September,;l930
INDUSTRIAL ,4ND ENGINEERING CHEMISTRY
likewise to realize their limited value unless this is done. R. A. Millikan once said that all research to be justified must ultimately be useful. The first step in the utility of research is the ready accessibility of the data which it establishes.
Dye Importation H E complete and informative statistics prepared month by month by the Bureau of Foreign and Domestic Commerce and the li. S. Tariff Commission show a diminution in the importation of dyestuffs for the first seven months of 1930. The figures for 1929 were 3,768,718 pounds with an invoiced value of $3,051,872, as compared with 2,346,788 pounds with an invoiced value of $1,970,928 for the corresponding seven months of 1930. The figures further show that Germany sent us 60.28 per cent of these imports in July, 1929, and only 47.93 per cent in 1930, Switzerland 37.34 per cent, England 1.21, and other countries 1.17, as compared with 46.72, 5.13, and 0.22, respectively, for July, 1930. While we must expect some decrease in imports in times of slow business, it would not be surprising if the percentage of imports from Germany should decline steadily. The reason for this is not hard to discover. It is as much because of the increasing number of dyestuffs manufactured here by German-owned plants, as the growing strength of American-owned industry. One needs but to consult the lists of chemical patents issued in the United States Patent Office to see what a large proportion of patents is now issued to foreign inventors, as a result of their continued activity in research. Another source of information is the list of new types of domestically produced dyes by foreignowned or controlled domestic works. For example, the General Aniline Works in the calendar year 1929 produced 124 new types of dyestuff and followed this with 24 additional new colors in the first six months of 1930. It is evident, therefore, that we must not be guided solely by‘import figures in striving toward the ideal long since set. LL7e must go as far as sound economics dictate in making America self-sufficient in synthetic organic chemicals and in providing as nearly as possible 100 per cent of domestic requirements in this difficult field of chemical technology.
Our Elders XOUGH has been said and written on the general subject E of old age and in debating the query “When is a man worn out?” that we have no intention of repeating any of the arguments. However, we have been impressed by the great difficulty with which the older men find new positions when, for one reason or another, and generally through no fault of their own, they find relocation necessary. We believe it was Mr. Ford who said a short time ago that, if we were to remove from industry all men fifty years or more of age, there would be left insufficient seasoned leadership and men of tried judgment to carry on successfully. We feel that in chemistry objection is raised not so much to the fact that a man has reached two score and ten as to the belief that, without a very recent Ph.D., a man cannot have had the training in the most approved and modern manner which will make him really useful to industry, or for that matter to research. We make no claims to expert knowledge in the matter of education, but we surmise that the test is whether a man has kept up with his science rather than when and by whom he was trained. Are the older men of no help in the strategic attack on difficult situations? We believe they can be of the greatest
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value. If we were directing a large research unit, there are several men who are not only two score and ten but three score and ten whom we should be glad to have about for the benefit of their experience, seasoned judgment, knowledge of the literature and patents, and because of their wide acquaintanceship. Some of these older men have remarkable memories of the things they have read, of the men with whom they have discussed their chemistry, and of events the details of which repeated without loss of time would serve to save errors in experimental methods, preliminary literature searching in some fields, and the mistake of approaching the wrong individual for expert assistance. This is no reflection on the younger generation, particularly those well-trained men and women who have enjoyed facilities beyond the dreams of their elders and who come to their problems equipped as no previous generation of equal native ability has been. They must carry the burden of the day, but it will be lighter, steps saved, and less midnight oil burned, if we avail ourselves of the wisdom afforded by our elders.
Central Station Smoke HE Aerologist for July prints an account of litigation in England where a farmer appeared as the plaintiff against a central power station, claiming damage because of the sulfur-laden fumes emitted. It was shown that nearly 11 tons of sulfur were discharged in some form from the less than 600 tons of coal consumed daily. These fumes, as has been shown in other cases, when blown along the ground ruined the vegetation and crops in the neighborhood. I n defense, the corporation pled that the power station in question was of the kind authorized by Parliament for such a place and as the nuisance could not be avoided there could be no liability. The justice in the first court sustained the corporation, but the court of appeal, by a majority decision, awarded damages to the plaintiff, with costs in both courts, and the central station was instructed to adopt such measures as are prescribed to stop or mitigate the nuisance, with liberty to a p peal after a year for suspension or variation of the injunction. This case and its decisions may be far-reaching in importance. The power station of this defendant is said to be one of the most efficient, and large sums had been spent to avoid just such a contingency. According to this precedent a steam plant anywhere might be held liable for nuisance or damage caused from both visible and invisible smoke. Unquestionably here lies a difficult task for the chemist and engineer. Communities are certain to insist on the power plants of industries emitting only the cleanest gases from their stacks, even though individual householders in the aggregate contribute more to air pollution than all industry combined. Fly ash, sulfur compounds, fumes, and dust-all must ultimately be eliminated. Shall we find economic ways of doing this for each power plant, or shall we gasify our coal or otherwise produce power in great central units where efficient measures can be applied more easily? Closely related is the present case of damage from smelter fumes charged against the great plant a t Trail, B. C. The question of extensive damage to forasts is involved for the first time. The situation is further complicated by the international boundary, since the laws of the State of Washington forbid land ownership by aliens. This introduces an additional complication, preventing the practice of buying extensive areas to avoid damage suits. Chemists are among the scientists who are working on this case, the settlement of which is sure to have an important bearing in all cases involving international nuisance and alleged damage.
