F c b . . 1917
T H E J O 1-RS.4 L 0 F I N D LTST RI -4 L A
“NEITHER FISH, NOR FLESH, NOR GOOD RED HERRING” Some five years ago we suggested through t h e columns of Scieirce t h e need of a readjustment of t h e policies of t h e American Association for t h e Advancement of Science. These suggestions proceeded from a loyal interest in t h e welfare of t h a t organization a n d a deep-seated conviction of t h e important relation it bore t o t h e advancement of the higher life of t h e Nation. Because of t h e rapidly increasing number of members of t h e various special scientific societies and of t h e constantly lengthening programs i t mas rapidly becoming a physical impossibility t o conduct meetings of t h e Associat.ion along t h e enjoyable a n d thoroughly stimulative lines of earlier years. The Association was urged. therefore, t o discontinue its Annual Meetings, t o aid in all possible ways t h e upbuilding of t h e affiliated societies, a n d t o hold. triennially, or quadrenially, meetings which should be truly great national gatherings of t h e scientists of America. At such meetings t h e usual program of disconnected reports of t h e results of researches would naturally be substituted by invited reports on noteworthy research and b y symposiums on problems of fundamental a n d far-reaching importance, programs participated in b y t h e very ablest men of t h e country. Such meetings “would be inspiring t o all of us a n d would make a national impress.” About t w o years ago announcement was made b y t h e officers of t h e Association t h a t quadrennial general meetings would be held. The first of these was recently held in New York City. Has t h e idea of a general meeting been realized? We think not, and t o confirm this judgment t h e same question has been asked of many who attended t h e meetings in t h e various Sections and t h e replies have been uniformly in t h e negative. The limited registration of only 2 , 1 0 0 , while published estimates indicate t h e attendance of approximately 8,000, suggests a greater interest in t h e meetings of t h e numerous affiliated societies meeting during Convocation Week t h a n in those of t h e greater organization. The press accounts throughout t h e count r y leave clearly t h e conviction t h a t no great impress has been made upon t h e body politic by this gathering of scientists. Some distinguished citizens of t h e city of t h e place of meeting attended some of t h e sessions. We s a t near one. He did not snore, b u t he certainly had one of t h e best naps he has h a d since he was a boy. There was no great outpouring of wealth in this center of riches t o support a n d endow t h e import a n t researches being conducted by the members of t h e .issociation. Gifts for t h e research fund amounted t o only $I,joo. Meanwhile t h e Council debated t h e question of t h e entrance fee of $j.oo and, while admitting t h e fine results obtained during t h e past year by remitting t h e fee in case of members from affiliated societies, nevertheless, restricted t h e remission in t h e f u t u r e t o such as are “elected t o membership in t h e American Association for t h e Advancement of Science within one year of t h e election t o membership in a n affiliated society.”
D E N G I N E E RI *VG C H E 311s T K Y
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It is evident from t h e program t h a t some progress has been made toIyard a real general meeting; b u t , if a frank and friendly criticism may be made, t h a t progress is slight. The officers of t h e Association have failed t o grasp t h e full possibilities of such a meeting, t h e possibilities of stimulating t h e scientific mind of t h e country and of arousing t h e general public t o t h e far-reaching importance of t h e work of its scientists. We now have neither t h e former gathering of a limited number of congenial spirits, nor t h e character of program which the term “General Meeting” implies. We are “neither fish, nor flesh, nor good red herring.” The simple voting in t h e Council t h a t once in four years a general meeting shall he held, does not create a general meeting in t h e sense which t h e times demand. T h a t legislative act must be supplemented by t h e activities of a Program Committee in full symp a t h y with t h e new departure a n d blessed with an abounding spirit of originality. Rouse yourselves, gentlemen of t h e Council; throw open wide t h e doors of t h e Association by t h e complete abolition of t h e entrance fee; trust t h e permanency of your membership t o t h e attractiveness of your programs a n d t h e spirit of cooperation in scientific endeavor, rather t h a n t o t h e fictitious fear of renewed payment of this fee because of lapsed membership; impress upon your Program Committee t h e thought t h a t times have changed and t h a t if t h e American Association for t h e Advancement of Science is t o continue t h a t great usefulness which once characterized it, new policies must be adopted t o meet t h e changed conditions (herein lies a direct responsibility for t h e meeting in Chicago four years hence): bring together all classes of scientific men who have each with t h e other some common ground of interest; a n d bring into full sympathetic touch with your efforts t h a t great mass of thoughtful American citizens whose interest can be easily if correctly aroused a n d whose support will quickly dispel all of your financial cares a n d yield a n endowment for research which will be whole-hearted a n d effective. -
INTELLECT CONQUERS APPETITE We have been present a t many meetings when papers on chemical subjects were presented. We have often noted t h e look of weariness on t h e part of hearers as t h e dry, unessential a n d almost infinitesimal details of research were enumerated or t h e dreary monotone of almost interminable, continuous reading of manuscript proceeded. We even detected t h e note of joy when the “ayes” were once called on a motion t o adjourn a very dignified Division of t h e Society for t h e express purpose of attending a league baseball game in Detroit. T h a t is one side of t h e picture. The other side was presented a t the meeting of t h e Institute of Chemical Engineers a t t h e Chemists’ Club on t h e evening of January Ioth, when Dr. J. E. Bucher presented his paper on t h e fixation of nitrogen. N o advance advertisement of t h e treat in store had been promulgated. The audience was somewhat limited a n d t h e representatives of t h e press were conspicuously absent. A few minutes after Dr.
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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 ENGINEERING CHEMISTRY
Bucher began speaking all realized t h a t something out of the ordinary was happening. H e used no notes, yet every sentence carried t h e conviction t h a t t h e speaker could have expounded i t into a full length lecture. The subject fairly oozed out of him through every figurative pore of his being. The audience drew nearer and compacted itself as near t h e speaker as chair space would admit. T h e address originally scheduled for thirty minutes proceeded for one hour. T h e Entertainment Committee rushed a notice t o t h e Chairm a n t h a t in t h e dining room above t h e coffee was getting cold, t h e foam on t h e beer was disappearing, t h e wiener wursts were shrinking and t h e ever present magician was longing t o exhibit his art. T h e Chairman so announced. Instantly men, prominent in t h e chemical industries, rose t o their feet in all parts of t h e hall a n d shouted, “ N o , we don’t want t o adjourn, we have never heard anything like this before.” A t t h e close of another hour t h e speaker finally stopped, in spite of his audience. T h e n all caught a good long breath, realizing t h a t they h a d been participants in a n unusual event. All of this suggests t h a t our universities, in addition t o t h e training now given in t h e lecture room a n d in t h e research laboratory, could well lay more stress upon training in t h e method of oral presentation of t h e results of research. A NOTEWORTHY CONTRIBUTION I t is hoped t h a t every reader of THISJ O U R N A L will deliberately take t h e time t o read carefully t h e extremely interesting a n d important article i n this issue by Dr. C. A. Browne, on T h e First Report upon the Chenzical Industries of the United States and Their Re-’ I at i o I L t o N at i o ~za 1 Prep ar ed ness. I n his discovery of this document, now’nearly one hundred years old, Dr. Browne has made a n import a n t contribution t o present-day chemical economics. Read aloud i t is difficult t o decide in many passages whether i t is t h e chemists of 1831 or those of 1917 who are pleading for t h e independence of this country along t h e lines of industrial chemistry. We of t h e present have been obliged more or less t o express opinions as t o what may happen; t h e framers of t h e report of 1831, however, spoke from t h e vantage point of fact a n d history. Their findings, therefore, give added weight t o our present-day contentions. M a y this article find a wide reading, not only within, b u t outside t h e ranks of chemists! ~
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IN SEARCH OF ONE’S OWN The extreme paucity of exchanges with which we L led us on t h e afternoon found THISJ O U R N Aequipped of January t h e 12th (note t h e date) t o make a cruise to three of t h e principal local centers of chemical literature, Our first port of call was the Chemists’ Club Library-no, we shall wait until t h e n e s t issue t o narrate our discoveries there, for this is a n important a n d serious matter. Next on t h e schedule was t h e New York Public Library. Through t h e very courteous reception and guidance of Director Anderson a n d Mr. Gamble of the Technical Division, we were able t o locate quickly
Yol.
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No.
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a wealth of chemical literature. The current numbers were all up t o date, except in t h e case of t h e German chemical literature, of which, through some strange reasoning of the British mar censors, we have all been deprived for some time. T h e journals, moreover, were readily available, with a seeming minimum of red tape. The visit was altogether delightful. Our good ship next bore us t o t h e library of t h e Chemistry Department of Columbia University. We glanced over t h e current journals on the shelves and found a somewhat limited b u t well selected group There lay t h e Journal of the ilmericaii Chemical Society in its New Year issue. Close by was t h e January 10th issue of Chemical Abstracts, fresh from t h e press. As we were traveling incognito we needed no mockmodesty so we looked with a little tingle of pride (honest confession) for t h e January issue of our own a n d our only. It was not on t h e top of t h e pile. Good! t h a t meant t h a t some one was interested in reading it-but a hurried glance a t t h e reading tables gave pride a little jolt, for the hypothesis was false. An inquiry of t h e pleasant librarian developed t h e fact t h a t i t had not yet arrived (this on t h e ~ z t h and , oh, how we had worked t o mail t h e issue on t h e 1st). “Oh, no, this is quite customary; t h e date of i t s arrival varies from two t o four weeks after t h e d a t e of issue.” “Perhaps t h e box hasn’t been opened yet.” (We could not understand this “box” reference, for in case of loss we felt confident t h a t t h e postmaster had duplicate keys.) “Probably i t has not yet been mailed.” (Here was something definite t o work on, though we knew how splendidly our publisher h a d cooperated with us in getting out t h e issue five days earlier t h a n usual.) “At a n y rate if t h e explanation is wanted i t should be sought a t t h e University Library.” So thitherward we hurried. An inquiry in t h e serial room soon unraveled t h e mystery-there was no “bos,” no error on t h e part of t h e publisher. Matters were taking their normal course. T h e record showed t h a t t h e subscription was not direct, not even through a n agency. One of t h e professors turned his copy over t o t h e library--“It is cheaper t o get i t t h a t way and probably he has not yet finished reading his copy.” You know-we always thought of New York City as t h e home of high finance; we little realized what rigid institutional economy must sometimes be practiced t o make ends meet. AN INSTITUTE FOR ANALYTICAL RESEARCH T h e suggestion of Dr. Hillebrand i n his Chandler lecture, printed in this issue, as t o t h e desirability of a n “Institute of Analytical Research,” should commend itself t o most serious discussion b y representative gatherings of chemists. He has clearly pointed out t h e need for such a n institution a n d has offered valuable critical suggestions as t o t h e ways i n which t h e idea might be brought t o fruition. Doubtless from t h e multitude of counselors there would be evolved t h a t wisdom i n procedure which would insure unqualified success.
