Hosea Williams, former chemist, speaks out
Rep. Daddario "Pure Piltdown" thinking
jump on research as the vulnerable part of the federal budget does not stem from any real antipathy toward or disenchantment with basic science itself; the attacks result mainly from thoughtlessness. While this is an important point, he says, it does not mitigate the damage that is being done by slashing research funds. These cuts are especially serious in view of the cutbacks in basic research being made by the mission-oriented agencies. Support of academic science by individual agencies is dropping, "probably more than available figures indicate," he says. The latest information shows only the differences between fiscal 1966 and 1967, but already the major science-minded agencies show the decline. The Defense Department is down 6%, National Institutes of Health is down 3 % , and National Aeronautics and Space Administration is down 8.5%. "Moreover," he says, "while we don't yet know the extent, we do know that support for academic science in 1968 is taking an even sharper drop than in 1967." It was obvious, Rep. Daddario says, that the rapid growth of federal support of research in the 1950's and early 1960's could not keep up. The danger now is that the present economy psychosis will drop the support for basic research below the cost-of-living increases that are needed merely to stay even. "It is essential that we policy makers not forget the lessons of the past on the importance of being in the vanguard of basic science," Rep. Daddario concludes. "When the chips are down we are not going to pull any rabbits out of the scientific hat without knowing the basic tricks."
"Chemistry ruined me; it turned me around." So says Hosea L. Williams, a 1951 chemistry graduate of Morris Brown College in Georgia and more recently the fiery director of directaction programs for the Poor People's Campaign. Sitting in one of the numerous plywood and plastic huts of "Resurrection City," sprawled along the length of the Washington Monument reflecting pool, Mr. Williams told C&EN that as an analytical chemist for 11 years with the U.S. Department of Agriculture in Savannah, Ga.f he had seen and felt much of what he contends was racial discrimination. " I ' l l never forget how a white man who had less experience and seniority than I was hired from a meat and packing company and given the job of assistant section chief," Mr. Williams says. "During those days, I immersed myself in my duties in the laboratory, working 12 to 14 hours a day to become an excellent chemist. Later on in my career I realized that I was being used for window dressing—to lead visiting officials to believe that the place was really integrated. When I did complain of the injustices there, I was nearly forced out of my job." Embittered, Mr. Williams threw up his career as a chemist in 1966 and immersed himself in civil rights. Reminiscing about his days in the chemistry laboratory at USDA's Bureau of Entomology and Plant Quarantine, the civil rights activist—a former American Chemical Society
Re-evaluation of air pollution control needed, scientists say "By overreacting, we might create some complications that are worse than the pollution itself." In one way or another, many scientists are saying much the same thing as Dr. Irving Tabershaw did this month at the Symposium on Air Quality Criteria in New York City. Others warn of the danger of being locked into a pollution control program without real scientific evidence on how dangerous the various pollutants are. After what one critic of present programs calls the "legislative blitz" in California and Washington, the key word for the new mood is "re-evaluation." What bothers many research workers are the huge gaps in the knowledge about air pollution. What data are
member—admits that his work in insecticide analysis did have a "few rewarding moments." Mr. Williams says that he presented a number of papers at ACS regional meetings. His greatest achievement in the laboratory, he says, was that of developing an unusual method of pyrethrin determinations. But Mr. Williams has mellowed to a degree. "Things are changing," he says, "especially since the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission came into being. Now it's becoming a problem to get enough qualified black chemists. Here is where ACS can lend a helping h a n d — by developing programs to encourage more black students to become chemists starting in the junior high schools. Too, ACS can be of assistance in upgrading the chemical education programs in the black colleges of the South."
available often seem to conflict with many long-held notions. Dr. Tabershaw has examined, for example, the evidence of adverse effects on man of nitrogen dioxide, ozone, and hydrocarbons. Concentrations known to be harmful when they are continuous have been exceeded for many hours on many days in Los Angeles, the University of California professor says. "But except for eye irritation, there is little evidence of serious or sustained impairment to man," he adds. Another matter ripe for a thorough re-examination, says Charles Heinen, chief engineer at Chrysler, is carbon monoxide pollution. He sees no reason to go beyond the proposed 1970 standards (1% of exhaust) for this pollutant. There is much evidence, he believes, to indicate that carbon monoxide is not the problem it's generally believed to be. The 1970 standards JUNE 17, 1968 C&EN
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