Aug., 1917
T H E JOCR,VdL OF I,VDCSTRIAL A N D ENGINEERING C H E M I S T R Y
e v e r , of t h e carefully guarded n a t u r e of t h e s t a t e m e n t of t h e Secretary of W a r , we shall withhold our comments until such t i m e as t h e details of t h e report of t h e “ C o m m i t t e e o n N i t r a t e Supply” a r e made public. T h e n we shall feel a t liberty t o express freely t h e t h o u g h t s suggested b y t h a t speech.
BRITISH CONTROL OF PLATINUM T h e following l e t t e r from Mr. G. Shaw S c o t t , secret a r y a n d editor for t h e British I n s t i t u t e of Metals, h a s been received b y Secretary Parsons in reply t o a letter inviting cooperation with t h e American Chemical Society t o w a r d s conservation of platinum. MR. CHARLESL. PARSONS, Secretary American Chemical Society: I had the pleasure of presenting to my Council a t their Meeting on June zoth, your letter and enclosures of -4pril loth, relative to the use of Platinum in Jewelry. The Council were in entire harmony with all you say, but it would now appear that any action on the part of this Institute, on lines such as appear to have been taken in your country, would now seem to be unnecessary, seeing that the British Ministry of Munitions of War has taken over the entire control of all the Platinum in this country. This means that in future the Ministry will be the sole purveyor of Platinurn, and, naturally, none of it will go to the jewelers, the whole of the valuable metal being utilized for national purposes. No doubt your Government will take similar steps, if it has not already done so, for, obviously, Platinum plays such a vital part in the war that it is nothing short of a crime to allow its use for purposes of personal adornment. (Signed) G. SHAWSCOTT, Secretary and Editor
STATUS OF CHEMISTS IN HOSPITAL UNITS A correspondent, under d a t e of July 1 7 , 1917, writes us in p a r t as follows: “I was in the position last June of some uncertainty as to a choice of work for the following year. I had just been granted the degree of Ph.D. in chemistry from one of our leading universities, and, although several months past the registration age, was desirous of serving in a capacity most useful to my country. This left me undecided as to a choice of positions open to me. A t this time the chief of a large hospital unit then in course of organization for service in France, called up the head of our chemical department, requesting a chemist for the unit, specifying a Ph.D. man capable of tackling any original problem that might arise a t the base. The faculty selected me to see the physician in charge. In short, I was asked if I was a Ph.D., whether I had done any original research, and whether I would accompany the unit as chemist-one of the enlisted men. My question as to a commission was met with the reply that only physicians and dentists were given commissions, but the possibility was mentioned that I might be offered a civilian appointment at fifty dollars a month. “I refused, although I wanted very much to go. I had minored in bacteriology and had six years experience in health department laboratory work, and felt able to do good work with the unit. My refusal was for two reasons. The money borrowed for my education had to be repaid as soon as possible and that was impossible on a small salary with unknown expenses. Also, I felt that expecting to get a university-trained chemist and in return offering enlistment with orderlies, cooks and barbers was insulting to the dignity of the profession, when men no more highly trained-physicians and dentists-were
7 31
granted a higher rank. I have written thus at length, partly on the urging of chemist friends. I am now adjunct professor of chemistry a t the University of -. “Although disappointed a t the lack of recognition accorded chemists by the army officials, I am writing you not in a spirit of complaint, but that you may have the facts of such a case, in the event that it should become advisable later for chemists to seek recognition. “Another very similar case has just come to my attention , where a unit is now being organized.” here a t T h e situation here revealed is amazing. We incline t o t h e belief t h a t this does n o t represent t h e deliberately formulated policy of t h e W a r D e p a r t ment, b u t t h a t in t h e rush of unusual organization t h e m a t t e r h a s simply been overlooked. If, however, these surmises are incorrect, t h e n we respectfully urge a n early review of t h e subject b y t h e officials in charge.
NEGLECTED RESOURCES T w o articles b y Dr. S t r o u d J o r d a n in t h i s issue, t h e one o n Sorghum S y r u p , t h e other o n American Storax, present questions of economic i m p o r t whose consideration we would like t o urge particularly upon t h e chemists of t h e southern s t a t e s . Much work was done nearly t h i r t y years ago by t h e U. S. D e p a r t m e n t of Agriculture t o develop t h e sorghum i n d u s t r y as a source of sugar. T h e work was n o t successful because of difficulty of crystallizat i o n d u e t o presence of invert sugar, s t a r c h , dextrin a n d gums. This very difficulty, however, is changed t o a n a d v a n t a g e if t h e product be considered f r o m t h e s t a n d p o i n t of invert sugar syrups, such as a r e used i n t h e manufacture of tobacco, i n baking a n d i n confectionery, for in these lines a non-crystallizing s y r u p is needed. Moreover, as a “softener” t h i s sorghum s y r u p will t a k e u p a b o u t 14 per cent of water, practically t h e same as glycerine. T o - d a y t h e price of glycerine is very high because of munitions d e m a n d s ; so, t o o , we are paying high prices for sugar, a n d hIr. Hoover is calling upon us t o conserve in every way possible t h e sugar supply. For t h e continually increasing quantities of invert sugar syrups demanded b y industries, raw or granulated sugar h a s been artificially inverted, although in sorghum s y r u p we have a n a t u r a l product ready-to-hand, which, if made in abundance a n d properly marketed, would find a normal use in t h e industries mentioned a n d would t h u s conserve a n equivalent q u a n t i t y of cane sugar. There are other features in such a development which bear strongly o n t h e all-important food question a t t h e present time. T h e fodder of t h e cane h a s value as a food for cattle, while t h e a b u n d a n t seed constitute a n i m p o r t a n t factor i n t h e raising of pork. T h e fact t h a t this crop can be planted in much thicker s t a n d s t h a n corn adds all t h e more t o its value. Acre for acre it is estimated “ t h a t cane is worth approximately twice as much as corn.” If we are not interested in hog raising there is t h e further possibility of utilizing t h e seed as raw material for alcohol manufact u r e , again conserving t h e food supply of t h e corn belt.
