July
10, 1925
INDUSTRIAL
AND ENGINEERING
Obituary Senator Edwin Fremont Ladd Senator Edwin Fremont Ladd of North Dakota died in Balti more, June 22. The direct cause of the Senator's death was kidney trouble. For many years he suffered greatly from neuritis and rheumatism, but no one seemed to think that this disorder would lead to a serious aancl n d fatal complication. ι, . _ .,. . .———— complication. . > A knowledge of the Senator's Senator's daily habits, from young manι man r death, hhood o o d to h i s untimely death, ! f f wo-uld seem t o justify hhee opinion j womld t h a t hhee literally worked himhim ; self t o death. dea.th. He sacrificed \* ^ .t sacrificed ||. I himself upon the altar of human human ' . _, | welfare by devoting every momo i[ ment ' .~ . m e n t of his wakeful hours t o an • intensive sstudy t u d y of tthe h e social, j political, aand n d scientific problems affecting the lives of his fellow the fellow ], citizens. I t seems tthat ji h a t Senator Senator ι La^dd's .1 L a d d ' s one great weakness was M . JI t h a t he hhad a d no disposition to U ' j| pplay—to l a y — t o relax—to do the t h e things things ! most m o s t men d o for recreation— recreation— j s .--V ; re-creation. He tthought h o u g h t he was U securing a sufficient mental and |t — ....,. .»? ): physical rrest by a change of est by But Senator E. F. Ladd occupation. B u t it apparently apparently d i d not work:. Ladd'ss vocations and avocations tells A partial list of Senator Ladd tire story of his useful and energetic career. He was at one and t h e same time president, professor of chemistry, and dean of the thte Pharmacy of the North Dakota Agricultural College; School of Pliarmacy S t a t e Food and Drug Commissioner of North Dakota, charged with the administration of some ten or twelve laws regulating th.e sale of numerous articles of commerce besides foodstuffs and drugs; editor, North Dakota Farmer; fellow, American Acad e m y for the Advancement of Science; Federal Food Administra tor, North Dakota; and member of the joint Committee on Defi nitions and Standards of the State and Federal Governments. Senator Ladd became president of the North Dakota Agricultural College in 1916. He was elected to the United States Senate in 1920. Nothing short of a volume could catalog the many problems Laxld tackled and solved. He contributed much to Senator Ladd scientific a n d political literature of lasting benefit to mankind. R u t his intimate friends will always prefer to remember him and t o think of him as Ladd, the man ; in stature shorter than Na poleon or Alexander the Great; in character a treasure of whole s o m e principles—pure, respectable, and sublime; in mentality strong, nenetratine:. penetrating, and courageous. stroiie. Whatever information Senator Ladd sought was sought in tiie manner and spirit of the trained investigator that he was, tlae whether it related to science or t o politics. He was an inhabitant o f the Empire of Reason. "Whatever he did, he did with boldness bait with prudence. In manner he was quiet, thoughtful, and S"weet-tenipered. He had a wholesome respect for the opinions, s-weet-tempered. feelings, a n d comforts of his fellow man. The finest tribute that can be paid to Senator Ladd is that his was truly a. Christian character. H e was the proud father of a devoted family—a Christian wife and eight fine Christian chil dren. He had a wholesome interest in his fellow man. He took a. sincere, unobtrusive -unobtrusive interest in everything that reflected the d a i l y lives of h i s community. In brief, he was a fine type of American manhood. Harrie Roy Payne Payne Harrie R o y Payne, chief chemist and metallographer of the Research Department of the National Malleable and Steel Cast ings Company, died at his home in Cleveland, Monday, June 1, 1925. Although he had been in failing health for several months, M r . Payne had fulfilled his usual duties on the preceding Satur d a y , deathi death, coming suddenly after an illness of but twenty-four laours. from Case School ot of Applied bcience Science m in 1898, Graduating From i»y», IPayne entered the employment of the National Company in 1900, after two years in the blast furnace industry. He served ithe Sharon Works as chief chemist until 1920, when he was transferred to the position he filled at the time of his death. Of modest and retiring disposition, t h his great n e measure of 01 nis ability in his chosen field was known only to those brought into intimate contact with his work. In the quarter century of chem ical work, no disputes with other laboratories ever arose, in which
CHEMISTRY
t
Mr. Payne was not showm to be, as he phrased it, "more nearly right" than his opponents. In microphotography he won great recognition in recent years, samples of his work having been exhibited at technical exposi tions, and also requested, for illustrative purposes, by makers of the equipment he employed. His micrographs were used as illustrations in two recent metallurgical books.
Side Trips from Los Angeles Those who attend the Los Angeles meeting and plan to return by northern routes may register at Los Angeles for side trips as follows: stop-over in San Francisco with entertainment arranged by California Section; stop-over in Portland of one day with auto mobile trip over the Mt. Hood loop, making a complete circuit of Mt. Hood, arranged by the Oregon Section; upon arrival in Tacoma during the night, sleeping cars will be switched to the Milwaukee road and taken to Ashford, thence by auto stage to Paradise Imi at Mt. Rainier for a whole day in Rainier National Park, giving opportunity to spend some time on the glaciers and snow fields. The cars will then proceed to Seattle as the terminus. All those who purchase round trip tickets through Portland or Seattle can register at Los Angeles to take all or part of these side trips.
Seattle Expects Convention Visitors The chemists and other citizens of Seattle have extended a cordial invitation to all those attending the Los Angeles meeting of the American Chemical Society to visit their city on the re turn trip. An optional routing of tickets for a return via Seattle and the Northwest can be arranged without difficulty but it is necessary to make the request for such routing at the time tickets are purchased. There is much of interest to chemists in the Pacific Northwest, and great projects, like the Priest Rapids project which is to utilize its power chiefly in the manufacture of chemicals, and other big undertakings, will be worth while seeing. Besides this, the Northwest is a delightful summer country and the scenic and recreational advantages as well as the cool summer climate will add enjoyment to the trip as a whole.
Dyestuffs Branch of H. A. Metz & Co. Sold The General DyestufF Corporation, 122 Hudson St., New York, N. Y., has taken over the dyestuffs branch of H. A. Metz & Co., Inc., and will operate the branches in Boston, Providence, Philadelphia, Chicago, Charlotte, and San Francisco. In addi tion to handling the dyestuffs of Lucius & Bruening, Germany, hitherto imported and sold by Metz & Co., the new corporation will have the agency for the dyes of Leopold Casella & Co. B. A. Ludwig, formerly with the National Aniline & Chemical Co. and recently appointed American agent of the Casella dyes, is to be vice president and director of the General Dyestuffs Corporation.
Scientists Meet at Reed College At the meeting of the American Association for the Advance ment of Science held at Reed College, Portland, Oregon, June 17-20, chemists devoted Friday to their proceedings. Papers were read by Dr. Hildebrand, of the University of California, Dr. Benson, Dr. Tartar, and others, of the University of Wash ington, as well as a number by members of the Oregon Section of the American Chemical Society, at the morning and afternoon sessions. A "dinner honoring Professor Alexander Findlay, of the Uni versity of Aberdeen, was held in the evening, attended by seventy members of the American Chemical Society and their friends. After the dinner Professor Findlay delivered a public address on "The Appeal of Science to the Community."
Northern Indiana Section Joins 100% Group The Northern Indiana Section, with headquarters at South Bend, Indiana, has subscribed one hundred per cent to the Amer ican Chemical Society Endowment Fund. There is still ample room in the one hundred per cent column for many other local sections of the American Chemical Society. Who will be the next?
Platinum Stolen from Grove City College A theft of platinum occurred from the stock room of the chemistry department of Grove City College sometime between June 20 at 5 P.M. and June 22 at 12:30 P.M. The stolen material includes 4 crucibles and lids, 1 dish, 2 cylinder elec* trodes, and 2 flag gauze-electrodes.
S
INDUSTRIAL AND ENGINEERING CHEMISTRY Chemical Cross Word Puzzle
The puzzle submitted with this issue was designed by Prof. Carl Otto of the Department of Chemistry, University of Maine.
47. 52. 53. 55. 56. 59.
*«« Edition
A n y o r g a n i c iodide. C y a n o g e n iodide. Suffix of a salt of a n '"ic" a c i d . Prefix m e a n i n g like. A m e m b e r of t h e c a r b o n family ( s y m b o l ) . T h e nitrile radical.
The solution for the chemical cross word puzzle appearing on page 14 of the June 20 News Edition, contributed by M. U. Hamlin, follows: HORIZONTAL
1, P b S 0 4 ; 5, t u b e s ; 10, H N O 2 ; 12. n o r m . ; 13. t o n ; 15. F e ; 17, x y l o l : 19. ol; 2 0 . O s ; 2 1 , e p ; 22, N a ; 2 3 , r e ; 2 4 . N i : 25. A s ; 2 6 , S e ; 27, o c ; 28 N t ; 2 9 , H H ; 3 1 , C r ; 3 2 . n a p e s ; 34, O3; 3 6 , l b s . ; 3 8 , r a s p . ; 4 1 , m o n o ; 4 3 , e r o d e ; 4 4 , S n S(>4. VERTICAL
1, P h o t o ; 2, B N ; 3 , S O · ; 4, 0 2 ; 6, u n ; 7, B o r ; S. er; 9, s m i l e ; 1 1 . m o l ; 13, t y p i c a l ; 14, n o n a r . ^ s ; 16, e s t e r ; 17, X e n o n ; 18, l a s t s ; 19, o r t h o ; 26, s c o r e ; 3 0 , HsPO*; 3 3 . P b O ; 35, i s o ; 37, C O S ; 39, a r ; 4 0 . P d ; 4 1 , M o ; 4 2 . N O .
Sir Max Muspratt Discusses America
HORIZONTAL
1. 7. 12. 13. 14. 1»>. l.S. llJ. '20. '21. '23. 25. LMi. '2\). .11. 3'2. 33. 35. 3»i. 37. 3X 41. 42. 43. 44. 4ti. 4V 49. ôt). ."il. ")!'. /il. 55. 5ti. .17. ."».s. •VJ. til). »»1. b'2.
Combustion. Λ11 a p p a r a t u s for m e a s u r i n g the v o l u m e of a s o l u t i o n . W h a t soiriL» c h e m i c a l s c o m e m. A kind of c a l o r i m e t e r . A process of o b t a i n i n g o x y g e n . A very h a r d s u b s t a n c e . Shallow d i s h e s A m e m b e r of t h e b o r o n family. S a m e as 11) h o r i z o n t a l < s y m b o l ) . A r e a g e n t m u c h used in q u a l i t a t i v e a n a l y s i s ( f o r m u l a ) An indicator. S y m b o l for a n c l e m e n t giving t h e b l u e flame t e s t . A p a p e r tiller. S y m b o l for e l e m e n t with specific weight of 9. T h e m e t e m p s y c h o s i s p r o d u c t of r a d i u m . S e c o n d l i g h t e s t i;as (symbol '. A salt of p l a t i n u m . T h e most used metal (symbol). A halogen ι f o r m u l a ι T i t a n i u m niotiosult'ide ' f o r m u l a i . C.laubers salts C a r b o r u n d u m (formula· I n i t i a l s of a l o r m c r p r e s i d e n t · of Γ . S not A. C. S » Isonitrile r a d i c a l . T r i v a l e n t iron. An i m p o r t a n t classification F o r m u l a of a n impt>ssible c o m p o u n d . T h e s e e l e m e n t s do n o t c o m b i n e with e a c h o t h e r CI SO*. P()4, or SiO.. Sulhx tor c o m p o u n d s c o n t a i n i n g O H radical, A valuable metal (symbol·. C r o s s w o r d s look like t h i s ι not c h e m i c a l ) , A n old r e l i a b l e p r e p o s i t i o n (not c h e m i c a l ) A s y m b o l of d e b t (not c h e m i c a l ) . Kka aluminium vsymboh. G r e e k for " a g r e e n twig'" ( s y m b o l ) . N o u n m e a n i n g k i n d (not c h e m i c a l ) . A n alkali ( s y m b o l ) , K 2 S( U MgS< h MgCl.• I i l h ( > C a r b o n sulfoxide. P o s i t i v e p o l e of a n e l e c t r o l y t i c cell. VERTICAL
1. '2. 3. 4. 5. t> 7. S. 9. 10. 11. 15. 17. 20. 22. 24. 27. 28. 30. 34. 35. 36. 39. 40. 43. 45. 40.
W e s t e r n o r e s p r o m i n e n t at p r e s e n t . A wanderer. CH3.CH(OC?II&)s. An e l e m e n t of t h e nitrogen family ( s y m b o l ) . T h e rare gases a r e — O n e of t h e p l a t i n u m m e t a l s T h e k i n d of d i r t t h a t gold is found in. A n e l e m e n t u s e d in pen p o i n t s ( s y m b o l ) . A m e a n s of s e p a r a t i o n . A shallow d i s h . A perfume. S y m b o l for t w o e l e m e n t s very h a r d t o s e p a r a t e . O n e of t h e r a r e e a r t h s . An alkaline earth (symbol). A solution of k n o w n s t r e n g t h . A prefix d e s i g n a t i n g a n u n d i s c o v e r e d e l e m e n t . What m a k e s newspaper revenue (not ehem.). S o m e t h i n g we u s e in e v e r y l a b o r a t o r y . An alkali. A p r e c i p i t a n t for n i t r a t e s . A melt. P a r t of t h e v e r b " t o b e " (not c h e m . ) . Aromatic alcohols. T o p p t . a s o l u b l e s u b s t a n c e o n t h e s u r f a c e of a n insoluble s u b s t a n c e . Nickel dioxide. An aromatic radical. A p r o c e s s of g e t t i n g silver from i t s ores.
The following paragraphs are taken from Chemical Age (Lon don), and will be of interest to American chemists. Those who attended the Ithaca meeting last fall will recall the visit of Sir Max Muspratt to the United States at t h a t time: "As regards the United States," Sir Max continued, " I am a great admirer of t h e American people and feel that nothing but good can result from our knowing more of each other as nations, and keeping together on the great ideals and objects respecting which we are united as one race. At the same time, I never admire America to the disparagement of our own coun try. They have much to teach us as a younger nation; we have something still to teach them. In my opinion we have nothing to fear from the United States. They are in the main pre occupied with their own affairs, and from 30 to 50 years more will be occupied in developing their own resources. It is impos sible really to compare the two countries, because the conditions in America and in England are so very different. The Americans are in some ways wonderfully enterprising. They have developed mass production to a remarkable degree—the motor industry is, perhaps, the best example. It must be remembered t h a t they have an immense population of their own, before they begin to think of finding customers elsewhere. Then they believe thoroughly in comfort and luxury, and like new devices for laborsaving, both in business and in domestic arrangements. "One hears a great deal about American hustle, but as a matter of fact Americans are great wasters of time, very much inclined to be late, and quite slow in many ways. Our shorter hours and more intensive work are in several respects more effective. Their tendency is to specialize very much in business and in everything, with the result t h a t their outlook is apt to become narrow and restricted on general matters. They want, for example, to develop a really educated public opinion in politics. They spend very large sums on industrial research, both through State and private enterprise, and are very alert in applying its results commercially. On the other hand, in fundamental chemical research, which lies at the very basis of things, I fancy we compare very favorably with them. Anyhow, I know how profound their respect is for the great English leaders in chemical science and technology. Taking everything into account, I have no fear of displacement in neutral markets, a t any rate for some years to come, by the United States, and while we can appreciate many of their distinctive characteristics, I see no reason for doing so a t the expense of ourselves."
Bunsen and the Bunsen Burner An original letter written by Robert Bunsen in 1856 concerning the part played by his mechanician, DeSaga, in designing the "Bunsen" burner is in possession of the Department of Chemistry of Cornell University. A photographic reproduction of this letter together with a translation of the letter appeared in a recent issue of the Cornell Chemist, the periodical published by the undergraduates in the chemistry course a t Cornell, with the cooperation of Dr. R T. K. Cornwell of the Cornell faculty. This should be of value to any chemist interested in the historical element of the science. Copies of this issue may be obtained a t a cost of $0.50 by ad dressing the Cornell Chemist, Baker Laboratory, Ithaca, Ν . Υ.
Scholarships i n Gas Engineering Two scholarships in gas engineering in Johns Hopkins Uni versity have been offered b y the Consolidated Gas Electric Light & Power Company, according t o a n announcement. T h e scholarships, which are worth $350 a year each, are open to residents of Baltimore and vicinity who can meet t h e University requirements.
July 10, 1925
INDUSTRIAL
AND ENGINEERING
{Continued, from page 2) years to recommend for the Institute's approval those educa tional institutions which in ti*e opinion of the committee were giving satisfactory instruction in chemical engineering. " T h e present committee bas^done a vast "amount of preliminary work leading to the final objective, and has investigated as thoroughly as possible b y correspondence all institutions claiming to teach chemical engineering. From the data received from 65 colleges the committee p r e p a r e d graphical as well as tabular pre sentations of the different courses, showing plus or minus varia tions from the average, and giving other pertinent information. Copies have been submitted t o all of t h e colleges so t h a t they can study the comparisons and note t h e variations in their own courses. " T h e first step was t o set u p a reasonable basis of comparison of the courses now offered a t numerous institutions. The d a t a contained in the X,ittle report disclosed such a diversity of sub jects as to make it practically impossible to draw any direct comparison, either among t h e schools themselves or between individual schools and any tentative standard which the com mittee might set up. I n o r d e r to facilitate such a comparison, the committee grouped all courses i n t o nine general divisions as follows: A—Cultural, Β—Mathematics, C—Physics, D — Mechanics, Ε—Chemistry, F—Chemical Engineering, G—Other Engineering, H—Other Science, I—Elective. "Without proposing t o set hard a n d fast limits on the relative amount of time that should b e devoted to these groups of studies in a four-year course, the committee felt, nevertheless, t h a t it would be helpful in crystallizing its ideas if t h e members could agree upon a tentative estimate. A preliminary effort in this direction seemed promising. In fact, with a few exceptions which were obviously e x t r e m e , there was reasonable accord in the estimates made by different members of t h e committee, of which the table gives w h a t is probably a fair average. "Following this an a t t e m p t : was made by t h e committee to group the data for 32 schools, as presented in the Little report. In spite of some obvious difficulties of classification due to differ ence in nomenclature, there was fair concordance in the result. The average is indicated in t h e table. "This proved riot wholly satisfactory d u e to the fact t h a t fre quently t h e committee was n o t in possession of sufficient in formation t o enable i t to group courses intelligently. Accord ingly, it was decided to ask t h e colleges to group their own courses according to t h e coinmittee's system a n d submit the result. Sixty-five courses were thus compiled a n d yielded t h e following average: PERCENTAGE OF XOTAL. R E Q U I R E M E N T S Committee's Average of computation of all colleges Estimate of data on 32 schools based on their committee in Little report own computation Cultural 15 11.7 13.9 Mathematics 12 ID. 7 11.2 Physics 8 7.7 7.5 λ'^οηΗηΐΰβ iS 5.7 5.3 Chemistry 28 29.2 30.0 Chemical Engineering... . . 12 11.0 10.3 Other Engineering 14 18.7 16.0 Other Science 2 1.1 2.1 Elective 3 4.2 3.7
" B u t if there is harmony i n the foregoing averages, there is still the greatest diversity among individual schools. Eliminating those differences w h i c h arise from variations in nomen clature, and taking i n t o account t h e influence of location and industrial environment on courses i n some institutions, it is still evident t h a t colleges of the United. States are far from a con sensus of opinion, as to what constitutes a good course in chemical engineering. " T h e committee recognizes clearly t h a t the curriculum a t any institution is not the sole criterion of the value of the instruction offered to students. A n excellent course may be printed in the catalog, b u t the institution m a y be without adequate faculty and other facilities. "Other standards m u s t b e set u p , and in its final action the committee has taken i n t o consideration such factors as entrance requirements, time required to complete the course, faculties, general conception of the course, internal organization, physical facilities, etc. The views of t h e committee on some of these sub jects are outlined, below. " I n selecting the schools which, in its judgment, are manned and equipped to give satisfactory courses in chemical engineering the Committee i s fully sensible to t h e physical limitations affect ing its choice. I t has been impossible t o visit all of the schools or to confer personally with, all of the faculties. I t is recom mended, therefore, that on t h e discharge of the present committee the Institute appoint a standing committee on chemical engineer ing education for the p u r p o s e of considering from time to time the representations of schools n o t y e t selected, recommend them for t h e Institute's approval whenever they meet the general standards already set up or subsequently adopted. The Insti tute will thus b e a continuing influence i n raising t h e standard of chemical engineering education.
CHEMISTRY
9
"As a result of the present inquiry the committee unanimously recommends that the following schools be rated as giving satis factory courses in chemical engineering. The committee desires it to be understood, however, t h a t some schools may have been omitted which, with more complete knowledge of their work and conditions, might have been included. Hence the committee does not undertake to indicate schools t h a t are not giving satis factory courses. I t merely reports that as far as it has been able to judge from the information a t its disposal, the schools named below are prepared to teach chemical engineering according to acceptable standards. Armour Institute of Technology, Carnegie Institute of Tech nology, Case School of Applied Science, Columbia university, Iowa State College (Ames), Massachusetts Institute of Tech nology, Ohio State University, Polytechnic Institute (Brooklyn), Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, University of Cincinnati, University of Michigan, University of Minnesota, University of Wisconsin, Yale University." The Institute was fortunate in being able to visit a number of Rhode Island industries under able guidance. Rubber, tex tiles, oil refining, chemical works, silversmithing and bronze casting, machine tools and fine measuring instruments, gas works and the inspection of an industrial river were the subjects of these excursions. President Chas. L. Reese spoke at the joint luncheon with the Committee of 100 of the Chamber of Commerce on "Does Chemical Engineering P a y ? " The address of A. D. Little, " T h e Handwriting on the Wall" and of Maximilian Toch, " T h e Humorous Side of the P a t e n t Situation" featured the banquet. C. H. Currier of Brown University gave a popular lecture on "The Recent Total Eclipse of the Sun." Following t h e re ception and during the week opportunities were afforded t o visit the laboratories of Brown University and t h e exposition of the Association of Chemical Equipment Manufacturers. The December meeting of the Institute will be held in Cin cinnati, Ohio, t h e symposium subject being "Plant Location." Factors influencing the selection of plant sites will be discussed. The 1926 summer meeting, devoted to corrosion studies, will be held in Berlin, Ν . Η. A party of 57 has sailed to attend the joint meeting in Leeds, England.
Colloid -Symposium at University of Minnesota For the third time in as many years a group of scientists convened from all parts of this country and from Europe to de vote their undivided attention for a few days to the colloidal state of matter, when the third annual Colloid Symposium, under the auspices of the Colloid Committee of the National Research Council, met at the University of Minnesota on June 17, 18, and 19. It was not merely an aca demic gathering; many of the delegates and three of t h e speakers were from industrial concerns. A survey of t h e register shows t h a t out of 365 delegates. 69 were from indus tries. Some of the lines of industry represented were terracotta, medicinals, sugar, glass, rubber, flour, aluminium, baking, batteries, drugs, ink, asphalt, petroleum, food can ning, soap, chemicals, tele phone, photography, electrical instruments, artificial silk, ar tificial leather, starch, glue, cereals, coal tar, sleeping cars, synthetic plastics, serums, lin Herbert F r e u n d l i c h seed oil, mining, paper, water, real estate, engineering, and nickel. Besides these there were consulting chemists, bacteriologists and chemists from hygienic laboratories and medical research institutes, and city and state chemists. Although no new concepts of importance were presented at t h e symposium, practically every phase of theoretical and applied colloid chemistry was touched upon, including soils, catalysts, paint pigments, protoplasm, soaps, emulsions, orientation of molecules, electrokinetic potentials, photographic sensitizing substances, bacterial toxins, blood coagulation, aluminium floes in water purification, plasticity of rubber, and motion pictures of colloids as seen in the ultramicroscope. Dr. and Mrs. Herbert Freundlich of the Kaiser Wilhelm In stitut of Berlin, were the guests of honor. Professor Freundlich presented a paper on electrokinetic potentials, and will remain at the University of Minnesota to teach a course in colloid chem istry during t h e summer session.
