Saving Technical M e n for Winning the W a r FRANK C. WHITMORE State College, Penna.
H P H E actual and critical need in the production army for more technical men than exist or can be trained in time is now an accepted fact. Although many types of technical men, such as physicists and engineers, are finding places of usefulness in all branches of the war effort, it is now definitely clear that the armed forces do not need additional chemists or chemical engineer*. In spite of the dangerously increasing shortage of chemists and chemical engineers, there is still induction of such men into the armed forces. This leakage is a help to the Axis. It is due to a lack of understanding of the nature of this war by some local boards, some employers, and some chemists and chemical engineers. Part of the difficulty is due not to a lack •ofunderstanding but to a lack of courage of convictions and a failure to use proper aggressiveness in the winning of the war by holding technically trained men where they can best serve the cause of victory. Proper steps for conserving a chemist or chemical engineer for the war effort are: 1. Immediately on receipt of the Selective Service Questionnaire, a sworn statement of the facts, including a request for deferment, should be filed with the local board. In the case of an employed man, this should be from his employer. In the case of a man in training, it preferably should be from a professor who understands the field thoroughly rather than from a general administrative officer. This first statement and request for deferment should be made on Form 42A, on Form 42, or on the standard form for statement by a college or university. If, for any reason, there is trouble in obtaining forms, the statement and request should be made in writing on suitable letterhead paper. At the bottom of the letter should appear the ordinary form of oath. I, Richard Roe, do solemnly swear that the above facts are true. (Signature of Claimant ) (Address of Claimant)
Subscribed and sworn to before me this day of , 1942. (Signature of official administering oath) (Official designation of official administering oath)
T h e local board should be provided with an accurate statement of all pertinent facts. Among others, these should include
VOLUME
2 0, N O .
place and time of training, experience, type of work, its necessity in relation to the war effort, and facts as to whether or not the man can be replaced. A few words of caution may prove helpful. Some chemists and chemical engineers have been lost to the production army because of difficulty in obtaining proper blanks; others because the statement and request were signed but not in affidavit form. I t is a safe rule to swear to everything that goes to a local or an appeal board. Many local boards and a few employers think that a man cannot be a "necessary man" unless he has had long experience with the' company which fills out the statement and request. This might be true if there were plenty of chemists and chemical engineers. The important point is the replaceability of the man. At the present time, even in the rare cases where a man can be replaced, the fact of replaceability is not significant because a new man has to be taken from another position in which he is needed. The total number of chemists and chemical engineers is not nearly as large as our needs, both now and later in 1943 and 1944 when the great new plants for munitions, synthetic rubber, and the like will be ready to operate. 2. If any questions, either written or oral, come from the local board, they should be answered in writing as soon as possible. 3. If the man is placed in I-A, the following steps should be taken. (a) He should immediately (necessarily within 10 days of the date of the notice e a simple personal appeal to be placed in Class II, including a statement of his time of training and time of experience, and that he is making the request because of the need for technically trained men in the production army without which the combat army cannot hope to function. Under his signature should appear his typed name and order number. The appeal should be dated. A copy should go to the man's employer or professor and a copy should be retained. There should be no delay beyond the 10 days legally allowed. (6) The man should immediately inform his employer or professor of his classification and his appeal with a copy of the appeal. (c) The sponsor (employer or professor) should immediately sign and return the "Notice of Appeal" if he receives that from the local board. If not received, he should promptly ask for it. (d) T h e sponsor should consult his copy of the original request for deferment and should make out a fuller and more detailed statement in support of the appeal of t h e man involved. This additional material should include any new facts
17.SEPTEMBER
10,
1942
which have developed. They would include a statement of the relation of the work to the war effort and the special need of the m a n in his position. Emphasis is often advisable that the winning of the war depends not only on actual munitions and ordnance but on almost everything else required in civilized life. A war merely requires more of almost all of these things. The statement should be in affidavit form. (c) Both t h e man and his sponsor should acquaint themselves with the Appeal Officer of the local board. It is becoming increasingly helpful to have this Appeal Officer make out a formal appeal on behalf of the man to supplement his brief personal appeal. It is very important to determine whether t h e Appeal Officer and the local board are familiar with Occupational Bulletin No. 10 (see page 837 of CHEMICAL A N D
ENGINEERING
NEWS
for
July 10). A planographed copy of this bulletin will b e furnished upon request to the Secretary of the AMERICAN CHEMICAL
SOCIETY. AS it is a n official document it is more effective with local boards than a printed copy. A great deal of trouble would have been saved if every employer and every chemist or chemical engineer had kept in bandy form a copy of the publication containing this material. The local boards receive so much material that the particular significance of this special Occupational Bulletin and its application to a l l chemists and chemical engineers and their special need in the production army have often escaped their notice. Do this diplomatically and carefully. Avoid even t h e appearance of giving them definite instructions. Most local boards will accord a hearing to both the man and his sponsor. 4. If the appeal to the local board is lost and the need remains, it is the duty of the man and h i s sponsor t o appeal at once to the State Director. This is usually most effectively done through the Local Appeal Agent, although it can b e done directly. For the sake of the record, it is best that the individual chemist or chemical engineer file a brief statement of his appeal. His employer should prepare an even fuller and more detailed statement of the facts than before. This should usually be prefaced b y a brief paragraph summarizing the material presented earlier with dates o f the documents involved. Then should follow the additional material. Of course, all this should be sworn to. At all points, care, patience, and consideration for the board's problems must be exercised i n familiarizing everyone involved, first of all, as regards the general situation of chemists and chemical engineers in connection with the war effort, and secondly, on the particulars of the individual case. 5. In connection with the state appeal, the man should send word that he has
1099
lost the local appeal and is appealing to the state board to the National Roster of Scientific· and Specialized Personnel, 10th & V Streets, X. W., Washington, D). C., and
to the Secretary of the ΛΜERICΆΝ
CHEMICAL
SOCIETY, 1155) Sixteenth
St.,
N. W., Washington, D. C. In each case full details should he given including the name and address of the local board, the name and address of the Government Appeal Agent if he has been called on the ease, and the name, address, and order number of the man making the appeal. Every chemist and chemical engineer of selective service age should be familiar with the material printed in Chemical, AND ENGINEERING News, July 10, 1942, long before any question arises as to his diversion from the war effort. 6. In the very few cases where the state appeal is lost, it is important that the man and his sponsor recognize that an unusual responsibility toward the win ning of the war has fallen on their shoul ders. They must renew their courage and review the facts. Now is the time for the final appeal to the President. Part 623.1 of the regulations of the Selective Service System reads: "When either the State Director of Selective Service or the Direc tor of Selective Service deems it to be in the national interest, he may appeal to the President from any determination of a Board of Appeal. He may take such an appeal at any time." Of course the State Director or the National Director can make such an appeal only if in possession of the facts. It is the patriotic duty of the man and his sponsor t o put such facts effectively in the hands of the State Di rector with an urgent request that he either appeal the case himself to the Presi dent or request General Hershey to do so. In view* of General Lewis B. Hershey's Occupational Bulletin Xo. 10 of June 18, 1942, reprinted on page 837 of CHEMICAL AND
ENGINEERING N E W S
of
July
10,
1942, there can be no doubt that the induc tion of a competent chemist or chemical engineer into the armed forces is contrary to the national interest. Consequently, an appeal to the President not only is in order but is a matter of duty for all con cerned. 7. T h e matter of dependency is a dis tinct field and has no relation t o essential occupation. A man in III-A or III-B cannot be inducted without first being placed in I-A. At that point he has 10 days in which to appeal. See paragraphs 3 to 6 above.
Occupational Classification IΝ ALL· cases of reclassification, National Selective Service Headquarters has emphasized in amendments and a memo randum that consideration shall be given to deferment in Class II-A or Class II-B of the registrant who is not continued in Class III-A or Class I II-B but who may be a necessary man in a critical occupation essential to the war effort or war produc tion as defined b y Selective Service Regulations. The list of civilian activities necessary to war production and essential to the war effort, which may b e used to guide local boards in considering occupational classi fication of registrants, specifies that such activities must meet one or more of the following tests; (a) that the business is fulfilling a con tract of the Army, Navy, Maritime Com mission, or other governmental agencies engaged directly in war production: (b) that the business is performing a governmental service directly concerned with promoting or facilitating war produc tion : (c) that the business is performing a service, governmental or private, directly concerned with providing food, clothing, shelter, health, safety, or other requisites of the civilian daily life in support of the war effort; (d) that the business is supplying ma terial under subcontracts for contracts included in a, b, or c above; (e) that the business is producing raw materials, manufacturing materials, sup plies, or equipment, or performing services necessary for the fulfillment of contracts included in a, b, c, or d above. After it has been found that the business in which a registrant is engaged comes under some group in the attached list, the tests have been applied, and it has been determined that the business is an essen tial activity, consideration will be given t o the occupation of t h e registrant, within that activity. If h e is found t o be a necessary man as defined by Selective Service Regulations, occupational classifi cation may be made by the local board. The list of essential activities, compiled by the War Manpower Commission and distributed to agencies of the Selective Service System, follows. The list was prepared t o guide local boards when con sidering individual registrants for occu pational classification but in no way alters the statutory ban o n group deferments.
List of Essential Activities AUSTRALIA is reported to have in opera tion an explosives factory extending over several square miles of what was farm land. Although 1,000 buildings are in use, more are being put up. the plants using new processes, some discovered by Australian chemists to make propellents, high explosives, and incendiaries.
1100
Production of aircraft and parts. Pro duction, maintenance, and repair of air craft gliders, parachutes, dirigibles, bal loons, aircraft engines, parts, pontoons, propellers, and similar products. Production of ships, boats, and parts. Production, maintenance, and repair of ships, boats, parts, and equipment. Production of ordnance and accessories. Production, repair, and maintenance of firearms, guns, howitzers, mortars, gun
CHEMICAL
turrets, mounts, tanks, sighting and firecontrol equipment, torpedo tubes, and similar products. Production of ammunition. Bombs, mines, torpedoes, grenades, chemical-war fare projectiles, explosives, fuses, pyro technics as well as products such* as glycerol which g o into the manufacture of ammunition. Agriculture. Dairy, livestock, poultry, truck, sugar beet, sugar cane, hay, peanut, soybean, cotton, fruit and n u t , potato, dried pea and bean, crop specialty (e. g., flax, hemp), seed and general farms; agricultural and horticultural and animal husbandry services such as tree planting, cattle feed-lot operation, threshing, grist milling, grain cleaning, plowing, corn shell ing. Includes also such essential assembly and marketing services as milk and cream assembly stations and cooperative market ing associations. Food processing. Fishing, meat pack ing and slaughtering, production of butter, cheese, condensed and evaporated milk, canned and cured fish, canned and dried fruits and vegetables, canned soups, fruit and vegetable juices, flour and other grain mill products, prepared feeds for animals and fowls, starch, cereals, baking powder, rice, bread and other bakery prod ucts, sugar, leavening compounds, corn sirup, and edible fats and oils. Forestry, logging, and lumbering. Tim ber tracts, logging camps, sawmills, and veneer, lath, shingle, cooperage-stock, planing and plywood mills, raising of tungoil trees; fire prvention, pest control, forest nurseries and reforestation services; gathering of gums and barks for the manu facture of naval stores and medicinal purposes. Construction. Highway and street con struction, marine construction; and con struction of approved industrial plants, houses, hospitals, and military projects and repair of such facilities; a s well as all basically metallic materials, parts, equip ment; and services necessary t o complete such construction. Coal mining. Mining of anthracite, bi tuminous coal, semianthracite, lignite and peat, and the operation of breakers or preparation plants. Includes also remov ing overburden and other such activities preparatory to coal-mining operations. Metal mining. Mining of iron, copper, lead, zinc, aluminum, mercury, manga nese, chromium, molybdenum, tungsten, vanadium, and similar ores, and the dressing of such ores. Includes also re moving overburden, sinking shafts, and other such activities preparatory to metalmining operations. Nonmetallic mining and processing and quarrying. Mining and processing of rock salt, phosphate rock, sulfur, potash, a s bestos, graphite pyrites, graphite, borates and other salines, fluorspar, mica, talc, abrasive sands, and similar products. E x cludes all mined or quarried nonmetallic materials used exclusively in construction. Smelting, refining, and rolling of metals. Primary and secondary smelting and re fining, alloying, rolling, and drawing of iron, steel, copper, lead, zinc, magnesium, aluminum, brass, bronze, nickel, tin, cadmium, and any other metals used in the production of war materials. Production of metal shapes and forgings. The manufacture of castings, die castings, forgings, wire, nails, chains, anchors, axles, pipe, springs, screws, tubing, stamp ings, pressings, and structural shapes. Finishing of metal products. Enamel-
A N D ENGINEERING
NEWS
ing, japanning lacquering, painting, ami galvanizing essential metal products. Production of industrial and agricultural equipment. Power boilers; wiring dovices and supplies; agricultural imple ments; electric lamps; storage and primary batteries; pumps, compressors, and pumping equipment; recording, con trolling, and measuring instruments and meters; conveyors; industrial cars and trucks; blowers, exhaust and ventilating fans; mechanical power-transmission equipment such as clutches, drives, and shafts; mechanical stokers; tools, files, and saws; plumbers' supplies; professional and scientific instruments, photographic apparatus, and optical goods; and all equipment necessary to operate plants producing essential commodities. Production of machinery. Engines and turbines; machine tools, equipment, and accessories; electrical generating, dis tribution, and industrial apparatus for electric public utility, manufacturing, mining, transportation, and construction use, for incorporation in manufactured products, or for use in service industries; construction, mining, agricultural, oil fields, food products, smelting and re fining, as well as all machinery necessary to produce, equip, and maintain aircraft, ships, ordnance, and other military ma terial. Production of chemicals and allied prod ucts. Glycerol; turpentine, rosin, and other naval stores; wood tars, oils, acids, and alcohols; lubricating oils and greases; animal and vegetable oils; fertilizers; tanning materials; salt; synthetic rubber; primary coal-tar products; plastics; com pressed and liquefied gases; refined sulfur; sulfuric and other acids; caustic and other sodas; industrial alcohols; electrochemical and electrometallurgical products such as carbide, sodium and potassium metals, and high-percentage ferroalloys; drugs and medicines; insecticides and related chemi cal compounds; nylon and other synthetic textile fibers used in military equipment exclusively; grease and tallow; candles. (Explosives, flares, and other fireworks, generally classified as chemical products, are included with ammunition.) Production of rubber products. All rub ber products. Production of leather products. .Sole and belting leather; industrial belting for transmission of power; boots, shoes, and gloves for military and industrial use; saddlery, harness, and accessories. Production of textiles. Spinning and weaving of silk and nylon for parachutes and powder bags; of canvas for tents, sails, tarpaulins, and other related heavy canvas products; cotton, woolen, linen, and knit goods for military use. Production of apparel. Apparel for the armed forces and work clothing. Production of stone, clay, and glass products. Technical, scientific, and indus trial pressed and blown ware; sand-lime and fire-brick and other heat-resisting clay products; lime: abrasive wheels, stones, paper, cloth, and related products; asbestos products including steam and other pack ing, pipe and boiler covering; crucibles and retorts; porcelain electrical supplies; as well as parts of military apparatus. Production of petroleum, natural gas, and petroleum and coal products. Drill ing, rig building, and maintenance service operations, and petroleum refining. In cludes also production of tar and pitch, coal gas, coke. Production of finished lumber products. Cork products such as life preservers, storage battery boxes, and insulating ma terial; oars, matches, and wood preserva tion activities, as well as wooden parts of
VOLUME
aircraft, ships, and other military equip ment. Production of transporation equipment. Motor vehicles such as trucks, ambulances, fire engines, busses, and military motorized units; essential parts and accessories of such motor vehicles; motorcycles, bicvcles, and parts; locomotives and parts; railroad and street cars and equipment. Transportation services. Line-haul rail roads and railroad service; switching and terminal services; railway express service; local and street railways and bus lines; trucking: warehousing of perishable com modities, stock piles, and essential ma terials; pipe lines; air and water trans portation including shore services such as stevedoring. Includes also services allied to transportation such as freight forward ing and packing, operation of terminals, roads, and tunnels. Production of materials for packing and shipping products. Textile bags, vegetable and fruit baskets, cooperage, wooden boxes, excelsior, pulp and paper, paper bags, paperboard containers and boxes, glass and fiber containers, cordage and twine, metal barrels, kegs, drams, and cans. Production of communication equip ment. Including radios and radio equip ment, television, telephone, and telegraph equipment, and signaling apparatus. Communication services. Telephone, telegraph, newspaper, radio broadcasting, and television services, and t h e repair of facilities. Heating, power, and illuminating serv ices. Electric light and power and gas utilities; steam-heating companies. Repair and hand trade services. Blacksmithing; armature rewinding; electrical and bicycle repair; automobile repair and service; harness and leather repair; clock repair; tool repair and sharpening. Health and welfare services, facilities, and equipment. Water supply and sewer age systems: irrigation systems; dental and medical laboratories; hospitals; nursing services; fire and police protec tion; public health services; weather services; coast and geo detic services; engineering and other testing laboratories; offices of dentists, physicians, surgeons, osteopaths, chiropodists, and veterinarians; professional engineering services. Includes also the manufacture of x-rav and thera peutic apparatus, and of surgical, medical, and dental instruments, equipment, and supplies. Educational services. Public and pri vate vocational training; elementary, secondary, and preparatory schools; junior colleges, colleges, universities, and pro fessional schools; educational and scien tific research agencies. Governmental services. Including serv ices necessary for t h e maintenance of health, safety, and morale, and the prosecution of the war.
Help Wanted —instruments REQUESTS have been received by the Committee on the Location of N e w and Rare Instruments for these instru ments from research workers who urgently need them. If you have any available t o lend, lease, or sell please write the under signal. Instruments Sought M icroam meters and electrical meters generally Ultraviolet microscope Zeiss optimeter (for measuring tine wires to 0.00001 inch) Two-circle reflecting goniometer (Goldschmidt) Klectro encephalograph (3-channel) Warburg apparatus The following listed instruments are offered for use by others and inquiries for them arc invited: Instruments Offered Zeiss-Pulfrich refractometer Hunter reflectometer (infrared reflectance) Coleman spectrophotometer (complete) Capacigraph [J. Lab. Clin. Med. 22, 1279 (1937); 25, 175 (1939)] Mechanical ink writing recorder [Am. J. Obstet. Gynecol., 40, 330 (1940)]. Grating spectrograph Focal length 2 meters Dispersion 8 A . / m m . first order Grating spectrograph Focal length 8 meters Dispersion 1/4 A./mm. fourth order The Committee on Location of New and Rare Instruments of the Division of Chemistry and Chemical Technology, National Research Council, will be glad to put inquirers in appropriate contact with those who can supply their needs. In so doing the committee assumes n o responsibility, and owners of instruments must make their own arrangements with prospective users. Correspondence should be addressed to D . H. KILLEFFER,
Chairman
60 East 42nd St. New York, Ν. Υ.
Borden Award Continued
American Documentation Institute's Wartime Activities
T H E five Borden awards, each consisting of a gold medal and $1,000, to foster research in milk and related fields will be made in 1943, the company has a n nounced. Begun in 1936, the awards are administered b y scientific organizations. The Borden Co. takes n o part in deter mining the winning scientists. One award will b e given through the
T H E American Documentation Institute, 1719 Ν St., N . W., Washington, D. C , is devoting its major energy t o auxiliary publication, particularly a s a p plied to the interchange of scientific and scholarly information under war condi tions, to providing sets of scientific jour nals through microfilm, and t o facilitating receipt of current scientific and scholarly journals.
standing research in milk chemistry, another by the American Home Economics Association with problems of human nu trition as the basis, and a third b y the American Poultry Science Association for distinctive contribution to poultry science a d v a n c e m e n t . T h e American Dairy Science Association will administer t w o awards, one in the field of production and the other in manufacturing.
2 0, N O . 1 7 - S E P T E M B E R
10,1 9 4 2
AMERICAN
CHEMICAL SOCIETY
for
out
1101
