INDUSTRIAL AND ENGINEERING CHEMISTRY PUBLISHED
BY
THE
AMERICAN
CHEMICAL
SOCIETY
0
HARRISON
E.
HOWE,
EDITOR
EDITORIALS M e n a n d Materiel I
v
*
WE HAVE
often spoken of conservation through chemistry. Now it is conservation of the chemists and chemical engineers. Even this is not a wholly new subject, but conditions dictate reiteration. C. A. Dykstra, director of selective service, in an appeal to state directors, has emphasized the extreme care that must be exercised in the selection of men for military training so that production of defense industries will not be hampered. Both men and materiel are required. Indeed, the ratio of the World War of 8’7 workers for every 13 men in the armed forces may be greatly increased. This is a new kind of war, where the armed forces may be secondary even to the devices with which they fight. Our thesis consequently becomes simplified. If this is a war where materiel is certainly equal, if not a little bit more important than vast man power in the field, then obviously to produce materiel in the quantities needed requires not only billions of man-hours, but men of the highest skill and the finest training. We have long since passed the stage in American industry where it is necessary to demonstrate how essential are the chemists and chemical engineers to efficient production, even though there may still be a lamentably large number of individual plants that have not yet fully recognized this. It naturally follows that our chemists and chemical engineers, those who educate, and those who train them, must be concerned-that is, in the true sense of the term-with their most efficient use. The facts follow logically that such use is not in military service but in general a continuation of their activity in their professional capacities. It takes from four to seven years to educate those who follow our profession and probably a t least another four years to train the educated man. They are consequently among the most di6cult to replace, and to put them in military service, where their precious talents will not be utilized, is to waste an important resource in national defense. Notwithstanding the continual efforts of the Selective Service System, many still fail to grasp the fact that men for the land and naval forces of the United States “must be procured in a manner which will disturb to the minimum the industries, occupations, and employments necessary to the continuance of the national
health, safety, and interest”. The officials recognize that, quoting from Section 35213, “a serious interruption or delay in such activity [essential to the national health, safety, and interest] is likely to impede the defense program”. It seems clear, therefore, that the chemist and chemical engineer in industry should stay there, and that point is not argued by anyone connected with what might be termed a defense industry. But it holds equally well for such trained men now in industries of other categories. This is for the simple reason that the longer such a trained man works at his specialty, the more proficient and valuable he becomes a t the time when, if need be, he is transferred to a defense industry in the complete sense of the word. Any interruption in such a program decreases his proficiency. The trained professional man who is important in industry, notwithstanding his personal preferences, can serve his country to better advantage in such activities than by becoming a member of the military establishment. Our ranks have suffered some losses owing to misguided patriotism and because of the failure of the employer to realize that he must act with the employee in requesting deferment within five days after the chemist or chemical engineer has returned his questionnaire to the local board. There should be no difEdence about laying the case with full details before the state representative of the Selective Service System where necessary. So far as the college man is concerned, General Hershey helped to clarify that problem before the recent conference of the National Committee on Education and Defense. The educational institution, in common with the manufacturing plant and other sections of our population, must contribute men to the selective service, but here, too, the relationship to defense must be considered. Deferments after July 1 will be based primarily upon occupational reasons, upon dependency, or upon physical disability. Quoting General Hershey, “Certainly every effort should be made to bring to the local board full information concerning abilities of the registrant and the necessities for individuals of his character in the maintenance of the national health, safety, and interest.” This applies as well to the professorial staff, to whom we look for a continual flow of well-educated men to serve in our profession. The relationship of all this to the present troubled times and the still more difficult ones ahead seems clear. 283
284
INDUSTRIAL AND ENGINEERING CHEMISTRY
Employers, professors, trained chemists and chemical engineers, and students recognize their duty to national defense, but there is some confusion as to what constitutes national defense. The proper use of man power of all grades is one of the first essentials. For men of our profession to direct their efforts toward the provision of necessary materiel is the most patriotic service. It is the defense of the country that becomes sacred, not merely some formal way in which the resources are being organized.
A Problem in Chlorine NFORMAL estimates indicate that ere long there Inotwithstanding may be a scarcity of chlorine in the United States, the large production capacity. Concurrently there exists the difficulty of disposing of byproduct hydrochloric acid which increases in amount almost directly in proportion to the extent to which the process of chlorination grows in importance. Roughly speaking, there is a molecule of hydrochloric acid for each atom of chlorine that is consumed in the chlorination process. The disposal of the acid presents a serious problem and in one area a manufacturer is said to be even paying the transportation on his by-product acid as one way of getting rid of it. Evidently what is wanted is a truly economic method for making chlorine from by-product hydrochloric acid rather than building new plants to meet the abnormal demand for chlorine which may appear on the horizon. The latter procedure might easily leave excess production capacity to plague the industry after the emergency is over. A successful process for the utilization of the by-product hydrochloric acid would be an everpresent help in times of peace as well as in times of emergency. Much work has been done, some patents exist, but the problem has not been completely solved. New processes in prospect may change the whole story.
Plastics t o t h e Fore H E plastics industry is truly of American origin, T beginning with the invention of celluloid, tinuing with the introduction of Bakelite, and coming con-
to the present when year by year new members are added to the plastic and synthetic resin industry. The uses and applications of plastics have spread naturally to other lands where for some purposes they have found more extensive employment than at home. Blessed as we are with a wider variety of natural resources than most nations, it has not been our custom to go quite so deeply into interchange of raw materials for a particular purpose as necessity has required elsewhere. It has become very interesting to note the recent turn toward the use of plastics to release aluminum and magnesium in particular and possibly zinc and other metals for defense purposes. Somehow we had never
Vol. 33, No. 3
thought that this practice might become desirable in the United States where we have so long selected whatever structural material might suit the purpose 01 strike our fancy, but it affords a striking example of how world changes can affect us. At any rate we are well prepared for such a turn in events. Not only has American research added a large number of special individuals to the plastics and resin families, but our craftsmen have demonstrated commendable ingenuity in devising ways for manipulating them and machines with which to mold, extrude, stamp, and otherwise produce the exact intricate forms that may be required. Already plastics have displaced metals in a number of important instances and, if defenserequires more, industry may be relied upon to go along whole-heartedly and evolve plastics with new properties. That is likely to happen whether or not there is real necessity.
Over Forty N THESE days of the young man, we were much
I
interested to learn of the president of one important company who conceived the idea of hiring an experienced man more than 65 years old to work with those younger. It was not a case of lack of confidence in youth, but instead the feeling that a more seasoned worker, conservative and therefore likely to put some brake on undue enthusiasm, would be of value. Unquestionably some men much over 40 have a definite place in industry, as well as in academic halls, depending on their abilities. Although he may know of efforts that have failed, he must not always voice the opinion “it cannot be done”, but rather recount pitfalls and experience of the past in order to avoid previous errors. There is often something almost intuitive which enables the seasoned man to make adjustments in a process, to foresee impending dificulties, and even to avoid dangers that would not occur to the younger and less experienced researcher or operator. There is no denying that in nearly every field of activity youth can point to its accomplishments, inventiveness, and capacity for work. But this also applies to older men. Someone has noted that: Benjamin Franklin was 81 when he helped draft the Constitution. Tennyson wrote “Crossing the Bar” when he was 83 years old. Goethe finished the second part of Faust when he was 82. Michelangelo painted “The Last Judgment” at the age of 66 and he was working on St. Peter’s in Rome when he died a t the age of 89. Titian painted his “Battle of Lepanto” when he was 98 years old. Verdi was 85 when he produced his most enduring- masterpieces. Immanuel Kant wrote his finest work at 73 including his “Metaphysics of Ethics”. Henry Ford was 40 when he manufactured the first Ford car.
Impetuous, energetic youth is often well trained and teams up to make an unbeatable combination with conservative experienced age. We need both.
