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THE JOURNAL OF INDUSTRIAL A-VD ENGINEERING CHEMISTRY
Vol. 13, No. 10
Story of the Week
introduced Francis P. Garvan, president of the Chemical Foundation, whose stirring address is given in full below: GENERALMEETING About one thousand members and guests had gathered Chemistry and t h e State in the spacious gymnasium of Columbia University for the By Francis P. Garvan first session of the sixty-second meeting of the AMERICAN “Nothing can be more certain than that the character and CHEMICAL SOCIETY, Wednesday morning, September 7, when Dr. John E. Teeple, chairman of the New York Section, rapidity of our national development in all matters which rebegan his address of welcome. The British and Canadian late to industry, agriculture, public health and the preservavisitors arrived during the course of the meeting. Before tion of the physical framework of our civilization will be dependent the end of the week the total registration had reached 1557. upon the quantity and quality of sound research which is carried on. The truth of this assertion becomes even more apparent Dr. Teeple’s address follows, in part:
when one recognizes the fact that every modern nation stands in relation of industrial and commercial competition with other nations and in the measure in which this is true, to fall behind the others in scientific development is to precipitate a trend Twice each year, it is the great pleasure of some one of the of events which spells national depression and disaster. In sixty sections of the AMGRTCAN CHEMICAL SOCIETY to welcome as other words, the price of its guests the members of the other fifty-nine sections assembled a sound, comprehensive in general meeting. This year it is my pleasant duty, on behalf national life is, in these of the New York Section, to extend you this welcome, to offer times, widespread and inyou the keys of the city in so far as the keys may be in our telligent scientific repossession or as they may be required in such an open town search.” These are the as New York. words of Prof. Angell, the Our British friends sometimes accuse us of an undue use of new president of the new superlatives. A t the risk of meriting this accusation let me say Y a 1 e University. B u t that this will probably be the largest gathering of chemists that President Angell stopped has ever attended any meeting of our SOCIETY,which SOCIETY halfway. is the largest chemical organization in the world. Yet size alone Pasteur t h o u g h t it is unimportant, excepting as an index of the interest in and the through when he said: character of the work, and we hope that this meeting will be “In our century science is remembered not for its size but for the quality of the papers the soul of the prosperity read, the discussions, and for the inspiration received when such of nations and the living a body of specially selected men gather to discuss their one source of all progress. problem from many points of view. Undoubtedly. the tiring This one problem that chemists have in common is the trans- daily discussions of poliformation of matter, the making over of the resources of the tics seem to be our guide C o u r t e s y P i r i e MacDonald earth into forms of matter suitable for the w e or the development -empty appearancesFRANCIS P.GARVAN oE man. Our brothers in science and its application, the physi- what really leads us forcists and the engineers, can do wonderful things in the erection ward are a few scientific discoveries and their application.” of buildings, bridges, railroads, telegraphs, and means of locoBut sound and comprehensive scientific research and a practical motion and communication, but their hands fall absolutely to development of the application of the results and discoveries their sides unless the chemists can furnish them the materials of such research is impossible in any country, without an apof construction necessary, the iron, steels of many kinds, the preciative understanding of the truth of these two quotations by alloys, and the other metals of various kinds. No one of these the peoples of that country, reflected in their educational system, materials exists in nature in a form suitable for their use. In their business development, their governmental guidance and. every case we must take something that nature furnishes and if necessary, control and supervision. transform it by chemical processes into something else which is These two quotations express, in my opinion, the truest suitable for construction material. appreciation of the cause of the war and point out to us its The world is only to-day awakening to the importance of the chief lesson. But more than that, they throw upon your shoulchemist and his work, and we are proud, very proud, to have a ders as chemists the great responsibility of seeing to it that that part in the science and the practice of chemistry. lesson is learned and applied by your respective states. For untold generations man lived on earth with no knowledge PUBLIC TRUSTS THE CHEMISTS of chemical changes. He could form matter and shape it and The reputation for honesty and disinterested truthfulness adapt it, but he could not change it, He could polish a flint or carve a bone, but it was still only a flint or a bone. Great land- of the chemists of the three nations joined here to-day is so marks of his progress in civilization stand out as the points where well established and recognized that only from your lips will he discovered that he could control chemical changes. When the peoples of our different countries accept the truth of these he first reduced iron oxide to iron he added an entirely new and propositions. Economists like Hauser, Lord Moulton or Angell may thunder valuable raw material to the world that had never existed before. When he converted vegetable fiber into paper, or sand and soda these truths. Historians, cold or imaginative, like Balfour, and lime into glass, he was increasing enormously his possi- Wells, Irwin or Simonds, may present in startling form their conclusions or prophecies, but a war-weary world hesitates to bilities of development. We are gradually mastering nature. New products are now adopt their conclusions. You and you only do they trust, and progress and safety coming so fast we can scarcely keep abreast even of the records of their discoveries. It is a very great privilege to have a part place the heavy responsibility upon you of making chemistry, its aims and possibilities, understood by public schools, high in this work of mastery. schools, universities and post-graduate schools, by industry After responding to this hearty welcome, Dr. Edgar F. and agriculture, and by the representatives of the people in Smith, president of the AMERICANCHEnfIcAl. SOCIETY, municipality, state and nation.
Address of Welcome By John E. Teeple
