I22
T H E J O U R N A L OF I N D U S T R I A L A N D ENGINEERING CHEMISTRY
Bucher began speaking all realized t h a t something out of the ordinary was happening. H e used no notes, yet every sentence carried t h e conviction t h a t t h e speaker could have expounded i t into a full length lecture. The subject fairly oozed out of him through every figurative pore of his being. The audience drew nearer and compacted itself as near t h e speaker as chair space would admit. T h e address originally scheduled for thirty minutes proceeded for one hour. T h e Entertainment Committee rushed a notice t o t h e Chairm a n t h a t in t h e dining room above t h e coffee was getting cold, t h e foam on t h e beer was disappearing, t h e wiener wursts were shrinking and t h e ever present magician was longing t o exhibit his art. T h e Chairman so announced. Instantly men, prominent in t h e chemical industries, rose t o their feet in all parts of t h e hall a n d shouted, “ N o , we don’t want t o adjourn, we have never heard anything like this before.” A t t h e close of another hour t h e speaker finally stopped, in spite of his audience. T h e n all caught a good long breath, realizing t h a t they h a d been participants in a n unusual event. All of this suggests t h a t our universities, in addition t o t h e training now given in t h e lecture room a n d in t h e research laboratory, could well lay more stress upon training in t h e method of oral presentation of t h e results of research. A NOTEWORTHY CONTRIBUTION I t is hoped t h a t every reader of THISJ O U R N A L will deliberately take t h e time t o read carefully t h e extremely interesting a n d important article i n this issue by Dr. C. A. Browne, on T h e First Report upon the Chenzical Industries of the United States and Their Re-’ I at i o I L t o N at i o ~za 1 Prep ar ed ness. I n his discovery of this document, now’nearly one hundred years old, Dr. Browne has made a n import a n t contribution t o present-day chemical economics. Read aloud i t is difficult t o decide in many passages whether i t is t h e chemists of 1831 or those of 1917 who are pleading for t h e independence of this country along t h e lines of industrial chemistry. We of t h e present have been obliged more or less t o express opinions as t o what may happen; t h e framers of t h e report of 1831, however, spoke from t h e vantage point of fact a n d history. Their findings, therefore, give added weight t o our present-day contentions. M a y this article find a wide reading, not only within, b u t outside t h e ranks of chemists! ~
~~__
IN SEARCH OF ONE’S OWN The extreme paucity of exchanges with which we L led us on t h e afternoon found THISJ O U R N Aequipped of January t h e 12th (note t h e date) t o make a cruise to three of t h e principal local centers of chemical literature, Our first port of call was the Chemists’ Club Library-no, we shall wait until t h e n e s t issue t o narrate our discoveries there, for this is a n important a n d serious matter. Next on t h e schedule was t h e New York Public Library. Through t h e very courteous reception and guidance of Director Anderson a n d Mr. Gamble of the Technical Division, we were able t o locate quickly
Yol.
9.
No.
2
a wealth of chemical literature. The current numbers were all up t o date, except in t h e case of t h e German chemical literature, of which, through some strange reasoning of the British mar censors, we have all been deprived for some time. T h e journals, moreover, were readily available, with a seeming minimum of red tape. The visit was altogether delightful. Our good ship next bore us t o t h e library of t h e Chemistry Department of Columbia University. We glanced over t h e current journals on the shelves and found a somewhat limited b u t well selected group There lay t h e Journal of the ilmericaii Chemical Society in its New Year issue. Close by was t h e January 10th issue of Chemical Abstracts, fresh from t h e press. As we were traveling incognito we needed no mockmodesty so we looked with a little tingle of pride (honest confession) for t h e January issue of our own a n d our only. It was not on t h e top of t h e pile. Good! t h a t meant t h a t some one was interested in reading it-but a hurried glance a t t h e reading tables gave pride a little jolt, for the hypothesis was false. An inquiry of t h e pleasant librarian developed t h e fact t h a t i t had not yet arrived (this on t h e ~ z t h and , oh, how we had worked t o mail t h e issue on t h e 1st). “Oh, no, this is quite customary; t h e date of i t s arrival varies from two t o four weeks after t h e d a t e of issue.” “Perhaps t h e box hasn’t been opened yet.” (We could not understand this “box” reference, for in case of loss we felt confident t h a t t h e postmaster had duplicate keys.) “Probably i t has not yet been mailed.” (Here was something definite t o work on, though we knew how splendidly our publisher h a d cooperated with us in getting out t h e issue five days earlier t h a n usual.) “At a n y rate if t h e explanation is wanted i t should be sought a t t h e University Library.” So thitherward we hurried. An inquiry in t h e serial room soon unraveled t h e mystery-there was no “bos,” no error on t h e part of t h e publisher. Matters were taking their normal course. T h e record showed t h a t t h e subscription was not direct, not even through a n agency. One of t h e professors turned his copy over t o t h e library--“It is cheaper t o get i t t h a t way and probably he has not yet finished reading his copy.” You know-we always thought of New York City as t h e home of high finance; we little realized what rigid institutional economy must sometimes be practiced t o make ends meet. AN INSTITUTE FOR ANALYTICAL RESEARCH T h e suggestion of Dr. Hillebrand i n his Chandler lecture, printed in this issue, as t o t h e desirability of a n “Institute of Analytical Research,” should commend itself t o most serious discussion b y representative gatherings of chemists. He has clearly pointed out t h e need for such a n institution a n d has offered valuable critical suggestions as t o t h e ways i n which t h e idea might be brought t o fruition. Doubtless from t h e multitude of counselors there would be evolved t h a t wisdom i n procedure which would insure unqualified success.
