Vol. 20, No. 1
JANUARY 1, 1928
work of the American Society for Testing Materials. He did his collegiate work a t Illinois, Cornell, Berlin, and Zurich. H E Council of the SOCIETY has been confronted with the His home is in Urbana, Ill., and according to the record he difficult problem of choosing from among four outstand- was born January 21, 1857. President Parr has been a loyal member of our SOCIETY for the year 1928. ing men one to be President of the SOCIETY The election just closed shows Samuel Wilson Parr to have been since 1894 and has served it in nearly all capacities. Active the choice. Elections as conducted by the AMERICAN CHEMI- as an individual, he has been identified with local section CAL SOCIETY are a model for such organizations. Our local work and the development of divisions of the SOCIETY, sections suggest names to the SOCIETY, but this does not pre- notably Industrial and Engineering Chemistry and Gas and clude the nomination of others by our membership. The whole Fuel Chemistry. He has served many years upon the CounSOCIETY is privileged to vote in the primary and four candi- cil, has been a member of the Executive Committee, and one of our D i r e c t o r s . dates receiving t i e He has contributed highest number of largely of his time votes are presented w h e n e v e r called t o t h e Council, upon and in whatnow a body of some ever capacity. He t w o h u n d r e d and knows a l l a b o u t s e v e n men, whose cooperation, and we b a l l o t s elect. As a r e c o n f i d e n t the councilors represent SOCIETY will follow the local s e c t i o n s with enthusiasm the and the membership leadership which his a t large, we believe a c t i v e administraour elections obtain tion will supply. for the SOCIETY the Our out-going men desired by the P r e s i d e n t , George m a j o r i t y . The D. Rosengarten, has choice, however, is served the SOCIETY a l w a y s difficult to faithfully and well make and no chemand is a n o t h e r of ist is ever embarthose men who hold r as s e d because anthemselves in readiother happens to be ness to perform such chosen. George D. Rosengarten Samuel W. Parr We have k n o w n services for the SoNewly Elected President Retiring President CIETY as it may dePresident Parr for mand. Hehas nearly a quarter of a century; received given u s a strong in a kihdly manner when a salesman, those first im- business administration of SOCIETY affairs and now, a t his pressions have endured. Those who have not come under own request, returns to the ranks of the privates, from which the influence of his genial personality and do not know he may be drafted a t any time to bring again to SOCIETY his hearty laugh would do well to turn back to our Ameri- affairs a wealth of experience, soundness of judgment, and can Contemporaries and note page 985 in Volume 17 for a devotion to the welfare of American chemistry which will 1925. be invaluable. President Parr has now retired as professor of industrial chemistry a t the University of Illinois, though he is still most active in consulting work and in the business of the Standard Calorimeter Company, with which he has long been identiHE phrase “profitless prosperity,” coined to describe fied. He is known internationally for his work on the the business of 1927, has its basis in the steady lowering composition, weathering, and spontaneous combustion of of commodity prices which today are 15 per cent below coals, calorimetry of fuels, metallurgical chemistry, boiler those of two years ago. That business has continued in waters, acid-resisting alloys including platinum substitutes, large volume only testifies to the economies instituted, the work upon the potash shales of Illinois, and more recently standardization practiced, the waste eliminated, and the extensive experiments and semicommercial work on low- utility made of statistical and scientific data now availtemperature carbonization of coals. He is a member of able in generous measure. Competition may have been a several scientific societies and has been prominent in the factor in forcing adaptation of such procedures which will
Our Presidents
Nineteen Twenty-Eight
2
INDUSTRIAL A N D ENGINEERING CHEMISTRY
be of great value now that encouraging up-turn is noted in several quarters. That business cannot proceed satisfactorily on a profitless prosperity is evident, and we look to 1928 as a year when business will be just as good as we are determined to make it and satisfactory for those who are determined to get it. When such conditions prevail, the scientist, and particularly the chemist, has his greatest opportunity. When economies in manufacture become vital, the management will do well to make sure of its scientific staff, for in their ability, backed by adequate facilities, is more surely to be found the answer of how to make it for less than in any other quarter. A choice between alternative raw materials cannot be made with safety without scientific advice. I n these competitive days a new line of merchandise should not be introduced without assurances as to its adequate supply of sufficiently cheap raw material, its satisfactory service, and a thorough survey of the consuming market. We expect to see still further developments in the art of advertising and selling, the continued exploitation of color on every hand, and an effort first to create and then to supply popular demand-all on a more scientific basis than has obtained heretofore. Not only will the scientist have his enlarged opportunity in research and production, in control and in management, but in the departments of sales and of purchases with extended demands made upon him in the service departments which today are important, whatever the line of business activity. Nineteen twenty-eight can be made a good year. Like the cow, its voluntary contributions will be nil and what can be extracted from it will depend upon the man.
Cartel Cogitations HILE “conversations are continuing” and preliminary agreements, gradually perfecting the details of the international cartel in chemistry, are being signed in certain cities of Europe, much thought is being given to the new problem in the circles of American chemical industry and the press reflects the views of many who have carefully gone into the possibilities. This new competition, which goes beyond the national phase and bids fair to line the rest of the producing world against the United States in the effort to supply the consuming market, is a threat of disaster, a challenge to brains, a stimulation to greater effort, and a good or a bad thing depending as much upon your point of view and the degree of optimism or pessimism in your make-up as upon any data a t present in hand. Excellent and reliable reports of the situation as it is developing come from the Bureau of Foreign and Domestic Commerce and individual observers on the ground have tried to evaluate the several factors. The size of the international cartel seems overwhelming to some. Others are less concerned with the size than with the leadership under which the negotiations have proceeded. They single out two men who seem qualified by long training and experience as chemists as well as business men to make the cartel a success if such a scheme can be made to realize the purpose of its founders. That such a cartel labors under some disadvantages must be apparent. The possibility of higher prices with the disappearance of competition in certain markets, the weight of overhead, the almost certain internal jealousies, and possible political complications with an organization so large and powerful as to demand the .serious attention of government-all have been noted. There are many diverse opinions as to the most efficient means for strengthening our position, but upon five cardinal points there should be agreement. First, something concrete must be done in earnest and a t once to perfect a better
Vol. 20, No. 1
organization among the American chemical industry, in which respect even within our own laws we are far behind European organizations. Second, corporations must place upon their directorates a larger number of technically trained men, men who have displayed acumen for the details of business and commerce, but who are thoroughly trained in the science and technology underlying the business with which they are connected. Third, we must go forward vigorously with well-considered conservative programs for industrial research, which always involves adequate support of the fundamental work upon which our applied science rests. The scarcity of thoroughly trained men for research positions would indicate that industry is beginning to realize fully the importance of this third point. Fourth, the expansion of the service to be rendered by the Bureau of Foreign and Domestic Commerce is of vital importance. We must not depend upon casual information nor upon the reports obtained by men not technically trained. Such information as can be had through legitimate channels deals with complex subjects and requires for its gathering and dissemination the critical discrimination of men technically trained. To secure and hold such men the bureau requires increased funds and to support their work appropriations for assistants and for travel. We must have more data of the utmost reliability and with promptness. Another cardinal point is again the question of foreign loans, in the making of which we feel sure our bankers look only to the immediate profit of the transaction and not to the yltimate effect upon the American industry, from which this money really comes. Foreign loans involve no risk to the international bankers making them, for they are not loaning their own money and they are not guaranteeing the safety of your money which they loan. Time and again we have pointed out the almost certain effect upon our own industry upon possible interference with our tariff policies and the long-time effect upon American business and prosperity. We have a duty to perform in continually bringing these points before those who have failed to consider the many disturbing factors. We do not look upon the situation as one to cause alarm, but it does behoove us carefully and calmly to study it, truly evaluate the factors in the equation, and proceed harmoniously upon whatever lines such an analysis may dictate.
Faraday’s Idea INETY years ago Faraday decided that children should have an opportunity to become interested in science and announced that during Christmas week he would give a series of scientific lectures for them a t the Royal Institution in London. So successful were these lectures that such a course has been given in the same institution every Christmas season since Faraday’s time, and by the foremost physicists of the English-speaking countries. Faraday’s idea has been perpetuated, but in a more haphazard way in other centers largely, we believe, because it is difficult for many scientific men to speak to children. It requires great skill to know what to present and how to present it so that the school boy or girl carries away a lasting impression of exactly the right kind. A year ago the Franklin Institute decided to inaugurate a similar course of Christmas lectures in Philadelphia, and R. W. Wood of Johns Hopkins gave the lectures. Fortunately, there was in his audience a nine-year old boy who was so impressed that he carried home stories of the wonder-working experiments with radiation which had been demonstrated and described to him. His grandmother sensed at once the value of the intellectual
