May,
1920
T H E JOURNAL OF INDUSTRIAL A N D ENGINEERING CHEMISTRY
FIRE CAUSED BY YELLOW PHOSPHORUS
Editor of the Journal of Industrial and Engineering Chemistry: Recently two notes appeared in your JOURNAL about fires caused by yellow phosphbrus. I n this connection I wish to relate a similar occurrence in our building. All stock chemicals of conbustible nature are kept in a fireproof vault which is arranged with shelves made of concrete. The vault is heated with a steam On the radiator regulated t o 55’ F. with a thermoregulator. evening of February 12, 1920,the steam pipe in the vault burst and the escaping steam melted the yellow phosphorus in the cans and bottles. One bottle containing 3 lbs. of phosphorus broke and the molten phosphorus being on the top shelf, dripped
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down and ignited. The fire caused only slight damage as it was soon extinguished with sand. Whenever yellow phosphorus is received in cans i t should be immediately transferred t o glass-stoppered bottles containing water. Such glass containers should be placed in pails or other receptacles containing water and these in turn imbedded in sand. The container should always be kept on the floor and never on shelves. Periodic inspection of combustible substances of this nature will help t o avoid future fires. ALE$XANDER LOWY SCHOOL OF CHEMISTRY OP PITTSBURGH UNIVERSITY PITTSBURGH, PA., March 18, 1920 1
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WASHINGTON LETTER
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By J. B. MCDONNELI,, Union Trust Building, Washington, D. C .
Caught in the cross currents of politics, filibuster and straight out-and-out opposition to its provisions, the dye bill is still before the Senate awaiting action. The last month has seen but few favorable developments of importance in matters of keen interest to the chemical world which are pending in Washington. The delay in action on the dye bill promises to be lengthy and the chances of failure to get action this session are growing. The army reorganization bill, appropriation bills, peace resolution, and perhaps the soldier bonus measures will all get right of way in the Senate over the dye bill, under present plans. An effort may be made by Senator Watson to get the measure up within the near future, but whether he will try sufficiently hard to succeed will depend largely upon the result of a conference which he is to have with Senator Penrose, chairman of the Finance Committee, a t the latter’s home in Philadelphia in the near future. Senator Penrose, who has been absent for several months in Florida because of ill health and only recently returned to Philadelphia, is a high protectionist and, of course, in favor of protecting the dye industry, but he has not given any opinion as to the merits of the measure the committee reported out. It is to get his support of the committee measure and have him exert his very powerful influence on the Senate to remove much of the obstruction tactics that the conference has been decided on. A peculiar situation has developed among the Republicans. Western senators, through a filibuster which showed itself on the floor when the bill enjoyed its fleeting consideration of a day, just prior t o the taking up of the Treaty by the Senate for the second time, have succeeded in forcing the Finance Committee t o report out tariff measures it had been determined to “smother” for this session. Since then, they have been a t work trying to assure action on the floor on these measures and have nsed obstructionist tactics against the dye bill as a means of bringing pressure to win their point. Several amendments to the bill are pending. The United States Tariff Commission in a report made t o the Finance Committee on the Moses amendment criticizes it and states that it is unworkable in certain of its provisions. The Moses amendment would eliminate the embargo provisions of the committee bill and substitute therefor a system of special tariffs. It is practically an anti-dumping measure. Senator Keyes, also of New Hampshire, has introduced four amendments to the committee bill, upon the assumption, however, that the bill will be adopted without very material changes. His amendments are designed to afford more certain and greater protection to the dye consumer by changing the phraseology of the bill in places. Senator Thomas, Democrat, of Colorado, has proposed as an amendment t o the dye bill a measure imposing a tax equal to one hundred per cent on all political contributions of more than a thousand dollars. He has attempted to get action on this measure several times without success. He has been accused of indulging himself in sarcastic humor in this move. Needless to say, the dye bill has been the target of many r5arges hurled by opponents, who charge that possible campaign contributions have had the effect of enlisting supporters. It is also needless to say that charges of “lobby” and the crew of additional charges and innuendoes that usually accompanies the first, have been made in connection with other tariff measures pending, few of them escaping. Favorable report also has been made by the Finance Committee on Senator Smoot’s anti-dumping measure. I t has been sug-
gested that this be made an amendment to the dye bill, but plans were changed and it was reported as a separate measure. While it is not proposed as a substitute for any section of the dye bill, it is interesting to note that Senator Smoot several times has expressed the opinion that anti-dumping legislation, supplemental t o a high protective tariff, would be adequate to protect the dye industry. Although not an ardent supporter of the committee bill, Senator Smoot is not radically opposed t o it, however, and will support it when it comes to a vote, according to those in charge of the bill. As the situation stands a t the present time the outlook for action on the bill in the near future is dark; while chances of action on the laboratory and scientific instruments bill are considerably less a t this session. The same is true of other tariff measures. Only strong pressure upon members of the Senate to convince them of the necessity of enacting legislation t o protect the industry can bring any action, unless the Penrose-Watson conference results in the strong support of the former. There are many senators who would vote for the bill if brought up for action, but the fact that we still are technically a t war, with war-time restrictions in force, has been a potent argument in the hands of those Republicans who are opposed to any tariff legislation until after election. The Senate a t the present time is engaged in consideration of the army reorganization measure, which was passed recently by the House. Establishment of the Chemical Warfare Service as a separate department of the Army was provided for in the bill as it passed the House, and although the Senate has not yet acted finally on the provisions of the bill, it also will accord to this important warfare machinery the recognition it should have by making it a separate department, instead of placing it as a sub-division of another department as was proposed by General March, Chief of Staff. Following hearings which brought scientific and technical men from all over the country to testify before the committee, the House passed the Nolan bill providing for reorganization of the United States Patent Office. This measure is now pending in the Senate Patents Committee of which Senator Norris is chairman. The bill provides for a general reorganization of the patent office, and increases the pay of the staff so as to prevent complete disintegration through resignations. Hearings were held on the bill on April 8, but no action was taken by the committee a t that time, because of lack of a quorum. Senator Norris is now in Nebraska and is expected to return here the latter part of April. Present plans are for the prompt calling of the committee and an immediate favorable report to the Senate, where it is proposed to press it for passage a t this session. St. John Perret, chief of the War Trade Board Section of the Department of State, has left here and is now in Europe, where he is acting as the representative of the United States in the allocation of the German dyestuffs through the allied commissions provided for in the Treaty. Latest official advices are to the effect that there is a prospect of the dock strike, which has tied up shipping a t Amsterdam and Rotterdam for many weeks, being broken. Officials state that practically all of the dyes obtained from Germany through the reparations commission and under the option obtained by Dr. Charles H. Herty, from the German chemical cartel, are now in Rotterdam awaiting shipment. They have been there for several weeks, arriving just about the time the strike was begun. Shipping has been paralyzed however and it has been found impossible to move them. Once the strike is ended the barrier will be removed and the dyes will come forward to this
