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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
HOT AIR-BUT WHY? Life has its surprises; and one of these which greeted our return t o the editorial office was a mass of clippings setting forth in flaring headlines t h e views of Mr. Irving A. Keene, of London, as t o t h e present very limited supplies of stocks of German dyes, based upon a survey which he made during a September visit t o t h e German dye plants. Honesty compels t h e admission t h a t a t first sight of these clippings we laughed heartily, because of the memories of an evening spent with Mr. Keene in Paris. A closer reading of t h e clippings, however, showed t h a t t h e material had been p u t out b y t h e American Chamber of Commerce in London, and had received its official sanction and endorsement. Furthermore we learned yesterday t h a t copies of this matter had been p u t into t h e hands of members of t h e U. S. Senate, and t h a t much importance was attached t o these views. The matter had t h u s taken on a much more serious aspect t h a n we had ever dreamed possible. In the interest of t r u t h , let us narrate t h e story of t h a t evening in Paris. While in London on September 16 and 17 we had heard of a group of Americans in Berlin, representing t h e American Chamber of Commerce. This was very interesting. Returning t o Paris, we looked up t h e Commercial Attach6 of t h e American Embassy t o learn, if possible, more details about this pilgrimage. To our surprise we found t h a t t h e “group” consisted of one man, Mr. Irving A. Keene. Then on September 26, 1919,there appeared in t h e Paris edition of t h e Chicago Tribune, under conspicuous headlines, a dispatch from Berlin, covering an interview with Mr. Keene, in which he set forth a t length how limited was t h e supply of German dye stocks, as based upon his personal survey, and how little prospect there was of t h e dumping of German dyes. T h e interview was extremely important, if t h e facts were correct, for t h e lists of these stocks furnished by t h e Germans themselves, and our knowledge of t h e extent of licenses for t h e sale of daily output granted by t h e Interallied Rhineland Commission, did not indicate any such paucity of stocks as Mr. Keene proclaimed. The inference was t h a t if Mr. Keene was correct in his estimate, surreptitious leakage of these stocks was taking place rapidly. We determined t o investigate, t o go into t h e Rhineland, t o consult with t h e Commissioners and t o get t h e facts through any available channel. While completing passport arrangements for t h e trip, our Commercial Attach6 informed us b y telephone t h a t Mr. Keene was in Paris. Later in t h e day we were introduced t o Mr. Keene, and after a few words of greeting we invited him t o dinner t h a t evening, for t h e stated purpose of discussing his experiences in Germany. At eight lai Mode. o’clock we dined at t h e Caf6 Boeuf ? Mr. Keene was a delightful dinner companion, b u t within t e n minutes we were convinced t h a t his views about German dye matters were not worth a tinker’s dam. However, we wanted t h a t opinion confirmed by positive and definite statements from
A N D ENGINEERING
CHEMISTRY
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Mr. Keene, so we sought b y many questions t o draw him out. Space does not admit of a detailed narration of t h a t conversation, b u t all connected with t h e dye industry can judge Mr. Keene’s competence b y t w o bits. Replying t o a request for details concerning dyes being manufactured b y t h e Bayer Company, after somewhat exhaustive efforts with generalities which had no meaning, he finally ventured t h e suggestion t h a t t h e company was manufacturing some colors whose name sounded like ((algerole.” Having completed t h e journey through t h e lower Rhine region without eliciting any definite information, we moved with conversational steps higher up t h e river in t h e hope t h a t recollection of experiences there might be more definite. Many stories were told, b u t again no definite d a t a and no description of plants visited. The evening was drawing t o a , close; we began t o press matters. The word “Badische” had not been mentioned, so we asked: “What about t h e Badische plant?” T h a t was a strange word which brought forth no intelligent gleam. We explained in detail t h e importance of t h a t plant in Germany’s dye regime and t h e manifold character of its products. Suddenly Mr. Keene broke in and explained t h a t t h a t plant was over t o t h e right, and there was a little railroad t h a t ran off t o it, b u t t h a t he had passed t h e junction point and did not have t i m e t o go back when he learned of it. T h a t finished us. We didn’t know anything about t h e junction point, b u t we did know where Mr. Keene got off as a dye expert, and how much reliance was t o be placed on his views of t h e status of t h e German dye industry. However, we still wanted a definite statement about those stocks, so as we walked up t h e Rue de Rivoli, we p u t a question so direct t o Mr. Keene it could not be evaded, and in reply he frankly stated t h a t he had gone through no warehouses, as there would have been no use in it, for, as he explained, he would not have known a dye from a soap box. There, we had i t at last!
A GOOD SIGN One of t h e most joyful sights t h a t greeted us on returning was a large sign conspicuously placed in one of t h e most crowded portions of New York City, bearing t h e inscription: WANTED 1000 MEN FOR
T I i E C H E M I C A L W A R F A R E SERVICB
ENLISTMENT FOR O N EOR THREE YEARS
T h a t sounded like business. Evidently we are on t h e road t o a n Army which will be provided and equipped with all t h a t is modern in war developments. This feeling was strengthened b y t h e good news received in Washington t h a t i t is t h e opinion t h a t members of Congress are practically unanimous in their determination t h a t there should be a Chemical Warfare Service as a n independent unit and provided with every facility.
