Nov. 1 9 1 2
T H E J O C R S A L OF Ii\’DUSTRI.4L
WHEREASMorris Loeb labored in and out of season to make the Section a power for well being in behalf of the City; and WHEREASMorris Loeb in his devotion to the Section labored ever faithfully for the welfare of the American Chemical Society, taking constant pride in promoting the dignity and prestige of America in the science of chemistry; and WHEREASthe unselfish service of such a man creates a responsiveness that is real affection; B e i t Resolved, that the Kew York Section of the American Chemical Society record its profound appreciation of Morris Loeb as a scholarly man of science, as a loyal ever unselfish member of the Section with wide human interests. I n his loss we have deep grief; in remembering him, we shall do so with affection. LEO H. BAEKELAND, CHARLESBASKERVILLE, MAXIMILIAN TOCH. THE SOCIETY O F CHEMICAL ISDUSTRY.
WHEREASthe members of this Society have learned with deep sorro~vof the death of their fellow member, Morris Loeb, and WHEREASthey wish to express their high appreciation of his noble and beneficent life,
A-I*D E,‘\‘GINEERI.\‘G
CHEMISTRY.
849
to the Society’s Journal for publication, and that a copy be suitably engrossed and forwarded to Mrs. Loeb. Minute: Morris Loeb, chemist, investigator, educator, upright and useful citizen, altruist, philanthropist, generous patron and benefactor of arts, of sciences and of all good works, ever ready to bear more than his share of the burdens of the community and always to be found on the side of righteousness, justice and truth, lived his life of quiet power without arrogance or display, always modest concerning his own distinguished career and many accomplishments, with charity towards all and unkind criticism of none, a courteous, considerate, genial and polished gentleman of high ideals, whose chief aim and purpose was to be of assistance to his fellow man and who realized to the full that the highest reward of servi-e is the privilege of having been of service.
Kow that the temporary scaffolding of life has fallen away, the true nobility of his character stands clearly revealed in all its commanding beauty and dignity, an imperishable monument of a life’s work well done and a worthy inspiration to others. Such manhood is the real glory of any country. The world is the better for his having lived in it, and \ye are the better for having known him. MARSTOX T. BOGERT, CHARLES F. CHANDLER, WILLIAMH. NICHOLS.
Kow, therefore, be it Resolzed that the following Minute be spread upon the records of this meeting, that a copy be sent
CURRENT INDUSTRIAL NLWS
*
PLUMBISM I N NEW YORK CITY. The statement has been made that, compared with foreign countries, there has been and is very little lead poisoning in the United States. The Illinois factory commission, during the years 1908, 1909 and 1910, found 578 cases of lead poisoning in that state alone and last fall a hasty study of lead poisoning in New York City revealed 3 76 cases which had occurred during 1909, 1910, and 1911. These figures, including as they do only the more serious cases, become somewhat startling when we consider that in England during 1910 there were only 5oj cases. Pratt (Am. Labor Leg. Rea., 2, 2 7 3 ) states that the cases of lead poisoning in New York City during the past three years were distributed among the following industries: white lead, lead acetate, lead oxide, dry colors, use of lead as a hardening agent, scaling paint on battleships, ship-calking, diamond polishing, printing, carpentering, plumbing, tin-smithing and painting. He made a careful study of the cases of the “leaded” ones, and found practically all the various forms of lead poisoning, ranging from light attacks of colic through wrist-drop and paralysis to death. About half of the men were comparatively young and all had received low wages. “ I n the white lead industry not a single man was earning over $14.00 per week, and many of them were earning less than $10 00.” Out of 109 cases, 62 ate in the same room where they worked ; twenty-two never washed before eating and forty-five washed only in cold water; seventy-three, or almost three-fourths, were never given oral instructions of any kind as to the dangers of their work or as to methods of preventing lead poisoning, seventy-six men ne\-er saw any posted instructions where they worked. I t is usually admitted that men addicted to alcohol are more liable to contract lead poisoning, as they are to succumb to most other diseases. But only six of the one hundred and nine men were found to use alcohol to excess; sixty-five were moderate drinkers; and thirty-one were teetotalers Pratt found that painting, especially interior decorating, yielded more lead poisoning than any other industry, not proportionately, but in the total number of victims. He considers
that the builder should safeguard his painters by using zincwhite. \\’ithregard to plumbism in general, heconcludesas follows: “In preventing industrial disease, especially lead poisoning, an educational campaign is, it seems to me, the thing of prime importance-education of the worker and education of the employer. The first step in the education of the employee is a knowledge of the rudiments of English, then the simple rules for the care of health and self which are so effective in preventing lead poisoning. The employer, on the other hand, should be told that there is such a thing as lead poisoning, and then how to prevent it and how to treat it. There are many employers mho are willing and anxious to safeguard their workers. One white-lead manufacturer is spending $zo,ooo on prevention.” Rambousek (Chem. Z t g . , 36, 8 8 2 ) , in a recent report on the hygiene of the German lead-color industry, considers that the most essential problem is the education of the worker to a higher standard of cleanliness. The principal technical precaution is the avoidance of dust, and personal precautions include medical examination, the supply of prescribed food and medicines, the non-use of alcohol, and the use of respirators and special wearing apparel. The attempts a t the control of plumbism date from 1876. The problem has not yet been solved. THE CHEMICAL INDUSTRIES O F FRANCE I N 1911. The following report on the French chemical industries is taken from The Chemtcal Trade Journal, 51, 141: The exports of artificial silk from France continue to grow year by year, the figure for 1911 being 179,200 kilograms as compared with 161,700 kilograms for 1910. The consumption of this product is constantly increasing, and the French firms engaged in its manufacture are unable to meet the demand, especially from Germany, where the weaving industry has taken a great development of late. A process has been invented by a Lyons chemist for manufacturing net and gauze net of cellulose, and works have been erected a t St. Quentin for the
850
T H E J O U R N A L OF I N D U S T R I A L
AND ENGIIVEERIh’G CHE,ZIISTRY.
purpose of working this process, which is said to produce net of its cost. closely resembling woven fabric a t The chief electrochemical products of France are calcium carbide, carborundum, chlorates, phosphorus, sodium, and explosives. The Nitrogene Co., with works a t Briancon, is still experimenting with the manufacture of nitric acid by the Pauling electrical process (direct oxidation of nitrogen with the aid of electrical discharges). The demand for chemical products in general was active and prices were satisfactory during the year, though there is nothing in particular to note. Sulphuric acid was largely consumed and heavy quantities were imported, principally from Belgium. Nitric and hydrochloric acids were not in such brisk demand. There is an increased consumption of superphosphates in manures. The law prohibiting the use of white lead for outdoor painting purposes, which comes into operation three years hence, does n o t appear to be in favor with the public and it is doubtful if i t will come into force. The production of beetroot alcohol from October, 1910,to gallons, against 26,733,256 September, 1911,was only 23,684,210 gallons in 1909-IO. This is not surprising, as the late rainy season of 1910prevented the sugar factories from starting as early as usual and considerably reduced the crop and value of the roots. Consequently, in spite of the stock of 6,172,100 gallons of alcohol on the Paris market a t the end of September, the prices, sustained by speculation and by the small production from fruit and wines, ruled high, The production of alcohol from molasses amounted to 11,242,308gallons for the 1910-11 season. It is predicted that the production for the 1911-12 season will be less. The consumption of denatured alcohol continues to increase throughout the republic. THE DENATURATION OF ALCOHOL WITH PYRIDINE. German methylated spirit contains 2 per cent. of wood-naphtha and 0 . 5 per cent. of pyridine bases, with, optionally, 0.125 per cent. of lavender or rosemary oil. This specification was established in 1888 by an appointed commission. While woodnaphtha contains acetone and bodies which absorb bromine, it has been generally recognized that it alone does not satisfy all the requirements of an effective denaturant. Kraemer (2. Spiritusind., 35, 417) states that the commission, in recommending pyridine bases as a subsidiary component of the denaturing mixture, considered the following properties: Pyridine bases impart a very nauseating taste to the spirit; it may be procured easily; it is miscible with water in all proportions; i t is absorbed by wood charcoal but to a limited extent a t the dilution used; it is fixed by mineral acids only when these are employed in large excess; it increases the solvent properties of the alcohol; it is combustible without leaving a residuum; and i t is non-toxic in the dilutions used. None of the many substances since proposed for the same purpose has all the above desirable properties found in the case of the pyridine bases, which have continued to be used and are now obtained, not only from bone-tar as formerly, but from coal-tar oils. Kraemer looks upon the property of complete miscibility with water as one of the most important qualifications of a denaturant, and does not approve of the raising of the specification for boiling point to 160O C., whereby constituents are included which are insoluble in water and which are more easily eliminated by means of wood charcoal than pyridine. THE STATUS OF THE ARTIFICIAL SILK INDUSTRY. There was a marked development in the productive capacity of the artificial silk industry during the past year, particularly in Russia. The consumption is steadily increasing, and velvet manufacturers are beginning to make use of artificial silk in rather large quantities. The report just issued by the Soie Artificielle, the French company working the cupro-ammonium
Nov., 1912
process of the Vereinigte Glanzstoff-Fabriken, Elberjeld, discloses a net profit of 574,365 francs, against 416,634francs last year. The agreement with the Soie ArtiFcielZe d’Yzieux and the various French companies working the viscose artificial silk process is giving satisfactory results. The gross results of the Yzieux company have advanced from 511,834francs in 1910 to 712,311francs in 1911,and the net profits last year amounted to 423,740 francs (Paper, 9, 29). The competitive ability of the guncotton artificial silk process as against the cupro-ammonium and viscose processes does not appear to improve. The Plauen Artificial Silks Works, formed in 1910,has decided to close its plant temporarily, the present high prices of alcohol in Germany making profitable working out of the question. Several plants are still operating in Belgium and Great Britain, for in these countries alcohol can still be obtained sufficiently cheap. ANOTHER RUBBER SUBSTITUTE. I t is reported that a large factory for the manufacture of rubber substitute is in the course of erection a t Ymuiden, to be in charge of an Austrian expert, Adler. The process to be put in operation is the invention of Van der Heyden, and it has been patented in Austria and Belgium. The process of Van der Heyden is said to consist in mixing fish with 15-16per cent. of natural rubber, producing a material which is claimed to be as elastic and strong as real rubber, but considerably cheaper; in fact, the product is said to cost about eight times less than caoutchouc. An additional advantage of the material is its reported greater resistance to heat, benzine, etc.; moreover, its vulcanization may be effected more easily and rapidly. Van der Heyden claims also to produce albumin as a by-product from the fish-flesh, and the new company has in mind the manufacture of fertilizers as well. THE STATE OF THE PLATINUM MARKET. Toward the end of August the platinum market was rather quiet, as consumers hoped for materially lower prices. Shortly afterwards there was further talk of lower prices, but they did not materialize, and dealers still asked $45.50 per ounce for refined platinum and $48.00 per ounce for hard metal. I t was reported from Russia that sales of platinum continued small in comparison with those in the same season of the previous year, but the tendency of the large producers was not to lower the prices. I t was reported from France that there were large stocks of platinum held by the Compagnie Industrielle du Platine, which controls 85 per cent. of the Russian output. However, i t was said that small lots of platinum could be obtained in Ekaterinburg a t a low price. The metal was quoted, on August 1 5 , 1912,in St. Petersburg a t 37,500 rubles per pood and a t Ekaterinburg a t 9.80 rubles per zolatnik, both for crude metal, 83 per cent. platinum. The placers in the Urals are becoming exhausted and it is necessary to exploit the poorer placers or platinum lying lower in the stratum. The high prices of platinum in recent years, together with the question of a state platinum monopoly, has stimulated the exploitation of all the existing sources of this metal. I t has been shown that neither in the Goroblagodat nor in the Nizhni-Tagil platinum region is i t possible to expect a discovery of rich new placers; it is predicted that this hope can be entertained only in the north of the Urals, hitherto poorly investigated, particularly on the River Ioutyn, where outcrops of olivine rocks are shown. The Tura River for 5 0 miles below . the mouth of the Iss is a promising dredging field, containing an immense amount of alluvial platinum, but existing laws are an effectual bar to the development of dredging on this river. The search for platinum substitutes continues. I t has recently been proposed to use tantalum instead of platinum for certain purposes, as balance weights, etc.; and earlier in the year it
