I/EC
Something of Value
May 1957, Volume 4 9 , No. 5 APPLIED JOURNALS, ACS
OFTEN reflect on the time given by thousands of technical people
Director of Publications, C. B. Larrabee Editorial
Director,
Waller J . M u r p h y
Executive Editor, James M . C r o w e Production
Manager,
Joseph H . K u n e y
INDUSTRIAL A N D ENGINEERING CHEMISTRY Editor, Will H . Shearon, Jr. EDITORIAL HEADQUARTERS W A S H I N G T O N 6 , D. C . 1 1 5 5 Sixteenth St., N . W . Phone Republic 7 - 5 3 0 0 Associate Editors; G . Gladys Gordon, Stella A n d e r s o n , Ruth Cornette, Katherine I. B i g g s , G e o r g e B. Krantz Assistant Editors: Betty V . Kieffer, Sue Jones, M e l v y n A . Kohudic, A r t h u r Poulos Editorial Assistants: Ruth M . H o w o r t h , A n n W . K n o x , Eugenia Keller, Hanns L. Sperr, Sue M . Solliday, M a l v i n a B. Preiss, Marjorie A . Hindert, Ruth Reynard Staff Artist:
M e l v i n D. Buckner
BRANCH EDITORIAL OFFICES C H I C A G O 1 , ILL. 8 6 East Randolph St. Associate Editors: Chester Placek Assistant
Editor:
Phone State 2 - 7 6 8 6 Kenneth
M.
H O U S T O N 2 , TEX.
Associate
Editor:
Phone Fairfax 3 - 7 1 0 7 Bruce F. Greek
NEW Y O R K 1 6 , Ν . Υ . 2 Park A v e . Phone Oregon 9 - 1 6 4 6 Associate Editors: W i l l i a m Q . H u l l , Harry Stenerson, H o w a r d J . Sanders, D. G r a y W e a v e r , Walter S. Fedor Assistant Editor: Morton Salkind S A N FRANCISCO 4 , CALIF. 7 0 3 Mechanics' Institute Bldg. 5 7 Post St. Phone Exbrook 2 - 2 8 9 5 Associate
Editor:
Charlotte C. Sayre
Editorial Assistants: Joyce A . Richards, Elizabeth R. Rufe, June A . Barron EUROPEAN OFFICE Bush House, A l d w y c h , London Phone Temple Bar 3 6 0 5 Cable JIECHEM Associate Editor: Albert S. Hester Contributing Editors: W . B. Hart, Walter L. H a r d y , S. M . MacCutcheon, D a v i d E. Pierce, Robert F. W a l l , W . J . Youden Advisory Board: A . H . Batchelder, Frank G . Breyer, Charles M . Cooper, A r n o C. Fieldner, Leo Friend, Samuel D. Koonce, C . J . Krister, E. E. M c S w e e n e y , W a y n e E. K u h n , M a x S. Peters, J . H . Rushton, Earl P. Stevenson, H. Gladys S w o p e , H . Leroy T h o m p s o n , W a y n e E. White Advertising Management REINHOLD PUBLISHING C O R P . 4 3 0 Park A v e . , N e w York 2 2 , Ν . Υ . (For Branch Offices see p a g e 1 2 1 A)
124 A
T h e question in t h e mind of the engineer w h o wrote this letter was really " w h y d o these people d o these j o b s ? " H e answered his own question in subsequent paragraphs, not only for himself, b u t for t h e rest, w e believe. A n d he answered it so well t h a t w e ' d like to pass his comments along. This is w h a t he h a d to say: I think I know my reasons, but I cannot give you the order of their impor tance, because I don't know. Basically I think it helps my work. Although I would read much of this literature if I weren't preparing the annual review, I would probably never catch up, as I must do once each year with this to prepare. The review, once a year, gives me a chance to look for the forest instead of the trees, with a whole year's literature gathered in one pack in front of me. Second, I like to feel that my work is benefiting the profession. Third, I am against wasteful duplication of effort, and I think unless somebody does a pretty good job of this sort of thing that many people will wind up doing the same job within many companies in the country. Fourth, I admit to enjoying the prestige of having a publication in your worthy journal.
Richard G . N e w h a l l
EASTON, PA. 20th a n d Northampton Sts. Phone Easton 9 1 1 1 Associate Editor:
Lots of work a n d n o
pay seldom seem to dull t h e enthusiasm of these people. W e also often wonder if m a n y of our readers have even a remote conception of w h a t a n d how m u c h o u r " h e l p e r s " d o . A letter from a n a n n u a l review a u t h o r p r o m p t e d this m o n t h ' s edi torial. This chemical engineer—-relatively new a m o n g o u r con tributors—wondered how we a r e able to find authors willing to under take t h e a n n u a l reviews we present. T h i n k a moment. T h e r e a r e some 50 reviews a year in our Chemical Engineering Review supple ments, plus a n a n n u a l chemical engineering costs review, a n d a bien nial air pollution review. A n y w a y you look a t t h e preparation of these reviews indicates they are a difficult proposition. A n d in o u r con tinuing search to make t h e m more useful to t h e reader, we m a k e t h e preparation harder for t h e author. T h e shorter t h e reviews are, t h e more screening they involve; the more interpretation a n d evaluation we ask for, t h e more difficult t h e task.
Reese,
Laurence J . White
7 1 8 Melrose Bldg.
to INDUSTRIAL AND ENGINEERING CHEMISTRY.
INDUSTRIAL AND ENGINEERING CHEMISTRY
W e are not only sure this expresses t h e philosophy of most of our review authors. W e believe that in a somewhat different way, a n d perhaps to a different degree, it reflects that of t h e 2000 to 3000 persons who act frequently or occasionally as expert critics for t h e regular p u b lishing p r o g r a m of t h e A C S Applied Journals. I t is i m p o r t a n t t o note t h a t by n o means all of our review authors, a n d by no means all of o u r critics, a r e chemists or chemical engineers. M a n y a r e civil, mechanical, electrical engineers, biologists, statisticians, a n d t h e like. So this a u thor's second reason must be looked a t in a broader sense t h a n that limited to t h e chemical profession—a sense of benefiting the whole scientific c o m m u n i t y a n d with it t h e c o u n t r y as a whole. W e have never quite been able to express our thanks a n d that of our readers for the thousands of hours spent by our review authors a n d our expert critics. W e d o know that from each a n d every one there is a gift aptly b u t inadequately defined by the title of R o b e r t R u a r k ' s recent novel, "Something of V a l u e . "
