessity for t h e expansion of our chemical industries, the drain upon University staffs for heads of industrial research laboratories, t h e efforts spent in national scientific organization a n d t h e distractions of this distressing period of the world’s history have produced a n atmosphere uncongenial and unsuited t o t h a t quiet growth of ideas and their severe testing in t h e laboratory which makes for real progress in t h e science of chemistry. If these latter thoughts be t h e correct explanation, t h e situation is deeply t o be regretted, for greatest progress can be realized only through marked advances in both pure and applied chemistry. CHEMICAL ABSTRACTS AGAIN IN THE SADDLE
During t h e past year t h e Editor of Chemical A bstracts has been seriously hampered in his work, and t h e usefulness of t h a t Journal has been markedly curtailed, b y t h e action of t h e British censors in holding up t h e shipments of many foreign journals, notably those from Germany. Through t h e courteous cooperation of t h e Department of State and especially through t h e efforts of t h e Librarian of Congress, all obstacles have been removed and t h e journals consigned t o t h e American Chemical Society have been duly forwarded as shown in t h e following letter from Editor Crane:
Dear Dr. Herty: Because I am sure that you will be interested I a m writing t o tell you t h a t a t last I have succeeded in obtaining a large shipment of German journals on the basis of the special permit obtained last year from the British Government with your help. We ha\-e most of the important journals nearly complete t o the end of 1916. I have been told t h a t some of these copies are the only ones in this country. We plan t o publish abstracts which will be unusually long and detailed in order to make up for the lack of journals in this country in so far as possible. Thanking you again for your help in this connectiotl, I am Sincerely yours, E. J . CRAKE February 1 2 , 1917
T h a t Tvhich it is impossible for individuals t o accomplish has been done for t h e American Chemical Society. One more fine illustration of the benefits of organization and cooperation.
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