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T H E JOURNAL OF INDUSTRIAL A N D ENGINEERING CHEMISTRY
often by the facilities of industry to produce i t in large quantity; (2) the plan contemplates also a roster of personnel skilled in the manufacture. and the insDection and Durchase of the various commodity groups. It is ‘desired to seiure from industry itself men who are eligible and will accept reserve corps commissions with a view t o their assignment in time of emergency to the procurement of the commodity in which they are specialists. It is purposed that upon these men reliance will be placed in time of peace for advice and assistance in the study of industrial facilities, and that in time of war they will be assigned t o the centers of industry or to Washington for procurement duty; (3) the plan further contemplates that a thorough study be made of the facilities of the country t o produce the essential and important items of the supply table, and to have on file in the office of the Surgeon General such reports as will enable the immediate placing of contracts in the event of any national emergency. I n this work the Surgeon General realizes that he must rely upon industry itself, and it is hoped t o secure definite and complete information from the manufacturers as to the aid they can render. It is probable that in an emergency of any magnitude Congress would again establish control of raw materials, labor, transportation, and installations; and the medical department expects that, with such information on file, it will be in a position to render great assistance to the firms making medical depart-
Vol. 14, No. 10
ment supplies. It can prevent the drafting of skilled labor, the taking of key men, can a s u r e the supply of material, of coal. and of transoortation. and thus obviate difficulties in the operation of the plant. At the direction of Secretary Fall of the Interior Department,
T. E. Swigart, petroleum technologist, and C. E. Beecher, oil
recovery engineer, of the Bureau of Mines, have been designated to compile a handbook of conservation methods in petroleum production, to be used by operators on leased public lands. The manual will include discussions of sources of wastes in oil and gas fields; suggested methods of preventing wastes in the production of oil and gas; and a complete, revised set of rules, regulations, and penalties for violation of regulations as applied to oil and gas production on public lands of the United States. The Carbohydrate Laboratory of the Bureau of Chemistry has developed a cheap, effective, and rapid process for preparing chocolate creams having very soft cream centers. Invertase, instead of an acid, has been used t o secure the semiliquefaction of the centers, the flavor developed being superior to that ordinarily secured by other methods. Application has been made for a public service patent t o cover this process. September 18, 1922
OBITUARY Dr. Jokichi Takamine NLY to a few men is the opportu0 nity given to act as so strong a link between two nations as was Jokichi Takamine, who died in Lenox Hill Hospital, New York, N. Y., on July 22, 1922, a t the age of 67, after an illness of many months. His earnest desire for lasting friendship and good understanding between his native land of Japan and his adopted home of America was continually evidenced in his manifold activities. Dr. Takamine was born November 3, 1854, in Takaoka, Japan, his father being physician to the Prince of Kaga. At the age of twelve he was sent to Nagasaki to study under the tutelage of the Portuguese consul, and later went to Osaka to study medicine. He became more interested in chemistry than in medicine, and entering the Imperial University a t Tokyo graduated as a chemical engineer JOKICHI in 1879. The government then sent him to Great Britain for three years’ special study in the University of Glssgow and Andersonian University. Upon his return to Japan he was appointed chief chemist of the Department of Agriculture and Commerce. His work in this capacity did much to improve the brewing industry of Japan and led t o his lifelong activity in the scientific investigation and commercial development of diastatic ferments. In 1884 he came as representative of the Japanese government to the Cotton Centennial Exposition a t New Orleans. Here he met Miss Caroline Hitch, whom he married in 1885. He planned to make his home in the United States, but returned to Tokyo in 1887 to erect there the first superphosphate plant in Japan. In 1890, he again came to America, and not long thereafter, as the result of his researches upon diastatic ferments, organized the Takamine Ferment Company in Chicago. These same researches resulted in the development of Takadiastase for medicinal use. In 1900 his isolation of crystallized adrenalin as the active principle of the suprarenal glands brought t o a climax a long series of researches by various eminent men, and made its commercial production possible. It is in this connection that the
name of Takamine is most widely known. He was instrumental in the establishment in Japan of numerous chemical industries, including the production of alkali, aluminium, fertilizers, and dyes, and also formed there a large pharmaceutical corporation, Sankyo and Company. In recognition of his accomplishments the University of Tokyo in 1899 bestowed on him the degree of Doctor of Chemical Engineering, and in 1906 that of Doctor of Pharmacology. His ability was so highly esteemed by his native country that in 1913the Emperor appointed him a member of the Royal Academy of Science and in 1915 decorated him with the Fourth Order of the Rising Sun. Dr. Takamine’s industrial interests were many, including the presidency of Sankyo and Company of Tokyo, the Takamine Ferment Co., the International Takamine Ferment Co., and Takamine Laboratories, TAKAMINE Inc. He was also a consulting chemist for Parke, Davis and Company. His scientific and social relationships were equally numerous. He was a member of the American Chemical Society, The Chemical Society of England, the Institute of Chemical Engineers, and the Franklin Institute, as well as one of the founders of The Chemical and Physical Research Society of Japan. Besides holding membership in many New York clubs, he was chiefly instrumental in founding the Nippon Club of New York and the Japan-America Society, and was among the founders of the Japan Club and the Japanese Association of New York. Those who knew him personally will remember him best for his kindliness, his thoughtfulness of others, and his intense devotion to every duty he deemed to be his. His industrial ability achieved commercial success for himself and others; his scientific attainments brought him deserved honors; but a no less important contribution to the world’s welfare was the years of quiet and persistent endeavor to promote enduring friendship between two great peoples; to interpret to each other the nations of his birth and his adoption.
FRANK 0. TAYLOR
