Pioneer in Sanitation Chemistry1 H. S. van KLOOSTER and J. B. CLOKE Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, Troy, New York
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subject of thi biographical sketch, born in New York on October 12,1853, was the son of James Mason, a physician who had studied medicine in Woodstock, Vermont. He was named after his uncle and derived his midddle name from hi paternal grandmother, Mary Pitt, a cousin of William Pitt, one time Prime Minister of England. William Pitt Mason's p r e paratory training was obtained in Bernard French Institute in New York. In September, 1870, he entered the Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute where he studied chemistry under Hemy B. Nason, a pupil of Wohler and a past president of the American Chemical Society, and was graduated as a civil engineer in 1874. After a year of travel and study in Europe he was appointed assistant in chemistry and natural science a t his alma mater. Advanced to the rank of assistant professor in 1882, he became professor of analytical chemistry in 1885 and succeeded Nason as head of the chemistry department in 1895. When the department of chemical engineering was established in 1912, he became its first head and remained active as such until his retirement in 1925, after 50 years of teaching and research. Mason's interest in medicine, which he, no doubt, derived from his father, was stimulated by his desire to know all about water and water supply, to which he devoted the major part of his time outside of his teaching. In 1881 he received the M.D. degree from Albany Medical College. Never intknding to practice medicine, he nsed his medical knowledge solely as an adjunct to the study of bacteriology and sanitation. His knowledge of this field was broadened by frequent periods of study abroad. He took a brief course under Pasteur in 1889 and a more extended one in 1893. The great advances made in the biological examination of water in Germany induced Mason to spend the summer of 1908 in the study of plankton and other organisms which affect the taste and odor of water a t the Hydrobiological Station a t Plon (Holstein), a t that time under the able directorship of Otto Zacharias. His frequent trips abroad enabled him also to study a t first haid the witer supplies of London, Liverpool, The ~ ~ g paris, u ~ copenhagen, , ~ ~ ~ ~ ~~stuttb ~ ga*9 Ziirich, PalermO1 and other cities. He also made it a point to investigate the water situation in the Oasis of B i i a (Algeria). Presented before the Division of History of Chemistry a t the 110th meeting of the American Chemical Society in Chicago, September:g-13, 1946.
The unusual combination of engineer, chemist, and medical expert made Mason ideally fit for expressing sound opinions on the sources of potable water. Although, a t the present time, epidemics due to water pollution are rare in the most progressive nations, it was different some 50 or more years ago when river water was frequently pumped into city mains without much effort to make it suitable for human consumption. Even the renowned Charles F. Chandler of Columbia University, when called in as an expert witness in the nineties of the previous century, testified that all one had to do to purify water was to pump it into a settling basin and then, after 24 hours, tap the middle layer, since the heavy impurities would have sunk to the hottom and the light ones risen to the surface. With this view Mason disagreed strenuously, but not having attained a t that time the prestige he later acquired, was severely criticized for daring to contradict such an eminent chemist.. Chandler, though some 20 years Mason's senior, lived to acknowledge his error of judgment. It has often been said and i t is trite to repeat, that the pioneers are often forgotten, and it is left to hitorians to remind the present and future generations of the benefits conferred on mankind by the apostles of good potable water, like Mason, who were instmmental in persuading the various mumicipalities in New York State and elsewhere to install reliable water supply systems. Mason's fight with the city fathers of Albany, New York, some six miles south of Troy, is a case in point which always made a great hit with his students. Whiie Troy nsed lake water, Albany pumped the Hudson River water into the city mains with the result that typhoid epidemics 'were frequent occnrrences, Pleading with the hoard of aldermen to install a suitable filtration system, Mason argued-this was the time of the Spanish-American War: Assume that a Spmish gunboat were to come up the Hudson and shell the city of Albany andkill 15 people a day. You would raise heaven and earth to see that the mnhoat were sunk and the destruction of life stopped. But here you lose 15 of your citizens ah~daykbecause , ~ you are ~taking raw ~water out of , the Hudson and pumping it into mains, and you do nothing about it. . . The water is so raw that the people of Albany can tell when the sspara p , S ~ ~ opem O U in T ~ O Y .
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Nevertheless, for years nothing was done. Not a few of the aldermen objected to the proposed changes, saying that the people had gotten used to the taste of 210
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the water and would not l i e to have some other water foisted upon them which might not be so palatable. And so the "majestic Hudson, that elongated cesspool," to quote Mason once more, for years continued to cause typhoid epidemics in the capital of New York State. With regard t o the sources of water supply, Mason, in hi lectures and hi writings, always emphasized the supreme importance of what he called a "sanitary survey," before deciding upon the fitness of water for domestic use. Speakmg on the topic of "drinkmg water and di~ease,"~ he savs: Too much stress cannot well be laid upon this point. The water expert judges of the character of a water not only from the chemical and bacteriological data, but from those of the sanitary survey as well; and it is scarcely too much to say that if the last be wanting, the first two are well nigh valueless. The sanitary survey is of great use in that it aids one in prophesying what a water may be like in the future, and it paves the way towards safeguarding the sources of supply.
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methods and apparatus for the examination of water have had a far-reaching effect on the development of the subject. To students of the past and present generations, Mason is best known for the books that he wrote. Engineering students who took chemistry under h i were all familiar with his "Notes on Qualitative Analysis," a brief outline of barely 60 pages, made with "pen and scissors," as the author facetiously states in the preface. It was first published in 1882 and went through eight editions, the last in 1922. In his own field, Mason vublihed two outstanding texts known throighout tge United States and the ~ ~ ~ world. y The first ~ of these h - his ~ was "Water S ~ P P ~ Y . This " came out in 1896 and went through four editions, the final one appearing in 1916. Though not an exhaustive treatise, it was one of the mostinteresting suggestive texts, written afteran older one of the same title by Professor W. R. Nichols had zone out of ~rint,. Mason's famous little book, "Examination of Water (Chemical and Bacteriological)," first published in 1899, went through five editions under the author's signature (1901, 1906, 1909, and 1917). A much enlarged and completely revised large?siZe edition was finally issued in 1931 by Professor A. M. Buswell of the University of Illinois. A total sale of over 14,000 copies testifies to the popularity of the book both here and It enhanced the reputation of its author to such an extent that he was frequently called upon in lawsuits as an expert witness, as in the suit brought by New Jersey against New York on the ~ollutionof New York Harbor and in the Chicago raida age Canal case.J For his scientific attainments be was honored both here and abroad." Lafayette College conferred on him an honorary LL.D. in 1908 and Union College the Sc.D. in 1917. The American Water Works Association chose him its president in 1909, a signal honor, for Mason was the first teacher t o be elected to this office. I n 1905 he was made an honorary member of the Association G h k a l e des Inghieurs, Architectes et Hygihistes Municipaux de France. He was a member of many societies, whose meetings he attended regularly, and in this way he made many friends from near and far. Apart from the rewards of professional achievements, Mason had his full share of well-deserved honors that a popular professor and loyal alumnus can receive a t the habds of his colleagues, friends, and students. Mason was married twice, the first time to Emily Hardiig, in 1886. She died in 1899, leaving one son, William Pitt, Jr., who survives and who kindly supplied some of the foregoing data. I n 1908 Mason married Margaret Betts, who was hi devoted companion in hi declming years after his retirement, when ill health forced him to withdraw from the company of his former associates and friends. He died in his eighty-fifth year in 1938. u
Water experts who will be asked to pass upon the suitability of waters of a great variety of composition are admonished
. ..to do it with care and caution after you have informed yourselves as to the character of the source whence the water comes and the immediate surroundings of the same. No description of a spot will serve your puwose. You should see it for yourselves. The day has gone by for cut and dried standards. An expert approaches his decision pretty much as does the medical practitioner from his diagnosis at the bedside. The two lectures, published in Baskerville's book, quoted above, give a good idea of Mason's ability to express himself before the general public and before his students. As any old graduate from Rensselaer who has sat under "Billy" Mason will testify, Mason's engaging personality kept order without lifting a finger, and his quiet humor which permeated all his lectures appealed to even the dullest student. Verba volant, scripta manent: To those who did not come into personal contact with him, Mason's facile pen was the medium of indirect and f r e p e n t contact with the world a t large. His fist communication on "Albany water supply" appeared in 1885 in Sanitary Engineering. Between that time and 1923 nearly a hundred articles on various topics-mainly, however, on water and water supply-appeared in this and other publications, i. e., Journal of the American Chemical Society (1887-1905), Journal of Industrial and Enginem'ng Chemistry (1911-23), J o u m l of the New England Water Works Association (1891-1919), Journal of the American Water Works Association (1903-22), Science (1887-1917), Journal of the American Society of Ciml Engineers (vols. 32, 43, and 83), Proceedings of the American Philosophical Society, Engineering Record, Municipal Jmrnal, and Journal ofthe Franklin Institute (1891-1918). Hi last journal publication, a brief note, appeared in the Journal of Industrial and Engineering Chemistry in 1923 when he was nearing seventy. His 2 BMKERVIGLE, C., Editor, "Municipal Chemistry," McGmw-Hill Book Company, Inc., New York, 1911, p. 24.
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Records of the Supreme Court, Vol. 3, Oct., 1916, p. 1994; ibid., Vol. 7, Dec., 1903, p. 6903.
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JOURNAL O F CHEMICAL EDUCATION
PUBLICATIONS O F WILLIAM
PITT MASON
"Notes on Qualitative Analysis for Students of Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute," 1882. "Albany water supply," Sanitary Eng., 11, 372 (1885). "Water results." J . Am. Chem. Soe.. 9.30 (1887). "Drinking w&er and disease," ibid.; 9,44 11887). "Action of officinal nitric acid on sugar," ibid., 9, 45 (1887). "Standardizing hydrometers," ibid., 9, 156 (1887). "The United States gallon," ibid., 9, 186 (1887). 10,197 (1887). "Ash in human bones," Science, Old Seenes, "The United States gdlon," American Dmg@st (January, 1888). "Fatal Doisonink!-bv. carbon monoxide." J . Am. Chem. Soc., 10, 176 (i888). "Notes on Qualitative Analysis for Students of Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute," 2nd ed., Nims and Knight, Troy, New York, 1889. 'Txamination of Potable Water," Troy, New York, 1890, 48 pages. "Nates on some cases of drinking water and disease" (Reprint from J. Franklin Inst.). .. J . N m Eng. Water Works Assoc., 6. 139 (1891). "An alchemical chart." J . Am. Chem. Soc.. 13.293 (1891). "Notes on cases of drinking water and'dis&e," J. Franklin Inst., 136 (1891). "Purification of water by freezing," J . Anal. Applied Chem., 5 , 1 ~
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"Flushing reservoir bottoms," Eng. Rec., 43, 125 (1901). "Water works of Gibraltar," ibid., 44, 11 (1901). "Examination of Water, Chemical and Bacteri61ogica1," 2nd ed. John Wiley and Sons, Inc., New York, 1901. "Pipe Corrosion," Eng. Ree., 45, 584 (1902). "Water Supply," John Wiley and Sons, Inc., New York, 1902. "Lecture on foreign water works," J. Am. Water Works Assoc., 248 (190344). "Testimony," Illinois State and Illinois Sanitary District of Chicago, Record of Testimony, 7, 6903-74 (1903). "Device for reading 'Nesslerized' ammonia tubes in water analysis," J. Am. Chem. Soc., 26,713 (1904). "Relation of intensity of typhoid fever t o character of water carriage," J. New Eng. Water Works Assoc., 19,412 (1905). "The use of copper sulphrtte t o guard against typhoid fever coming from unpuriiied surface water supply," ibid., 19, 481 m - -n-.-5,).~ "Determination of nitrites in waters (note)," J . Am. Chem. Soc., 2 7 , 6 U (1905). "Water examination," Seiace, 21,648 (1905). "Sundry notes on deep seated waters," J. Am. Water Works ASSOF.,297 (1905). "Discussion on various oa~ers." . ibid... 204.. 219.. 295.. 257.. 272 (1905). "Discussion of sewage disposal," ibid., 57 (1906). "Discussion on river pollution," ibid., 73 (1906). "Discussion on typhoid epidemics," ibid., 88 (1906). "Diseussion on Chicago draiinage canal," ibid., 153 (1906). "Discussion on Mr. Whipple's paper;, ibid., 282 (1906). "Discussion of oaone treatment of a.ater," ibid., 285 (1906). "Examination of Water," 3rd ed., John Wiley and Sons, Inc., New York, 1906. H. P. EDDY,F. A. BARBOUR, and J. A. With L. P. KINNICUTT, GOULD,a d i ~ c u ~ s i oon n "The explosion of the Saratoga septic tank," J. N m Eng. Water Works Assoc., 21,23 (1907). "The spontaneous ignition of gas from sewage (note)," ibid., 21, 181 (1907). "Water Supply," 3rd ed., John Wiley and Sons, New York, 1907. "Note as to the measurement of the action of water on metals," Proe. Am. Phil. Soc., 46, 110 (1907). "Action of water on lead and zinc (note)," J. Am. Water Wmks Assoe., 273 (1947). "Peculiar instance of contamination of a well water," ibid., 234 \
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"W. P. Mason, personal," Eng. Rec., 25,375 (1892). "Laboratory teaching," Science, Old Selies, 20,53 (1892). "Weights and measures," ibid., 20, 538 (1892). With S. K. HINE, "Notes on direct oxidation of organic matter in water." J. Am. Chem. Soe.., 14.233 . (1892). . . "Note on Tram. Am. Inst. Minino" Eno.. ~-hoiler ~~-~~~emlosiona." Plattsburg Meeting, pp. 1-5 (January, 1892). With C. C. AROSEMENA, "Note a n the effect of sedimentation on the self-purification of running streams," J. Anal. Applied Chem., 6, 1-5 (1892). "The value of water analysis," Science, Old Series, 21, 258 (1893). "Water analysis," ibid., 22, 153 (1893). "A recent ooison case." J . Anal. Andied Chem... 15.. 1-3 (1893) . . "Estimation of chlorine in water (note)," J . Am. Chem. Soc., 16, 71 .- 118941. - - - ., . "The phenolsulphonic mid process for nitrates in water," ibid., 16, 72 (1894). r,-"".,. i ann "Expert testimony," ibid., 16, 273 (1894). Book review of "The Value of Pure Water," by WRIPPLE,Science, "LOSSof gold and silver during scarification With J. W. BOWMAN, 24,787 (1907). assay," ibid., 16, 313 (1894). "Chemical labomtory a t Rensselaer," ibid., 25,633 (1907). "The boric acid works a t Lmderelo," ibid., 16, 538 (1894). "Co~enhaeen water suo~lv." .. .. J . Am. Water Works Assoc.. 78 "Notes on the hardeninz of mortar." ibid.. 16.733 (1894). ' (igo81. ' ' "The quality of water sGpplies," i&d., 16,772 (1894). Diwrr:mn on "Ccology o f artesian wells," ihid., 2R0 (1908). With J. W. BOWMAN, "Note on test for strfchnine," ibid., 16, Di.;rw4mon "Iwr~tstoticmntQuinrey, Illinois." ibid., 178(180X3. 824 '(1894). " T l r rxplwim of tlcr Snratogn wnter t..nk," S r i r n n , 27, 7G0 "Henry Bradford Nason (obituary notice)," ibid., 17,339 (1895). (1908). "Foreign laboratory nates," Seienee 2, 354 (1895). Book review of "Laboratory Notes on Industrial Water Analy"Rainfall and typhoid fever," J . Franklin Insl., 140, 212 (1895). Sciaee, 29,501 (1909). sis," by ELLENH. RICHARDS, "('hemical vs. bacteriological examination of water," J . Am. "A plea for wider and better extension of the knowledge of saniChem. Soc., 18, 166 (1896). tary science" (Founders' Day Address a t Lafayette College, "Water Supply," John Wiley and Sons, Inc., New York, 1896. October 21, 1908), ibid., 29, 641 (1909). "Well water," Science, 4, 474 (1896). Discussion on "Treatment of Jersey City water supply a t Baon"Expert testimony," ibid., 6,243 (1897). ton," Proc. J. Am. Water Works Assoe., 153 (1909). "Sanitary problems connected with municipal water supply," "Typhoid Mary," Sciaee, 30, 117 (1909). J. FranklinInst., 143,337 (1897). Diseussion on "Action of water on metals," Proc. J . Am. Water Book review of "Water and Public Health," by J. H. FUE~TES, Works Assoe., 191 (1910). Science, 8, 166 (1898). Diseussion on "Cme of meters," ibid., 61 (1910). "The teaching of chemistry," ibid., 7,735 (1898). Discussion on "Creosote treatment of algae," ibid., 167 (1910). Rook review of "Sewage Analysis," by J. A. WANKLYN AND W. J. Discussion on "Water pipes under railroad tracks," ibid., 173 COOPER,ibid., 10, 691 (1898). (1910). -'New bacteria counter," J . Am. Chenr. Soc., 20, 507 (1898). Diseussion on "Water rate and extension of mains," ibid., 212 "Measurements of 'turbidity' in water,'' ibid., 21, 516-7 (1899). (1910). "Fkaminrttion of Water," 1st ed., John Wiley and Sons, Inc., ".\laldstone typhoid epidemic," J . New Eng. Water Works Assoc., New York. 1899. 24, 299 (1910). "Emergency intakes," Eng. Record, 63; 683 (1910); J . Am. Book ~ e v i e wof "Air, Water iuld Food," hv E. H. I ~ I C H R DASN D W'ater Ahrks Assoe., 151 (1911). .-\.G. WOODMAN, Science, 13, 907 (1901) ~
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"Contribution of chemistry to sanitation," J. Ind. Eng. Chern., 3, 292 (1911). "Drinking water and disease" in "Municipal Chemistry," C. BABKERVILLE,Editor, McGraw-Hill Book Company, Inc., New York, 1911. "Notes on Qualitative Analysis, Arranged for the Use of Stndents of the Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute," 6th ed., The Chemical Publishing Company, Eastan, Pennsylvania, 1912. "Examination of Water, Chemical and Bacteriological," 4th ed., John Wiley and Sons, Inc., New York, 1912. IXscussion on "Water and air movements," J. Am. Water Wmks Assoc., 314 (1913). "Advantages and disadvantages of reservoir storage," J. Franklin Inst., 177, 369-84 (1914). IXscussion on "Croton water supply," J . Am. Waler Forks Asroc., 1, 176 (1914). "Contribution of the chemist to the potable water industry; Industrial symposium," J . Ind. Eng. C h . , 7 , 1 6 7 (1915). Book review of "Guide to the Reports, Evidence and Appendices of the Royal Commission of Sewage Disposal," ibid., 8, 294
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"The value of the sanitsry survey," Seienee, 44, 844-5 (1916). "Water Supply," 4th ed., John Wiley and Sons, Ino., New York, 1916. IXncussion on "Tests for B mli," J . Am. Water Wmks Assoc., 3, 934., 939 (19lfi). ~ ~~, " ~ & t i m o n ~People : of State of New York to the State of New Jersey," Transcript of Records, 3,277683 (1916). "Sanitation of watersheds," J . Am. Water Works Assoe., 4, 30 ~~~
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Book review of "A Text Book of Sanitary and Applied ChemisScience, 46,540 (1917). try," by E. H. S. BAILEY,
"Examination of Water;' 5th ed., John Wiley and Sons, Inc., New York, 1917. "Notes on Qualitative Analysis, Arranged for the Use of Students of the Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute," 7th ed., The Chemicsl Publishing Company, Easton, Pennsylvania, 1917. ''Camo sanitation." J. Franklin Inst.. 185. 73144 (1918). " ~ h e k i c a lengineering in our univerkties;" J. ~ n d~: n iC. h . , 10. 75% . - - (1918). ~----, "Swimming pool management," J. New Eng. Water Wmks Assoc., 33, 258 (1919). Book review of "Boiler Chemistry and Feed Water Supplies," by J. H. PAUL,J . Ind. Eng. Chem., 11,906 (1919). "Mathematics and sanitary science," ibid., 11, 486 (1919). "Standardization of chemicals used in mslytioal work," J. Am. Water Wmks Assoc.. 7. 157 (1920). . . "Emergency intakes as a danger," Eng. News-Rec., 85, 1203 11920). ~----,"Damage todeep wells by sea water," J. Am. Water Works Assoc., 8, 59-74 (1921). "Romance of water storage," ibid., 8, 661 (1921). "Reactions of culture media," ibid.1, 9, 128 (1922). "Water." "Handhook of the Medical Sciences,'' 4th ed., 47692 (1923). "The collapse of the autoclave," J . Ind. Eng. Chern., 15, 735 (1923). With A. M. BUSWELL, "Examination of Water, Chemioal and Bacteriological," 6th ed., John Wiley and Sons, Inc., New York, 1931. ALQ~ST F., N., "William Pitt Mason, An Appreciation," Cbrnd eal Age, 31,492 (1923). SCHWARTZ, F. W., "William P. Meson," I d . Eng. Chem., 16, 93 (1924). ~
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