522
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 T N E E R I N G C H E M I S T R Y
Vol.
12,
No. 6
EDITORIALS HELP WANTED
in our Washington correspondent’s letter in this issue. It was our good fortune t o sit in the Senate gallery the first two days, and we have n o w been able t o read the full account of the proceedings in the Congressional Record. Unfortunately the sudden calling up of the bill made it impossible for us t o hear the splendid opening speech of Senator Frelinghuysen of New Jersey on Saturday afternoon, May I . Nor could we hear the able address in behalfD of the bill by Senator Nugent of Idaho on Saturday, May 8. We did, however, hear many of Senator Nugent’s pointed questions addressed t o Senator Thomas. These showed what a clear grasp of the, subject he had obtained when i t was presented before the subcommittee. From the gallery i t was a very lonesome scene on the floor of the Senate Monday afternoon. Senator Thomas was speaking, evidently prepared for a long siege. Four or five senators, known to be opposed t o the bill, sat in a t the speech, and on the back row sat Senator Nugent, always on guard, missing no point. Clearly a filibuster was on. The smile of satisfaction on Senator Thomas’ face during one of the quorum roll calls showed clearly t h a t he was well satisfied with his efforts. Senators Kenyon of Iowa FROM THE SENATE GALLERY and Moses of New Hampshire were in frequent conOn Tuesday, May 11, 1920, the Longworth bill was ference. Speaking of Senator Moses, geography is a strange displaced from its position as the “unfinished business” of the Senate and returned t o its regular place on the thing. Whoever would have thought t h a t the calendar. The press announced forthwith t h a t the opposition t o this bill would have brought about d y e bill was dead. With this pronouncement we take so close a union of two towns, Manchester, N. H., and Sunbury, Pa.! Naturally one thinks of t h e sharpest possible issue. Delayed in passageyes, but dead-no. Time and again we have expressed‘ Manchester and the great Amoskeag Manufacturing t h e conviction t h a t the Senate will pass the dye Company when one thinks of Senator Moses. But bill, safeguarding the American industry. T h a t con- what about Sunbury, a small Pennsylvania town of viction is to-day as strong as ever, for i t is based upon 15,000 inhabitants, according t o the census of 1910? our confidence in the common sense, the intelligence Doubtless i t has grown some since then. Our attenand the patriotism of the members of the United States tion was first called t o Sunbury by the Report of t h e Alien Property Custodian which shows (pages 133 Senate. I n the early part of 1917 a determined filibuster by and 352) t h a t the Custodian seized 80 per cent of t h e a small group prevented the Senate from granting the stock (preferred) of the Susquehanna Silk Mills, At President the right t o arm our merchant ships, but the Sunbury, Pa., because i t was enemy-owned. will of the Senate t o guard American rights against Sunbury are located also the Sunbury ConvertGerman aggression finally found the means of asserting ing Works, which we are informed were owned by itself. Now again a small group of senators has used the Susquehanna Silk Mills. At the Senate hearings t h e rules of the Senate t o prevent action upon a mea- a rather violent attack upon the bill was made in the sure which, while economic upon its face, is closely form of a statement filed by the Sunbury Converting bound up with the whole question of preparedness of Works. Furthermore, among the signers of the rather t h e nation for any future war t h a t may arise. State- notorious “Memorandum in opposition t o the purchase ments t o us from leading members of the Senate, by the Government through the Textile Alliance, or Republicans and Democrats alike, are t o the effect other official agency, of dyes directly from the foreign t h a t a large majority of the Senate favors the manufacturers” appeared again the name of the A subcommittee frankly opposed a t the Sunbury Converting Works. Now i t appears t h a t bill. outset t o the principles of the bill has unanimously both the Susquehanna Silk Mills and the Sunbury ‘espoused it. The full Finance Committee with one Converting Works were represented legally by Mr. exception, Senator Thomas of Colorfdo, has given Harry S. Knight, of Sunbury, Pa., a t the time of the its approval. Before the Senate adjourns the will of seizure by the Alien Property Custodian. But we are getting ahead of the story, for we learned t h a t only t h e majority will assert itself-that is our prediction. the bill had received the The details of that week of filibustering are given to-day. To resume-after The title of this editorial has a familiar sound in these servantless days, but our plea is different from those found in Sunday edition columns. We have been watching two things closely-the continuous gain in numbers of papers received from research laboratories, and the constantly increasing cost of paper. While these factors continue t o rise, the printing appropriation remains constant. We are doing our best t o catch up with publications, so that papers may appear in print within reasonable time. All reviewers are being asked t o indicate specifically how papers may be condensed without sacrificing the merits of the contributions. This is an awful burden t o put upon the reviewers. The right place t o put t h a t condensation tax is, in the language of the income tax, a t the source, and we appeal t o authors t o contract their articles in every way possible. Eliminate unessential matter, combine tables, use graphs, resort t o every possible device t o tell the story clearly but briefly-otherwise this office will disappear under a flood of manuscript. We don’t want t o disappear. Give us your help.
