VOLUME24 NUMBER 2
IAND n dENGIKEERIISG ustrial Chemistry
FEBRUARY 1932
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E. HOWE,EDITOR
The Editor’s Point of View
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RUTH WILL PREVAIL. This old saying is undoubtedly true, but it frequently happens that it is almost impossible to bring the truth clearly into the open, and where technicalities are concerned to present even proved facts in such a fashion that those who run may not only read but be able to discriminate and comprehend. A syndicated anonymous article circulated widely under the auspices of the American T.teekly, Inc., was distributed January 3 and devoted a page to the “Next War.” This is a fanciful, misleading, and fdse statement, in which the style is quite unhampered by any regard for such trivial things as facts established and the truth. The page is composed largely of illustrations, which for the most part are mere figments of imagination. Heretofore those who are not interested in any defense of the country and who have centered their efforts upon chemical reagents, because they are least understood by the general public, have based their arguments on what might happen in unprotected areas and among civilians. In this tale an effort is made to increase the tempo by printing an imaginative picture, entitled “Rescue brigade searching the parks to find nurses who have been overcome and the babies suffocated in their baby carriages.” Of course the article is anonymous. This kind usually is. And the author, undoubtedly far from proud of his work performed for a few dollars, remains carefully hidden by the editors using this material, although the publication of such rot casts serious reflection upon the intelligence of these same editors. Efforts to present exact knowledge through like channels fail, and those who have lately led the continuous organized and generously supported attacks on the chemistry of war steadfastly decline to expose themselves to the truth. They decline to receive those who come in a friendly spirit for the sole purpose of talking the thing out and offering a few authenticated facts. As in all articles of this sort, exaggeration, gross unfamiliarity with chemistry, and imaginative statements make up the story. The idea that defenseless civilians in cities offer the greatest target for chemicals is of course erroneous. Cities and the materials of war which they supply to troops are unquestionably de-
stroyed with more efficiency and lower cost, by high explosives, whether dropped from aircraft or shot from long distances. The roof area of a city is greater than that of its streets, and gas sprayed according to the article would fall on roofs, where it would remain to evaporate in the air or be washed off by rain, or upon the streets, from which it could be quickly hosed by any fire department. The population on the upper floors of houses and in apartment buildings with doors and windows closed would find themselves well protected. It is not so easy to destroy gas in the open field as it is upon city streets and roofs, and aside from a possible psychological advantage nothing appears to be gained by wasting expensive chemicals and risking aircraft over protected cities. High explosives are better for such work. Mustard gas, which from many points of view was the most effective, is always given exaggerated potentialities in newspaper chemistry. The facts are that, during the last war, it took two tons of mustard gas to produce one death and one ton of mustard to produce twenty-nine casualties. These figures are based on the combined data of all the nations engaged in the war. Why will not those who center their argument on chemical warfare make a similar comparison with the machine gun? We are told that a ton of mustard would destroy the whole city of S e w York. That could be possible only if as much as 20 milligrams of the compound were injected into the lungs of each individual. Now consider the machine gun. A machine gun bullet would kill 3 men if they were standing back to chest. A machine gun can fire 600 bullets a minute, and therefore could kill 1800 such men per minute. A few machine guns in 24 hours could wipe out the population of New York City, providing of course the citizens were obliging enough to march by in rows. The destruction of the population by mustard gas is just as fanciful. The article to which we take exception, while overestimating the destructiveness of gas, goes far to underestimate the eaciency of the gas mask. While it is true that the mask developed during the war was not proof against irritant smoke, a t the present t,ime our Army gas mask is equipped with a canister which affords protection, not only against smokes, but against every 121
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other type of chemical agent which so far has been conceived as a t all useful in warfare. It is not necessary to have a special type of canister for use against each of the various chemicals, as the anonymous author alleges. The statement that “all countries are working on a tear gas that will penetrate the mask as mustard gas penetrates clothing” is probably far from the truth, for based on our present knowledge of chemicals it does not appear at all possible that such a gas can be contrived. Chemists cannot help but smile a t the statement that “now all countries are wrorking on gases intended to make junk out of every firearm from the officer’s pistol to the heaviest cannon and every engine from motor truck to tank. These gases, destructive to metals but harmless to men, may be used against munition factories, ordnance plants, motor factories, and other places where war machinery is concentrated but not in the cities where wholesale slaughter is the plan,” Newspaper chemistry, indeed! We know that some of the materials that have been used in war are highly corrosive, but it has taken this writer to raise the destructiveness of these chemicals to the nth degree by just a few punches of the typewriter keys. And listen to this! “The United States Chemical Warfare Service is hard at work to offset another sort of humane gas which attacks soldiers’ uniforms, causing them to fall off in shreds. Future battles may be fought by naked soldiers. In that case officers’ insignia may have to be tattooed on their arms.” As if that were not enough to please the fancy, the author then pictures a new kind of gas to be used by ships. “A fleeing fleet heading into the wind could pour from its sterns tons of chemicals which combining with the salt water would make the ocean behind them unbreathable for miles.” But wait, all the advantage is not to be with the fleet. “The planes of the pursuing fleet would fly ahead and drop the same medicine for the fugitives.” Unfortunately, we are left to wonder who comes out ahead in this newspaper warfare. Again, “Merchant ships will run afoul of these gas mines too and may go steaming on with every one on board dead.” The author’s lack of chemical sense is demonstrated by reference to the use of hydrocyanic gas. It was proved in the great war that its physical characteristics unsuit it for such use. But the saddest part of all is in the last paragraph. “As women congregate in cities and except for comparatively few nurses do not get near the front, the next war may end with a surplus of young men who will come home from the battle field to find a sad scarcity of girls to marry-just the reverse of wars in the past.” It is a pity that it seems necessary to devote valuable space to a discussion of this inanity. But when the lay press lends itself to such propaganda it becomes necessary for the chemists themselves, who are in a position to know, to learn what is transpiring and be prepared to answer sincere questions in a constructive, straight-
Vol. 24, No. 2
forward, and convincing manner. Those who are responsible for the chemistry of war as applied to our national defense seek opportunities to lay the truth before the people. More than one group which, because of a misunderstanding, might have been prepared to take a t face value such an article as we are discussing has acquired an enlightened point of view upon learning the truth. Chemists, as we have continually stressed, are primarily interested in constructive humanitarian work. They believe it to be just as easy to outlaw and do away with all war as really to do away with the form of defense or offense that is the most humane and effective and the least expensive. The United States, without thinking of offense, must acquire all types of information vital in case of an emergency. Nothing is more important than chemistry as it may be applied in any and all forms of effective defense. Any other point of view is not only unsafe but in the last analysis dangerously un-American. Let the truth be known-it will prevail. *
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VERY TUB ON ITS OWN BOTTOM. In discussing the rapid advance made in his own field, a director of a prominent company recently said to us that he found it difficult to make any sort of reasonable return on research investment before some new thing had to be taken up, often displacing its immediate predecessor. We cannot stop progress, so it behooves us to find some way of preventing the waste which might easily result from too great speed. The plant that insists upon spreading out research and development costs over a long period of years may have the advantage of lower initial selling prices, but it also runs the risk of obsolescence overtaking it before it finds itself ready to make desirable readjustments. The company that writes off original costs out of profits and rapidly prepares itself to come to the end of each separate enterprise undoubtedly follows the wise course. Such a policy is based on the realization that, no matter how good a product may be, it is not reasonable to assume that it will long remain the best in its field. Each new thing must not only pay its way after commercialization, but it should also pay for its research and development. Under such a method special buildings and equipment are soon written off and the management is found ready for the next progressive step. While such a system may lead to a somewhat higher price for new products, experience has shown that consumers can be persuaded of the wisdom of the procedure. The manufacturer who, by means of such a plan, is always ready to undertake new improvements for the sake of his trade is in position to render service that is of value to his customers and
February, 1932
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which cannot, be offered by the concern that is handicapped by a less forward-looking method. Every modern business should endeavor so to shape its policy that, m hen the time comes to drop some article, no matter how new it may be, in favor of a still better one, there will be no dificulty in immediately making the change. There are many instances where whole industries have failed to follow this procedure. Some not only have been handicapped but individual plants have liquidated and closed up shop. The picture is very different in those cases where every tub has been placed on its own bottom and where there is elasticity ready to accommodate each new changing order. 4
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APITALIZING OUR DIFFICULTIES. But for the distressing effects upon a considerable number of individuals, i t could be shown that the depressing experiences which overtook us in 1929 may be turned into decided benefit. Sober-minded people realize that the general public went on something of a spree from which the recovery is slow and painful. Once recovered, we should ha, e learned enough lessons eventually to make the experience helpful. Economists tell us that the very elements which caused the high-flying years of 1922 to 1929 were the kind that of themselves prevented that prosperity from being enduring. hluch of our export business was sustained by means of loans to foreign countries and individuals abroad, and these can only be repaid against our tariff and in competition with our own production. Increased output per man here did not bring down retail prices and the resulting profits went largely to dividends and to surplus, with labor’s share substantially unchanged. The result was an overproduction and an increase in plant which soon surpassed that of the consumer’s income to absorb. Increase in bank loans came to depend upon an ‘advance in the prices of securities. Energy was diverted to the production of luxuries for those who were but temporarily able to consume them, and our whole credit structure rested upon stock market prices. More than this, the normal ways by which international trade has been accustomed to adjust itself were blocked. Tariffs and cartels prevented the natural redistribution of gold. War debts and indemnities added their problems to the complex, and money which would normally have gone into purchases was largely used to pay off indebtedness where funds had been borrowed on high-priced securities, to save which payments were necessary in the face of declining bond and stock prices. The economist suggests a number of ways out. Indeed, the plans to be followed aie limited only by the number of those putting them forward. Some say that a creditor nation, such as we have become, must
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either operate on a low tariff or the tariff may be maintained and production reduced to the requirements of the domestic market. The advocates of the latter procedure point out that, however important export may be to some lines of industry, in general it still represents but a small percentage of our manufactures. Others maintain that reduction of tariffs could do but little harm under present circumstances and that, if all nations should follow that policy, the improved world conditions through reciprocal tariff arrangements would soon counterbalance any small losses. Other alternatives involve again extending loans, a reduction in capital accounts which would be generally resisted, and the reinflation of prices which is another way of saying that the basis of credit should be greatly broadened. There is one point upon which we think an agreement will be found-that credit, so essential in modern merchandizing, depends on confidence, and confidence in turn rests upon ability to make a profit. How shall profits be made under the conditions which confront us3 There is much talk of reducing wages, and this has already been done in some industries where salaries are even more affected. In the past recoveries from business recessions have been followed by such wage cutting, but surely this is the last thing that should be done. The experience of some manufac turers has shown other methods of accomplishing this result. We visited a plant not long ago where, in the period from September 1, 1929 to September 1, 1930, there had been a decline of 30 per cent in the volume of production. By eliminating frills, all getting to work, and by improved technology with the application of science, it was enabled to make such reductions in wages and salaries per hundred pounds of product as to show an increase in net profit. This was done without reducing the income of the w-orkers. In fact, the management decided the minimum which it felt a man with a small family should have, and where such men were earning less their hours of labor were increased, that their pay envelopes might a t least contain this minimum. It was purely a piece of improved management and better technology. In the like period ending September 1, 1931, another 10 per cent in volume of production had been lost, but further changes in the plant have still left a margin of profit on operations. We should add that this plant was by no means inefficient. prior to these experiences. The example we cite may be an individual case, but it cannot be the only organization amenable to such improvement. The application of science is useful during booms, it is indispensable when times are normal, and vital when they become hard. We hope those qualified will continue their study and analysis of our difficulties. We must devise means t o prevent a repetition. The part that science can play and is playing is worthy of emphasis.
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ESEARCH MANAGEMENT. For years a consistent and well-sustained effort has been made to acquaint industry with the benefits of research. The subject has been discussed in public and private, with the captains of industry, and the members of their organizations. Sometimes the initiative to do something has originated a t the top and been handed down as a program approved for immediate action. In other instances the movement has come from below, commencing perhaps when some workman has found himself unable to do just what was required without additional information which some one had to get. The encouraging results which have met efforts to inform the public have also been a factor, and here and there a power in the world of Gnance has finally recognized the potentialities of research. There are those who feel that science has been oversold, and they point to the occasional example of a plant where research has been installed, only to be allowed to languish and die without any material benefit to the organization. Has the layman come to expect too much of science as a result of what he has been told? If so, the fault lies in the telling. Where the former occurs, it is largely due to a neglect of some of the fundamental principles in management. Research management in its broadest sense goes far beyond planning, for management or control is not a synonym, as many seem to think. It is but a stage, perhaps the first element of laboratory management. Planning leads to scheduling, and this must then be followed by mechanisms that put the plan into effect under control. Ideally, research management brings to bear all possible information relating to what is to be done, how it is to be done, and where it is to be done. It must then determine when the program is to go forward and continue to control this performance. Research management involves not only these principles but proper coardination with other plant activities, a selection and training of research personnel and, if the utmost is to be gained from the effort, includes some well thought out and carefully followed procedure for introducing into plant practice the proved results of research. The great swing toward industrial research and control is evidenced by the large increase in industrial laboratories, by new facilities for training and instruction in our seats of learning, and by the added number of capable men who have been attracted to science as a career. All this has been covered from time to time in what has been published, but research management has been given but casual discussion in the columns of the technical press. In January we presented the views of well-known directors of research on the scope and principles of research management and the logical divisions of a research organization. We now present another group of papers continuing the discussion. These are centered
Vol. 24, No. 2
on the co6rdination of laboratory and plant effort, the preparatory and the investigational stages of research, and the functions of a laboratory organization. Subsequent papers will deal with economic features, such as cost accounting, and with the selection of personnel. Attention to these articles will prove profitable and thought-provoking and may lead to the adoption of better procedures in the management of an activity that has become fixed in American industry. * .
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HENIICAL ENGINEERING AS A CAREER. Studies yielding data to guide the young man in the choice of a career are of unquestioned importance. During 1931 it was our privilege to print a discussion on the relation between engineering education and income, which was applicable to engineering in general. In this issue a paper by A. H. White discusses more particularly the progress which graduates in chemical engineering make, the kind of work many of them do, and something of their incomes. In compiling data of this sort the investigator finds difficulty in classifying the men. Obviously, if we could agree upon a definition of an executive it would be possible to add to the figures Professor White gives us those from the experience of our number who have become executives. This would result in another class of highly paid men, with immediate benefit to the average figure. One definition of an executive would seem to restrict that term to those general officers of corporations who hold the rank of manager or higher. Studies made by a nationally recognized board afford a contrast, since in its lists draftsmen, foremen, inspectors, and salesmen are included as executives. In view of the uncertainties in the study printed herewith, it seemed best to the author to leave executives out of consideration. This doubtless gives a truer picture of what the average graduate in chemical engineering may expect to attain. The advantages of thorough training, preferably carried through to the doctor’s degree, stand out rather clearly. This is not surprising, and in fact in these later years has been pretty generally recognized as true. Formerly those who employed such men were slow to appreciate the value of thorough preliminary training. Even now in some quarters there is a tendency to choose some inexperienced young man and train him in the way he should go, rather than take the one who has continued his studies, thereby gaining in many forms of experience. He comes to his employer better fitted to accommodate himself to particular requirements, analyze problems peculiar to the industry with which he is associated, and more able to proceed toward a definite goal without great supervision. The discussions to irhich we have referred speak well for the profession, and the data compiled should be of real assistance to students and their advisers.
