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T H E J O U R N A L O F I N D U S T R I A L A N D E N G I N E E R I N G CHEMISTRY COBPERATIVE ACTIVITIES OF THE SOCIETY
Including in its membership of more than .IO,OOO the great majority of leading technical chemists, as well as practically all the foremost men of the chemistry staffs of our universities and colleges, the society is in a position to render service in any branch of chemistry, service that will be both expert and at the same time judicial and unbiased in its spirit. Thus, the society, influenced by the conviction that our national welfare demands independence in dye manufacturing, was active in aiding the movement to secure a much-needed measure of protection by duties on dyes. Then, at the invitation of the chairman of the United States Tariff Commission, the American Chemical Society, through its Advisory Committee, a few months ago recommended the name of an expert, Dr. Grinnell Jones, on chemical schedules, who is now working with the commission on the task of placing the tariff on a scientific, non-political basis. The Society recently urged upon the Secretary of Commerce that standard chemicals and reagents are as essential for successful work, for the saving of wasted effort in chemical industries, as are standardized weights, measures and gauges in other industries. With the approval of Secretary Redfield, the Bureau of Standards, with the cooperation of a committee of the American Chemical Society, has now started this important work. Then, our appeal in Kansas City to the women of the country to refrain from the purchase or acceptance of platinum jewelry had its immediate effect; within a few days thereafter the jewelers’ representatives, in conference with the Secretary of Commerce, agreed not t o use the precious metal for heavy articles, thus making a larger proportion of the valuable metal available for the industries. According to the latest information that has come to me, the price of platinum has at last begun to recede somewhat, instead of continuing the steady rise which its extravagant use in jewelry brought about and which put a burden equivalent to a duty of several hundred per cent on a vital necessity of our scientific and industrial laboratories. I have the fullest confidence that if the situation should remain intolerable, we shall have the support of the government in taking much more stringent measures to protect chemical industries and scientific work, so vital to our nation’s life, against what is, after all, a mere luxury. Further, a t the instance of the American Chemical Society and in cooperation with a committee of the Society, the Bureau of Foreign and Domestic Commerce has started the compilation of as complete information as it can secure for the guidance of our industries in regard to the chemical needs of manufacturers, the sources of supply of crude and finished products, and the relation of the various products to one another and to specific industries. Thanks to the efforts of the able editor of our Industrial Journal, Dr. Herty, a large fund has been raised to make possible this cooperation of the Society with the government in this important work, and if the chairman of our committee, Dr. B. C. Hesse, has his strenuous way, the work will be a model of thoroughness and usefulness. SOCIETY WELCOMES APPEALS FROM INDUSTRIES
I have mentioned these instances of the activities of the American Chemical Society in order to emphasize that the society would cordially welcome any appeals made to it by industries needing support of one kind or another. We are now organized for quick and effective action-in matters of legislation and policy, through our Advisory Committee to the President, in matters of research through our affiliation with the National Research Council, all of whose active members in chemical fields are also active members of our society. When such appeals or suggestions are received, they will receive prompt and earnest consideration, and, if necessary, be looked into by a committee of experts, not only with that fair, judicial spirit which science develops in its devotees, but also with that
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sympathy and consideration which the service of our country instills into her sons. Final action will then follow, with that fearlessness and energy which a good case always warrants, and which we trust will always be truly in the interest of American Chemical Industry. QEEETINGI FBOM T E E ELECTBOCEEMISTS By COLING. FINK President American Electrochemical Society
It was certainly a very propitious moment when three years ago Mr. Roth and Mr. Nagelvoort suggested and planned the first chemical exposition. The American Electrochemical Society heartily welcomed the idea and felt fully confident that the enterprise would be popular and successful. An undertaking which is based on the promotion of the common welfare, an undertaking that affects the progress and prosperity not of a few individuals but of every member of the country, an undertaking that serves to teach and demonstrate in a very striking and lasting manner the diverse applications and activities of the most fundamental of all national industries-an undertaking of this kind cannot fail, it must succeed. At the first exposition the exhibits were confined to one floor; in the second year the booths extended over two floors and in this third year practically every square inch of space is occupied. Very soon Mr. Payne will have to build a bigger palace. Never before in the history of electrochemistry has the vast importance of the various electrochemical products been so forcibly brought to the attention of our government and of our people as in the present year of the great war. Take from this country its electrochemical industry with its numerous and diversified manufactures and the martial strength of our country is hopelessly crippled. Think of the hundreds of machine shops that are utterly dependent on the electrochemical abrasives, carborundum and alundum; think of the thousands of rifles and guns turned out every month with the aid of high speed steel made from electric ferro-alloys; think of the millions of pounds of electrolytic copper that are absolutely essential for our electrical apparatus. There is the aeroplane whose light, strong stays are made from the electrochemical metals, aluminum and magnesium; there is liquid chlorine, a product of the electrolytic cell and the basis of the Carrel-Dakin method of treating the wounds of our heroes; there is electrolytic hydrogen used in all of our scout and observation balloons and there are the numberless electric alloys entering into the composition of nearly every item of the government’s vast military equipment. An interesting feature of the electrochemical industry is its American origin and its present international scope, international in so far as the industry is not restricted or confined to one or two countries or localities. Take, for example, the calcium carbide industry: this was founded by an American, Thomas Willson; within a brief generation it has grown in leaps and bounds; to-day there are large carbide factories in almost every civilized country of the world. Compare with this the sulfur industry confined to the United States and Russia. The natural saltpeter industry is confined to Chile, but the electrochemical saltpeter industry, founded by Bradley and Lovejoy, at Niagara Falls, has spread to every important civilized center. Wherever low-priced waterpower or low-priced fuel is available in generous and steady amounts, there electrochemical industries have been and will be established. Our country has been foremost in the electrochemical industry ever since its inception, due to American genius on the one hand and to our vast natural resources on the other. May we continue to lead the world in the supply of the many electrochemical products, pure metals and alloys for the arts, gases for cutting and welding, chlorine and peroxides for our hospitals, chlorates and acetone for munitions, nitrates for the farm and defense, abrasives, electrodes, solvents and lubricants! May we continue to excel in the products of the electric furnace and the electrolytic cell!
