L E T T E R S
Political Questions And Scientists DEAR SIR:
Of course C&EN should report such events as the formation of Scientists and Engineers for Johnson and Humphrey (C&EN, Aug. 24, page 21). If the proposed organization for Goldwater and Miller materializes, you should report that too.* Give us the news of interest to scientists, including political news, and disregard such squeamish protests as those contained in your issue of Sept. 21. The graver question remains: Should scientists, speaking as scientists, band together to support a political candidate? My answer, so far as the present election is concerned, is an emphatic yes. Modern science and technology have transformed our world. The wise use of the powers they have placed in our hands is a matter of life and death for our society. Particularly in matters that involve the control and use of nuclear weapons, the President of the United States must be a man who understands these appalling responsibilities. This has been true of Presidents Tinman, Eisenhower, Kennedy, and Johnson; increasingly, while maintaining our military strength and our power to deter aggression, they have recognized that the continuation of the arms race, no matter how successfully we pursued it, would steadily decrease our national security while increasing our military power. This point has just been made again, clearly and authoritatively, by Jerome Wiesner and Herbert York in their article on the nuclear test ban treaty (Scientific American, October 1964). Until 1964 these issues, though inevitably controversial, represented the general consensus of American thought; they were bipartisan, or nonpartisan, issues. Now, however, the Republican Party has been captured by a candidate who talks of certain nuclear weapons as "conventional," although they may have several times the energy of the bomb that destroyed Hiroshima; who has said, "We should, I believe, announce in no uncertain terms that we are against disarmament" (Barry Goldwater in "Why Not Victory,"), who has voted against 6
C&EN
NOV. 2, 1964
the nuclear test ban treaty. These are isolated but typical examples of Senator Goldwater's thinking; one could cite dozens more; and the situation is not improved by the fact that he constantly contradicts himself while claiming to be consistent. The total record shows that Goldwater simply has not grasped the nature of the modern scientific revolution; many of his statements are simply irresponsible. I know by personal word from friends in Europe how the nomination of Goldwater has shaken the confidence of our allies in the stability and continuity of American policy and leadership. This has already done us immense damage abroad. President Johnson is not a scientist; it is not his job to be one; but he knows how to act soberly and responsibly in a world that has been so largely shaped by science and technology. Hubert Humphrey is not merely one of the foremost men in American political life; he is one of our relatively few legislators who have a real understanding of the importance of science in our society. This is in sharp contrast to the Republican candidate for Vice President, who seems to have no qualifications for succeeding to the Presidency in this or indeed in any other respect. I conclude that scientists, labeled as such, have every reason to work for the election of Johnson and Humphrey —by an overwhelming majority, if possible—in order to re-establish a bipartisan consensus on the most vital issues involving the use of science and its applications. JOHN T. EDSALL
Cambridge, Mass. * As has since happened (C&EN, Oct. 19, page 23).
DEAR SIR:
Your "political issue" (Oct. 19) interested many of us here in New York. I have a few comments: 1. Of the "Scientists and Engineers for Goldwater-Miller" on your published list, 22 are chemists or chemical engineers, but the Johnson-Humphrey list which you also published has only two. Does this mean that the ACS membership is not as "liberal" as I thought it was?
2. The Goldwater list has two former ACS Presidents and four former AIC presidents. The Johnson list has no former ACS Presidents and only one former AIC president. 3. You state that 3500 attended a political rally in Washington, sponsored by the "Scientists and Engineers for Johnson-Humphrey" at which poetry was read, songs were sung, and Sen. Humphrey promised greater and greater use of the taxpayers' funds in the field of science and its application. Do you believe that this has a strong appeal to our ACS membership? 4. Interestingly, in the same issue your staff has used 14 pages attempting to justify the "White House Superstructure for Science." This should please at least your readers who are "liberals." After looking over the list of members of the President's Science Advisory Committee I would like to ask you a question. If you were President of the United States, wouldn't you like to have on your science committee at least one distinguished scientist from an organization which depended on profits for its existence? Finally, I agree with your recent editorial which said that scientists and engineers are no different from other people and that they should vote to change or not change the Administration as they think best. This year they can vote for what seems best, as of the moment, for themselves, or best for their country and, in the long run, best for themselves. DONALD BABCOCK KEYES
Neio York, N.Y.
Technician Training in South Africa DEAR SIR:
In recent months I have been interested in comments on the question of training chemical technicians in the U.S., particularly the letter of H. W. Kohn (C&EN, July 20, page 4 ) . According to him, good technicians are not generally available and there seems to be no tradition or machinery in the U.S. for producing them. We in the Republic of South Africa, which is a growing industrial country, were faced with a similar problem some years ago. University graduates were being incorrectly used as technicians despite the professional scientific manpower shortage. As a result of the efforts of the S.A. Chemical Institute, our Depart-
ment of Education, Arts and Science became interested in the problem of providing training for chemical technicians and I was asked to be chairman of a committee representative of industry, universities, and educational authorities to design a curriculum that would serve as a basis for a national diploma for chemical technicians. The training was to be given by our technical colleges on a part-time basis for young men and women who were working in industrial and research laboratories. The curriculum included a certain amount of theoretical chemistry but the course was oriented toward practical training. Our scheme has now been working successfully for some years, and more information is available to those who would like to have it. S. S. ISRAELSTAM
Department of Chemistry, University of the Witwatersrand Johannesburg, South Africa
Life Span of Chemists DEAR SIR:
Examination of the "Deaths" columns in C&EN reveals that many listed therein have died at a comparatively early age. The average age of death of the 117 listed between March 30 and Sept. 14, 1964, and whose age is given, is 59.1. This is seven years less than the life expectancy of 66 years for males at the age of 20, 39 years ago. That the average itself is not in error because of too small a sample is apparent when the average of sections of the data is compared with that of the whole sample. The average of 60 is 59.1 and on the addition of more values in sets of 10 the average did not deviate from this value by more than 0.3 year. The average obtained could be in error from two sources. The sample chosen for mention in C&EN may not be representative and may be biased in favor of younger chemists. This seems unlikely. The names listed for which no age is given may not be representative of the sample as a whole. In order for the average age of all listed to be equal to the normal expectancy of 66 years, it would be necessary for the average age of the 47 for which no age is given to be 83.1. Obviously this cannot be so and the data therefore indicate that the average life span of chemists is
considerably less than the national average. For another check of the life span of chemists and to determine whether there has been any change over the years, the data in the obituary columns of C&EN for the period from Jan. 3 to Sept. 19, 1949, were studied. The average of the 147 entries which included age is 59.8. This is 0.7 year higher than that obtained from the 1964 study. Of the total number listed, age was not given for 100 entries. The percentage of this type of entry is higher than that of the current sample and therefore the average age of these 100 entries that would be required for the whole sample to reach 66 is lower. But the value is 75 years which again could not be the true average of this group. It is clear, therefore, that until further data are available it must be concluded that the life span of chemists is considerably below that of the national average and apparently has continued to be so for some years. The average age at time of death of 91 physicians listed in the Sept. 7, 1964, issue of Journal of the American Medical Association is 67.9. The 58 and 105 physicians listed in the Sept. 14 and Sept. 21 issues died at an average of 69.4 and 68.4 years, respectively. Fifteen years earlier the average age of 213 physicians listed in the obituary columns of the Sept. 3, Sept. 24, and Oct. 1, 1949, issues of JAMA was 66.8 years. The average age at death of 87 scientists reported in Science over a five-month period in 1964 is 66.3. It seems clear that chemists have a considerably shorter life span than physicians and scientists in general. LAWRENCE P. MILLER
Yonkers, N.Y.
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Your News Focus (C&EN, Sept. 28, page 119) showing the wonderful new Otani Hotel in Tokyo is a remarkable photo. Your edition is always very timely, but may I say that the hotel was completed in August, well ahead of the Olympics. My room on Sept. 6 was on the uppermost floor, and nowhere did I note any construction going on. The hotel is a marvel. The round parts at the top are two floors which revolve. One is a bar and one a dining room. Both have a wide expanse of glass for viewing the city and its lights at night. New York, N.Y.
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EDWIN J. BARTH
PHYSICAL PROPERTIES B.R
stem as much from public utility regulatory practices as from economics. Public utilities are allowed to make a profit proportional to investment and lowest operating cost including fuel. And, since it is actual—not estimated— investments which count, I fear that it is equally natural to keep estimates as low as the public utility commission will accept. I will be readier to concede the economies of nuclear power when a private power user such as an aluminum company installs a plant or when a utility commission allows a power company to share in savings on the total cost of power regardless of investment.
250 East 43rd Street
We trust that readers of C&EN were intrigued by your account of a few of the developments discussed at the Symposium on Electrophilic Aromatic Substitution held recently at Vanderbilt University in honor of Sir Christopher Ingold (C&EN, Sept. 7, page 3 9 ) . We hasten to point out, however, that one rearrangement implied by the article has no factual basis—that is, the university has not migrated to Memphis, Tenn., by processes electrophilic or otherwise. Vanderbilt continues to be located in Nashville.
New York 17. N. Y.
LAMAR FIELD
Nashville, Tenn.
