Letters to the Editor Last Gasp,
ICC ASP
society (specifically, racial a n d religious prejudice, militarism a n d imperialism, and economic dislocations such as t h e housing shortage) a n d call it ' ' i n t e m p e r a t e " . T h e s t a t e m e n t is n o t m e a n t t o be ' ' s u b t l e " but to be d r a m a t i c ; i t is n o t an " i n t e m p e r a t e a p p e a l " as much as t h e editorial is an intemperate editorial. Does t h e editorial mean t o imply t h a t t h e evils which are mentioned are nonexistent or unimportant? Are we t o infer t h a t t h e AC'S frowns o n a n y of its members who join an organization which aims to correct these evils in t h e only effective way—namely, by political action? If t h i s is t h e case, t h e n it is clear t h a t the ACS will n o t hold t h e loyalt}^ of many members w h o m i t could ill afford to lose. I t seems t o be unquestionably true t h a t the m e m b e r s h i p of t h e ACS is so divided on political a n d social questions t h a t t h e SOCIETY should carefully refrain from taking a n official s t a n d on these m a t t e r s . I t should also refrain from ' ' s u b t l e " innuendo, such as frequently appears in ' ' P o t o m a c P o s t s c r i p t s " . T h e membership
DEAR SIK:
T h o u g h we have felt t h a t t h e AMERICAN C H E M I C A L S O C I E T Y in its p u b l i c a t i o n s
fre-
q u e n t l y skirted pretty close t o the edge, it was our understanding t h a t it was not supposed t o b? an out-and-out political organization. I t was, therefore, most disconcerting to read t h e editorial in t h e Oct. 25 number
of
C H E M I C A L AND E X C I N E E R I N < ;
N E W S , " I C C A S P Does N o t Speak for Chemists", printed on the eve of election, in w h a t a n y b o d y would interpret as a partisan political move. T h e r e is, of •course, no objection t o an impartial discussion of such matters, taking account of b o t h sides, such as w a s provided b y the articles by Dole a n d T a b e r n . T h e editorial, on t h e other hand, was entirely •out of place a n d a gratuitous insult to •one of t h e authors. T h e SOCIETY should stick t o its objectives, as stated in the p a r a g r a p h quoted in t h e editorial. Et is hardly necessary in this place t o discuss t h e merits of I C C A S P beyond t h e rem a r k t h a t a number of socially conscious A C S members belong also t o it. Surely t h e ACS should n o t stoop t o red-baiting, n o r should it disparagingly quote a statem e n t concerning some of t h e evils of our
LARGE
NOW
of t h e
S O C I E T Y can b e u n i t e d
in t h e
ad-
vancement of t h e science of c h e m i s t ^ , and it is for this purpose t h a t most of us joined it. W e obviously cannot b e united in
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" T h e O r i g i n a l Synthetic Solvent M a n u f a c t u r e r s " 26 B R O A D W A Y · N E W Y O R K 4 , N E W Y O R K
political matters, b u t wo can express our political views b y joining t h e organizations especially designed for this purpose. We say that n o o n e of these organizations should t r y to force i t s views on t h e SOCIETY. T h e r e are some questions, touching jointly science a n d politics, where we might have hoped f o r u n i t y among chemists and might perhaps h a v e expected the ACS t o offer l e a d e r s h i p . Such i s the matter of control o f atomic energy. The ACS is supposed t o have a policy o n this question, but it h a s certainly p r o v i d e d no positive leadership. Perhaps t h i s is j u s t as well. T h e scientists h a v e found other, and possibly more a p p r o p r i a t e , m e a n s to express their views. All t h a t we ask i s that the A C S remain n e u t r a l in politics and stick to chemistry. OSCAR IV. RICE A. O. A L L E N C. VEB.VON CANWON FRANCIS T . BONXER ELLISON* H . TAYLOR -
HE>ÎRI A. LEVI
R. "W. STOUGHTON EDWARD SHAPIRO WILLIAM H. SULLIVAN: KURT A. KRAUS JAMES R. COE L. H. GEVAXTMAN
A. R. BROSI R. F . NEWTON Β. Η. KETELLE J. W. BOYLE C. H.SECOY SYDXEY ROSS FRED J. LEITZ, J R . M A X A. BREDIG EDWARD G. BOHLMAXN C. J . BORKOWSKI ROBERT B. SCOTT M. D. SILVERMAN
Oct k Ridge, Venn. Women
Che
trusts
DEAR SIR:
Kimble minds, n i m b l e fingers, a n d a fine capacity for l o y a l t y a n d devotion t o t h e task—this is c o m m e n t which I find myself wanting to make i n response t o your query " W h a t about t h e Women C h e m i s t s ? " I have never ru.ii a laboratory a n d s o m y opinion a s to h o w well women chemists fit in a chemical l a b o r a t o r y is n o t worth much. If it is considered t h a t they do n o t belong ideally a m i d s t t h e laboratory fumes, let ine s a y that there is still much chemical work w h i c h I know t h e y d o well. There are t w o principal methods of obtaining chemical information. I n o n e of t h e m t h e investigator t u r n s t o t h e library and in t h e other he turns t o t h e laboratory. Appreciation of t h e impor tance of t h e first m e t h o d is growing. T h e r e is much e v i d e n c e of this. W o m e n chemists are often sought for this kind of work, and they a r e good at i t . T h e office of Chemical Abstracts gets a great many inquiries a s t o possible w o r k e r s with chemical l i t e r a t u r e . W e sometimes h a v e openings ourselves, because work here a s well a s elsewhere i s increasing rapidly as a p a r t of the growing appreciation of t h e value of utilizing more effectively rapidly accumulating scientific information. T o o often large l a b o r a t o r i e s h a v e n o t m a d e full use of t h e r e s u l t s i n their own files, a n d dealing with the w o r l d ' s chemical l i t e r a t u r e is increasingly difficult a s it gains i n volume. I h a v e found myself wanting t o sound an encouraging n o t e i n response t o y o u r editorial. I , t o o , w a n t to champion t h e cause of women chemists. E . J . CRÂN T E
Columbus, Ohio 394
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