Jan., I 9 I 9
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 C H E M I S T R Y
As you know, various plans and proposals have been suggested. Some of them must be characterized as extreme. It has been suggested that there be for a period of years an entire prohibition of importation. I t has also been proposed, as an alternative, that there be something in the nature of discretionary prohibition. The alternative suggests that there be established a system of import license and import regulation, under which an administrative body shall have authority to permit foreign dyes to be imported in cases where domestic supply is nonexistent or quite inadequate, the American market, however, being reserved completely €or the domestic producers as regards commodities which they are able to supply, perhitps a t high prices, but a t all events, in adequate volume and of satisfactory quality. Of a different sort is a proposal For entirely remodelling the present plan of classification in the act of 1916, by the virtual abolition of the class of intermediates and by the application of the same rate of duty to all products which are beyond the stage of crudes. There is something to be said for each of them, and there are objections to each. My present point is that, whether they are good or bad, they seem to be now not feasible of early execution. They are radical beyond the limits to which measures must be confined which have a chance for enactment. Simplicity, moderation, no violent departure from existing methods and existing legislation-these seem to be the requisites of a feasible plan. The Tariff Commission has given prolonged and careful attention to the dyestuffs problem. It has secured a thoroughly competent expert staff of its own. It has conferred in the most painstaking way with the officials of the Administration, with the representatives of the customs division of the Treasury, with consumers, and with manufacturers. It has proposed and elaborated a bill that conforms to the conditions which I have just indicated. That bill endeavors t o make effective the policy adopted in 1916,and also to show the way to some moderate extension of that policy in new directions. The legislation of 1916was in many respects a great improvement on what preceded But defects have already appeared, and there is beyond question occasion for amendment. Evasion of some of the salient provisions of the present law is possible, especially through the importation of intermediates which are nearly advanced to.the stage of finished dyestuffs. The bill prepared by the Commission goes over the list of commodities with care, rearranges the enumeration of intermediates and finished dyes in such a manner as to prevent evasion, and removes some anomalies which clearly need attention. It raises frankly the question whether the specific duty of 5 cents which was not applied by the act of 1916 to indigo and to all indigoids, whether or not obtained from indigo, to natural and synthetic alizarin, and to dyes obtained from alizarin, anthracene, and carbazol, ’ should be made applicable to these now exempted commodities. This opens a question of policy, but one which, we may perhaps hope, will be dealt with irrespective of general party differences. The measure which is proposed by the Tariff Commission may not be perfect, but we are confident that it represents a great improvement on what is now on the statute books. It is a measure of the sort which may be laid before Congress with propriety under any circumstances and a t any time. It is the sort 01 measure upon which all concerned may unite, and which
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may receive the sober and cool-minded attention of congressional committees and of Congress itself. This report is now in the hands of the printer and will be available for distribution a t an early date. If anything a t all is to be done, it would seem that this is the practicable plan, and this the practicable procedure for bringing it to fruition. In conclusion let me say a word about the Tariff Commission itself, its functions and its duties, as illustrated by this particular case. During the debates which preceded the establishment of the Tariff Commission, much was said about the need of a scientific settlement of the tariff question, and of the removal of that question from the domain of politics. This is Utopian. It is quite impracticable, and indeed undesirable, that the settlement of a great question of principle should be put into the hands of any administrative body. The commercial and industrial policy of the country must be settled by the people and by Congress, and cannot by any possibility be taken out of their hands. Certainly the Tariff Commission has no such high-flying ambition, It is soberly conscious of the limitations upon its possibilities, and of the Character of the work to which it must confine itself. Its business is to prepare the way for the intelligent and well-considered application of whatever policy the people determine by their votes and Congress carries into execution by its legislation. Our business is to gather information and to take preparatory steps such as will enable Congress t o act with light and to avoid ill-planned or misdirected efforts. This is an important and much needed kind of work. We have endeavored to do it in the particular case of the dyestuffs industry. The Commission would not go so far as t o say that all information which it is possible t o get is a t our command, still less suggest that all the information has been secured which i t is desirable t o have. As you know better than any one, the whole industry is in a stage of flux and transition the world over. I n Great Britain, in France, in Switzerland, as well as in the United States, there are new developments. What will be the conditions of international competition in the future, what the prospects of the various branches of the growing industry in the United States, no one can now say. Nor can any cne say, as I have explicitly pointed out, what industrial policy will finally be adopted by the United States. That policy cannot but be affected by the character and terms of the general international settlement. We cannot peer far into the future. For the moment we can follow only provisional lines of action. The war is over, and with it the excitement and the shouting, the absorption in the task of the moment. Before us now are the problems of peace. We can no longer plan for what could be done and should be done under the conditions of war. And it is no longer profitable to utter words of encouragement and confidence, and perhaps of glorification, which were natural during the stress of conflict, but which now would simply obscure thetroublesome facts of thenew situation. These facts I have tried to face squarely, without concealment or equivocation or flattery. I trust that in so doing I have spoken in accord with your wishes, and perhaps have aided you in reaching a conclusion concerning the course of action which the representatives of your industry should follow.
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FOREIGN INDUSTRIAL NEWS B y A. MCMILLAN, 24 Westend Park St., Glasgow, Scotland
NEW VEGETABLE OIL A sample of “piassava” oil from Sierra Leone, presumably a product of the palm from which the piassava fiber of commerce is derived or some related species, has been examined a t the Imperial Institute, London. The oil was found to resemble palm
oil in odor, but was rather darker in color and more liquid. The results obtained in its chemical examination were similar to those recorded for palm oil and if i t can be shipped to Great Britain in commercial quantities i t should be saleable a t prices similar to those realized for palm oil.
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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 C H E M I S T R Y
GERMAN AIRCRAFT Reports recently prepared by the Technical Department, Ministry of Munitions, London, describe some types of German fighting biplanes. The following, taken from the Times Engineering Supplement, is a description of the two-seater Halberstadt machine, which bears the date April 14,1918,and may be taken as the high-water mark of German two-seater aeroplane construction. It is well and strongly made, the principal points in its design being the single bay arrangements of wings, the conspicuous set-back of the main planes, freedom of the empennage from wires, tapering of the fuselage to a horizontal line a t the rear, and the construction, of the pilot’s and observer’s cockpit i n one. I t s general behavior in the air is good according to modern fighting standards, but i t cannot be considered stable as there is a tendency to stall when the engine is on aad to dive when it is off. Directionally owing to propeller swirl, the machine swings to the left, but with the engine off it is neutral. Pilots report that it is light and comfortable to fly. Its maneuverability is good, and this feature, in conjunction with the exceptionally fine view enjoyed by the pilot and observer and the field of fire of the latter, makes it a machine t o be reckoned with as a two-seater fighter, although the climb and speed performances are poor, judged by contemporary British standards. I n tests the climb to IO,OOO f t . took 24*/2 min. and to 14,000f t . just under 52 min. The greatest height reached was 14,800f t . in 64 min. 40 sec., the rate of climb a t this height being 5 0 f t . per min. At 10,000f t . the speed was 97 miles an hour with the 180 h. p. standard high-compression Merc&d&sengine making 1,385r. p. m. BRITISH OPTICAL GLASS INDUSTRY An account of the steps taken by the British Government t o develop the manufacture of optical glass is given in the Board of Trade Journal. When war broke out, Britain was dependent on Germany for 60 per cent of its supplies; 30 per cent came from France and the balance of I O per cent was made by Chance & Co., Birmingham, England. I n January 1916, Messrs. Chance undertook to complete an extension of their works which would greatly increase their output and the Government undertook on their part that British optical glass would be used as far as possible for optical instruments required for naval and military purposes. Scientific research, the report states, into the chemical constituents and optical properties of the various kinds of glass has moved hand in hand with commercial production, In 1913 there were 1 1 types of optical glass made in England and the total home output was not great enough for home requirements. Now, however, 75 types of giass are made in this country. During the first quarter of 1918,English makers produced more than go times as much optical glass as was made during the first quarter of 1913. They are thus making glass a t a rate nine times as great as the total consumption of the United Kingdom in the year before the war.
ITALIAN CHEMICAL INDUSTRY The 2. angew. Chemie says that many new factories have been erected in Italy for the production of artificial manures and colors. The government seems t o have taken much interest in the chemical industry. The “Anonirna” concern was formed for the production of aniline colors with a capital of $1,200,000. For the productionof soda and chlorates, a company was formed in Genoa with a capital of $ ~ O O , O O O . The soap industry and glycerin production have grown up with the manufacture of soda, and carbolic acid crystals are prepared in the explosives factories of Piedmont. I n Milan, the German specialties, antipyrin, aspirin, phenacetin, and lecithin, are produced. New works are established a t Legno for the production of ammonium nitrate, while in Turin a rubber factory has been set tip with a capital of $800,000.
Vol.
11,
No.
I
ALCOHOL FROM SEAWEED Attention is being called by Sir Edward Thorpe t o the possibilities of obtaining alcohol for motor fuel from seaweed. After commenting on previous attempts that have been made t o obtain alcohol from non-alimentary materials, Sir Edward holds that certain seaweeds, all of which are abundant, may be made t o yield considerable quantities of alcohol by suitable treatment. Thus i t has been stated that IOO lbs. of red wrack is capable of yielding about 6 liters of alcohol and i t is alleged that, under industrial conditions, this amount may be increased. If these statements can be verified we have in seaweed a ready and cheap source of alcohol and the possibility of employment t o people whose livelihood was greatly impoverished by the loss to them of the kelp industry. A correspondent of the Times, London, remarking on the above statement, suggests that the use of peat would afford a cheaper method as it would be easier t o handle. He also adds that it should not be forgotten that motor spirit can be obtained from various oils, and calls attention to certain oil-translormation processes on which Sir Oliver Lodge reported very favorably in October 19x3. SWlTCHGEAR A catalog issued by the General Electric Company who have now taken over works a t Erith, England, deals with high-tension switchgear and sundry other appliances. Descriptions and illustrations are given of various types of three-phase, oil-break switches which are suitable for voltages up to 6,600,and can be arranged with automatic features, to open an overload, on reverse power, or when the voltage fails. Details are also furnished with dimension drawings in most cases, of truck-type switchgear, tension limiters and lightning arresters of various patterns, choking-coils, isolating links, high-tension plug fittings, relays, time limit fuses, and static leakage detectors. An underground switch-box for disconnecting high-tension cables is formed oE cast-iron with a clamped-on lid. The three-phase switch inside is operated by an external hand wheel, the cables being brought in by a trifurcating box, and the case is filled with oil. Light loads up to 50 amperes a t 6,600 volts can be broken satisfactorily.
ALLOYS OF LEAD AND MAGNESIUM It is known, says Engiaeer, that the addition of small quantities of sodium or potassium or magnesium t o lead hardens the metal considerably. If tin is added to either of these alloys its brittleness is somewhat diminished and its resistance to chemical action increased. According t o Metall und Erz, an alloy of soft lead and magnesium which in moist air is slightly attacked on the surface is proof against such action when tin is added. The tin is equally effective in an alloy of lead and sodium. The hardness of these alloys may be increased by an addition of\ copper. The proportion of tin as of copper must not exceed 5 per cent. The proportion of sodium or magnesium should not be greater than 4 per cent. BRITISH BOARD OF TRADE During the month of October the British Board of Trade received inquiries from firms a t home and abroad regarding sources of supply for the following articles. Firms which may be able to supply information regarding these things are requested t o communicate with the Director of the Commercial Intelligence Branch, 73 Basinghall St., London, E. C. Button moulds Corks with attachment for applying liquid renovator, evenly, to leather goods Corrugated steel fasteners for boxes Machinery for making sand-paper
Machinery for boot-cleaning Machinery for coating carbon paper Metal tubes for shaving soap and brushes Patingers (small metdl collar or cuff fasteners)
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