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T H E J O LRAYA L OF I N D U S T R I A L , 4 h D ESGISEERI:\‘G
and principal speaker ; addresses were also delivered by various American chemists, in which ti welcome was bestowed upon the guests, and by English, French, German and Italian chemists, who referred appreciatively to the United States and Americans. Mayor Gaynor, referred to by the toastmaster, President Nichols, as “the man who has the hardest job in all the world,” regretted that he could not do justice to all the languages represented, hence his address was delivered in English. His remarks were partly on the public press, in the course of which he said that the newspapers had, during the Congressional week, given more space to stories of crime than to the proceedings of the world’s great chemists. He also referred to socialism and requested the foreign representatives in his audience t o take some of his statements on this subject over the seas with them for reflection. Dr. John Huston Finley, President of the College of the City of Kew York, delivered a n address on behalf of Governor Dix, of New York, in which he spoke in chemical metaphors. Dr. Finley’s remarks were very entertaining and amused the audience immensely. An unusual innovation for such a n occasion was a speech by a lady. Mrs. L. H. Baekeland, Chairman of the Women’s Committee of the Congress. spoke in a delightfully entertaining manner and was warmly applauded. The list of speakers included: W. P. Wilkinson, representing Australia ; Dr. Rudolph Wegscheider of Austria; B. Setlik of Bohemia; Paul Hagamans, Consul General of Belgium at Philadelphia ; Dr. Anthony McGill of Canada ; Prof. Belisario Diaz-Ossa of Chili; Mr. Yung Kwai of China; Dr. Don Guillermo Wills of Colombia; Dr. Einar Billman of Denmark; Prof. Leon Lindet of France; Prof. Dr. von Buchka of Germany; Rudolph Hofmann of Prussia; Prof. Gilbert T. Morgan of Ireland; Prof. G. Bruni of Italy; Prof. Adolfo P. Castanares of Mexico; Dr. Alfred Sinding-Larson of Norway; Mirza Ali Kuli Kahn of Persia; Dr. Paul Walden of Russia; Prof. Dr. Knut Wilhelm Palmaer of Sweden; Dr. F. P. Treadwell of Switzerland; Dr. James Moir of the Union of South Africa; and Sir William Ramsay of England The bearers of tickets for ladies accompanying members were welcome a t all social functions, and the receptions, teas, organ recitals, general lectures, etc., were graced by the presence of many lady guests. A number of New York Ladies’ Committees and Subcommittees had been organized for the reception of the lady guests of the Congress, a n enjoyable program had been prepared for the entertainment of these, and the Ladies’ Committees did everything for the comfort and pleasure of the visiting ladies. On Friday, Sept. 6 , the General Meeting of all the Ladies’ Committees (except the Reception Committee) took place a t 10.00A . M . at Columbia University; this was followed, in the morning, by an informal reception and welcome t o the guests at Columbia University, and, in the afternoon, by a lecture on “Communal Work of Woman in America” in Rumford Hall,
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Chemists’ Club. On Monday, Sept. 9, the lady guests enjoyed automobile trips in the morning, a luncheon a t the “Claremont” at 1.00P.M., and the informal tea a t the College of the City of New I’ork at j . 0 0 P . M . The following day, Sept. I O , the visiting ladies had, in the morning, the choice of one of the following two automobile trips, starting from the Chemists’ Club: (I) Public Library, Tiffany’s and the Metropolitan Tower; ( 2 ) Aquarium, Down-town Section, and the Stock Exchange. At noon the ladies and their gentlemen escorts visited Gimbel’s Department Store; after this inspection a luncheon was served by Gimbel’s in their Tea Room. Later in the afternoon a number of the ladies repaired to the College of the City of New York to attend the informal tea. On September 1 1 , there were automobile trips in the morning and a concert in Rumford Hall, Chemists’ Club, and an informal tea in the afternoon; the next morning an enjoyable boat excursion about New York Harbor, starting from 42nd St. and the Yorth River. THE CLOSING SESSION. The Eighth International Congress of Applied Chemistry which had been in session in Washington and New York since September 4. officially closed with a business meeting a t noon, September 1 3 in the Great Hall a t City College. Dr. Nichols, the President, presided and a number of important business matters were considered. A resolution to adopt Esperanto as the official language for the Congress was referred to the S i n t h Congress for consideration and decision. The resolution to fix the periods for the meetings of the Congress five years apart instead of three was defeated and the meeting of the Ninth Congress was definitely fixed for 1915. The plan to standardize atomic weights for periods of five years instead of the present annual revision was changed to three years. St. Petersburg was selected as the meeting place for the Ninth Congress and Professor Dr. Paul Walden, Professor of Chemistry, Polytechnical School of Riga, was elected President, and Professor Dr. Demetrius P. Konovaroff, Emeritus Professor of Chemistry in the University of St. Petersburg, and nom- Assistant Minister of the Department of Commerce and Industry in Russia, was elected Honorary President. The gavel was formally passed by President Nichols to the newly elected President, Professor Walden. and the Eighth International Congress of Applied Chemistry, which was the most successful ever held, was officially closed. FACTORY VISITS A N D EXCURSIONS.
Great interest was shown by the visitors to the Congress in the facilities offered to inspect rnanufacturing plants. There was little time available for factory excursions during the meetings, but a number of very interesting trips were arranged for Saturday, September 14. About one hundred and fifty members visited the Consolidated Gas Works a t Astoria, L . I. This excursion was under the personal direction of Dr. Arthur
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JOURNAL OF I A - D C S T R I A L -4lYD EiYGINEERIlYG C H E M I S T R Y .
H. Elliott, the company’s consulting chemical engineer ; he was able to show the largest gas works in the world, producing both coal gas and water gas, in full operation. The Consolidated Gas Company furnished a special boat which transferred the visitors from the East z r s t Street pier to Astoria and return. The Corn Products Refining Company took a party of one hundred members under the guidance of their Chief Chemist, Dr. H. C. Humphreys, to their plant a t Edgewater, N . J . Dr. W. H. Xichols extended an invitation to about one hundred and fifty foreign guests to join a special boat trip to visit the works of the Nichols Copper Company a t Laurel Hill, L. I. After inspecting the plant which has a daily output of I,OOO,OOO lbs. of refined copper, the party was entertained a t lunch on board the boat during a short trip up Long Island Sound. The Standard Oil Company conveyed a party of about two hundred visitors by special boat to their Queens County Works in Brooklyn. This excursion was under the direction of Mr. Gail Mersereau, formerly chemist for the Standard Oil Company, and Dr. Otto Kress, of Columbia University. The guests spent several hours in the plant and were keenly interested in the work. One of the most interesting excursions in and about New York was the visit of a large party t o the plant of the Bush Terminal Company in Brooklyn. This unique enterprise which constitutes probably the largest group of buildings in the world, planned for and devoted exclusively t o various line‘s of manufacture, is located on the water front and is provided with every facility for the in and out transportation of goods. On Monday, September 16,the excursions through the west left New York, via Pennsylvania Railroad. These excursions were organized by the Inland Transportation Committee under two heads t o meet the convenience of the guests. The Short Trip visits Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, Niagara Falls, Detroit, Chicago, Cleveland and Boston. The Long Trip will extend t o the Pacific Coast and will visit Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, Niagara Falls, Detroit, Chicago, Omaha, Denver, Glenwood Springs, Salt Lake City, Bakersfield, San Francisco, Los Angeles, Grand Canyon of the Colorado, Shreveport, New Orleans, Birmingham, Atlanta, Ducktown and various other points of interest in the south, returning to Xew York on October 22. The Congress has organized along the entire route of these excursions, local committees for the entertainments of the guests, and much of the time will be devoted t o the inspection of the principal industries of the localities visited. The two excursions are under the management of Dr. Geo. D. Rosengarten and Dr. David T. Day, both of whom will accompany the party throughout the trips. THE SOCIETIES AT THE CONGRESS. SOCIETY OF CHEMICAL IKDUSTRY.
An informal reception was given a t the Chemists’ Club on Saturday, August 31, by the New York Section of the Society of Chemical Industry to visiting
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guests. This reception was very well attended. Refreshments and music helped to make the event enjoyable. The Annual General Meeting of the Society was
RUDOLPH MESSEL, PRES.SOCIETY
OF
CHEMICALINDUSTRY.
held on September 3, a t I O A . M . , a t the Chemists’ Club. The address by the Retiring President, Dr. Rudolph Messel, is printed elsewhere in this issue. The following are interesting abstracts from the Report of the Council: “The number of members of the Society is now 4 2 1 3 as compared with 4300 a t the last Annual Meeting. During the year 2 2 5 new members have been elected as compared with 245 last year; and the losses have been 2 j3 as compared with 2 4 4 last year. ‘,The Journal in 1 9 1 1 numbered 1478 pages of text besides supplement and advertisements, as against 1 4 8 2 pages in 1910. On the recommendation of the Publication Committee, the list of British patent applications has been placed in the Supplement in such a way that it can be bound with the Journal if desired. “The Council has appointed the President, Dr. Messel, F.R.S., to represent the Society on the Governing Body of the Imperial College of Science and Technology in the place of the late Dr. Divers, F.R.S. The Council will be glad to receive suggestions in connection with the establishment of an efficient system nf education in Chemical Technology. “Mr. Thos. Tyrer has been elected a representative of the Society on the Board of the National Physical Laboratory. A special Committee of the Laboratory has just commenced an investigation into the properties of glass for optical and other scientific purposes. ‘The Society is taking part with other institutions in several inquiries of common interest; with the Textile Institute as t o the dyeing of textiles with indigo, I
