June, 1918
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 I N E E R I N G CHEMISTRY
possible of attainment. It is generally conceded t h a t the maximum efficiency can be secured only b y t h e entire regrouping of many industrial sections, as a number of t h e chemical plants are illogically located. T h e majority of the more active chemical manufacturers fully appreciate the importance of increasing efficiency, b u t hesitate in branching out on new methods of manufacture on account of t h e enormous expenditures such a change involves. I t is believed t h a t t h e necessary encouragement from this side would enable them in future t o compete with the efficiency of the German chemical manufacturers. It would, no doubt, be of interest t o give a few specific statements which may indicate t h e view-point taken by some members of the affiliated chemical industries of France. PERFUMES-The French manufacturers were warned by some of their own trade specialists of t h e inroads t h a t might be made by the synthetic perfume manufacturers of Germany. They did not take heed, however, maintaining t h a t these artificial compounds could not approach the t r u e perfumes of France. They have, however, recently decided t o embark on the artificial perfume industry and t o develop this trade in a logical way. PETRoLEUhi-It was also acknowledged b y a number of manufacturers t h a t many changes will be needed in t h e factories now refining crude petroleums. They acknowledge t h a t this industry before t h e war was conducted on altogether too small a scale t o be profitable. C E L L u L O I ~ T h i sold established industry of France was inactive during our visit,owing t o t h e fact t h a t most of these factories have been commandeered by the War Department for t h e manufacture of nitrocellulose. The love of the French for the artistic is well illustrated in this case. The French manufacturers in recent years have purchased large quantities of sheet celluloid from Germany and have manufactured this stock material into miscellaneous artistic articles. E L E C T R O C H E M I C A L INDUSTRY-This industry appears t o receive very active study by both chemists and engineers. Extensive programs have been outlined a n d are now in process of development which will undoubtedly bring about many economies which were n o t formerly enjoyed by the French manufacturers. We heard of a number of cases where the Field Commanders were requested t o release men from the front who were specialists along this line. These men were assigned t o three t o four months’ study of this special problem. R E C O V E R Y O F SULFURIC ACID-we had t h e pleasure of meeting Mr. Kessler of t h e company by this name. He informed us t h a t since t h e war began they had sold, u p t o November 1916, some 300 Kessler apparatus of varying sizes, a n d t h a t their apparatus alone installed in France was equivalent t o a daily capacity of 4,000 metric tons of sulfuric acid, 6 6 O B6. DYES-The manufacture of dyes was receiving in
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1916 t h e same attention in France as elsewhere, I t is unfortunate t h a t many are rushing into this industry wholly ignorant of the difficulties of this line of manufacture. It seemed t o the Commission t h a t t h e tendency in France was towards Government supervision and ownership of the dye industry. P H A R M A C E U T I C A L CHEMICALS-Few pharmaceuticals were manufactured in France prior t o t h e war. Plans are now on foot t o return t o this manufacture, which, due t o the special trade agreements with Germany, had entirely passed into their hands. D E N A T U R E D ALCOHOL-The laws regarding denatured alcohol and its uses are being gradually revised. The same problem exists in France as we find in this country. On several occasions the writer had a n opportunity t o recommend a liberal extension of privileges for the use of this valuable solvent. As in many other cases, t h e Germans have been t h e leaders in this direction. There is no real reason why much of the Government red tape now required should not be eliminated. It is of interest t o note t h a t , in 1913, 7 0 per cent of the denatured alcohol sold in France was used for heating and lighting, the balance representing t h a t consumed in the manufacture of ether and explosives. I t is also of commercial interest t o note t h a t some of the leading French economists have recommended t o the Government fixing t h e price of denatured alcohol for a period of five years. I cannot close my remarks this evening in a more fitting way t h a n t o voice the impression of all t h e Commissioners t h a t the present industrial effort of France commanded our fullest admiration a n d t o quote the following from our official report: There is a striking resemblance between many of the social, industrial and commercial problems of the two sister republics, and there is evident a tendency to solve them on similar lines. Nothing could be more profitable than a joint comparative study of them.
THE GREAT EFFORT OF THE FRENCH INDUSTRIES By MARCEL KNECHT
Member of the French High Commission to this Country
France has been invaded; France has suffered terribly. But France is in n o way bled t o death as the propaganda of t h e German emperor has tried t o make you believe. The French army-and I give you these, not my figures, but t h e official figures given recently t o your War Secretary, Mr. Baker, by the French Commissioner, Mr. Andre Tardieu-the French army a t the begining of the war sent 1,500,ooo fighters, a n d you know with what heroism those soldiers have been fighting, and you know how many of those have been wounded a n d disabled. Yet, still, through t h e energy of our soldiers, through t h e energy especially and t h e great spirit and sacrifice of the mothers of France who have sent all their sons t o t h e front, we now have a fighting force of 2,600,000 men ready t o keep up t h e conflict.
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TrHE J O U R N A L O F I N D U S T R I A L A N D E N G I N E E R I h T G C H E M I S T R Y
Do you know the loans which the French people have'given t o their government? Do you know this little1 nation of 30,000,000 people a t t h e beginning of' t h e war, which has been so terribly reduced since the north and east parts of France were invaded, do you know the amount of money loaned by the people of France, b y the peasants and by the workmen of France-for we have 20,000,000peasants in Francewe have loaned to our Government since the beginning of the war $18,000,000,000. Do you know-and it is always M . Tardieu who ' speaks-do you know how many shells for guns of 75 millimeters we could shoot every day in August of rg14? The French light artillery, the field artilleryfor we hardly had any big artillery, t h e French light qrtillery could shoot I 5,000 shells every d a y ; and now, with the wonderful effort of our business men of the Chambers and Associations of Commerce-and I insist o n t h a t fact t o prove t o you t h a t you have in France brothers in business who are quite worthy of your admiration and sympathy-for the men of industry in France before the war were considered too oldfashioned, were considered small business men in a country where we had lost 60 per cent of our iron ore, and 60 per cent of our coal mines, and 5 0 per cent of all t h e best mechanics of France who were taken prisoners from t h e invaded districts-now, we can give t o t h e French army 250,ooo shells of 75 millimeters every day. And a t the beginning of t h e war we had only 300 big guns against those huge guns of Germany which had been destroying so many cities in Belgium and in France-we had only 300 guns and a very small quantity of shells, and now we have 6,000 huge guns from t h e best factories of France, and we also have I O O , O O O big shells every day t o shoot in those big guns. France lost the best of her industries, of her mines, of her heart in the beginning of t h e war. You know, perhaps, t h a t in t h e east of France, in my district, there were enormous mineral resources, but some years before the war those resources were very little known, even in France; for France was too much interested in literature and in her theatres; and though we had fine people, though we had people who were working hard, we did not interest ourselves enough in industry and in business. You did not know it at all. And there is only one nation who knew better t h a n we knew, and knew exactly what was in France, in t h e east of France, what was going on in France, and t h a t was Germany. I t is in Lorraine t h a t your boys will show t h a t they are brave soldiers of America. If Germany had not taken, in 1871, and, also recently in 1914,t h e two parts of Lorraine, Germany could never have declared war on France or any other nation in Europe. And I will prove t o you why. I n 1913 t h e annexed part of Lorraine, which was under German domination, produced 2 1 ,ooo,ooo tons of the best iron ore ever known. And t h e French part, which had not been taken by Germany in 1871, the part which has been occupied, nearly all of it, I
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since 1914-produced in 1914, 19,000,000 tons of iron ore. Then you can understand how, in 1871, Germany was able, with those 21,000,000 tons of Lorraine iron ore t o make her big guns and shells, and prepare for this war. I n the same year, 1913,t h e whole German territory, excepting the annexed Lorraine part, produced only 6,000,000 tons of iron ore. If Germany had not taken in 1871 those 20,000,000tons she had in 1 9 1 3 , and if she had not occupied in 1914 this wonderful district t o t h e north of Xancy, where we produced 19,000,000 tons, Germany could not have declared war on t h e world because she would have had only 6,000,000 tons of iron ore, and with this it is impossible t o go into a war where steel is the one great strength. Then, if you know of the wonderful richness of the Lorraine district which was French before 1871, t h e annexed part and the French part, you know t h a t we produced in 1914,48,000,000tons of iron ore, and in your Lake Superior district in the same year there was a production of 52,000,000 tons. T h a t is a very slight difference, and you can understand how this district of Lorraine, by the blood of your sons and b y the richness of its soil, compares t o the Lake Superior district, is extremely important for you Americans, because it means many things for the future. Another figure which is also instructive is the figure t h a t in Lorraine, in the annexed part, in t h e French part, and in t h e Luxemburg part, there are resources of iron ore which will exist when there will be no more iron ore left in the Lake Superior district. We have resources amounting t o 5,000,000,000 tons of iron ore in those two little spots on t h e map of Europe. And another great factor is this, t h a t if we leave in the hands of German militarism, German autocracy, not only annexed Lorraine-if we leave in t h e hands of German militarism those 19,000,000 tons of iron ore, and t h e 2,000,000,000tons in reserve which there are in t h e district of French Lorraine, invaded only since 1914,the business men of Germany can see t h a t they not only want t o keep annexed Lorraine, but they want t o occupy the districts which they took in 1914. If we leave 19,000,000 and 21,000,000 tons of iron ore, and this 6 , 0 0 0 , 0 0 0 tons, and all their resources t o German autocracy and militarism, even if peace comes, we will see, in the next ten years, in t h e next fifteen years, a new, big war; because when a nation with a militaristic spirit and an autocratic spirit has in her possession t h e best of t h e iron ore of Europe, equal t o your iron ore in America, then she must make war again.
......,..... At t h e conclusion of t h e speaking, moving pictures, loaned by the Ministry of War of France, were exhibited, showing: I-A great munitions works. 2-A war port. 3-The armies of t h e Marne, Verdun, and the Somme.
