Itfhemical •Zngineerinci,
WAITER J. MURPHY, Editer
^ews W o r l d Chemical Conclave Program
when the Society celebrated its 25th anni\ crsar) . In light oi this experience. Dr. Wiley's comments at the Golden Jubilee meeting make very interesting reading. W e wonder what Dr. Wiley JL HIS issue of C H E M I C A L AND E N G I N E E R I N G N E W S is the largest would say if he were still with us a n d examined t h e 69-page ever published—a total of 176 pages. Sixty-eight of these pages program in this issue? are devoted to t h e programs of t h e Diamond Jubilee meeting of Practically all of the leaders whose names adorn the program t h e A M E R I C A N C H E M I C A L SOCIETY and t h e X l l t h International Congress of Pure and Applied Chemistry. T h e meetings of the ot the Golden Jubilee meeting in Philadelphia in 1926 have passed on and in their places n e w leaders have emerged w h o International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry are all have carried t h e science of chemistry and chemical engineering closed sessions a n d one page is all that is necessary to present to new heights. t h e high lights of the union program. T h e years between the 50th a n d 75th Anniversary meetings Admittedly quite startled when w e were informed by the have seen the United States emerge as the acknowledged leader managing editor that the program for t h e World Chemical Conclave would require 69 pages, w e turned to t h e Aug. 2 0 , 1926, in industrial research and chemical production. It is fitting for us to remember, too, as we celebrate the 75th Anniversary of the issue of the News Edition of Industrial and Engineering Chemfounding of t h e Society, that t h e United States must carry a istry a n d found that the program for t h e ACS Golden Jubilee larger share of the burden of pure or fundamental research in t h e meeting held in Philadelphia, Sept. 6 to 10, 1926, required only «S pages. Certainly the past 2 5 years have witnessed a tremendous years ahead if the world is to continue to witness accelerated growth in chemistry and chemical engineering. W e shudder to expansion in t h e chemical a n d chemical process industries. With think of t h e number of pages that will b e needed to list all the our rise to prominence, our responsibilities have increased. The program of the Vllth Conference of the International features of t h e centennial meeting of t h e Society, b u t we are Union of Pure a n d Applied Chemistry, which followed t h e comforted by t h e fact that that issue will be somebody else's Philadelphia Golden Jubilee meeting of the ACS, likewise fearesponsibility. tured many individuals whose names are widely known among The Golden Jubilee meeting in 1926 in Philadelphia was chemists the world over. T h e union met u n d e r t h e presidency followed immediately by a meeting of t h e International Union of Ernst Cohen and at t h e meeting of t h e General Assembly of Pure a n d Applied Chemistry held in t h e National Research Council building in Washington. However, no congress meeting addresses of welcome on behalf of the United States were made was held in 1926, which partly explains t h e number of pages by George K. Burgess, director of the Bureau of Standards; on required to present t h e program of t h e World Chemical Con- behalf of the National Academy of Sciences a n d t h e National Research Council by Marston T. Bogert, chairman of the Division clave of 1951. T h e 1951 International Congress consists of more than 900 papers. In recent years most of the national meetings of Chemistry of the National Academy of Sciences; and on behalf of the Society have listed between 800 a n d 1000 papers, so that of American chemists by James F . Norris, president of t h e the congress alone will b e t h e equivalent of an ACS meeting. AMERICAN C H E M I C A L SOCIETY. Particularly interesting is t h e T h e entire program of the Diamond Jubilee meeting of t h e ACS /rfact that action was taken by t h e council of t h e union looking consists of symposia especially planned b y the officers of the toward t h e resumption in t h e future of t h e World Congresses of Pure and Applied Chemistry, such as were held prior to World 20 divisions of t h e Society. Still in a nostalgic mo'od, we read the report of t h e Golden War I. Strangely enough t h e last to b e held prior to the outJubilee meeting in t h e Sept. 20, 1926, issue of the News Edition, break of World W a r I took place in Washington and New York in 1912. It is particularly pleasing that despite t h e interruptions a n d t h e report o n t h e Union of Pure a n d Applied Chemistry in caused by World Wars I a n d I I , both t h e union and t h e congress the Oct. 10 issue. At the general meeting of the ACS held in the ballroom of the Bellevue-Stratford, were the following past continue to function a n d t h e meetings this fall promise to attract presidents: Munroe, Herty, Baekeland, Remsen, Franklin, Bogert, the largest registration ever to attend an international meeting Wiley, Noyes, Sr., a n d Smith. With this galaxy of well-known of chemists. It is important to remember t h e international character of t h e American chemists were two founder members—Goldschmidt a n d HerreshofiF. Munroe, of course, was a founder, and still coming World Chemical Conclave offers a special opportunity another, H . E . Niese, was present at the banquet. Foreign guests for developing improved international relations not alone among included Prince Conti, Matsubara, Cohen, Bertrand, Swarts» chemists a n d chemical engineers, b u t of all the peoples of the countries represented at t h e conclave. Science continues Irvine, Miller, Sabatier, Fernandez, Treadwell, Minovici, and to become an ever more important factor in human relations. As Swietoslawski. The principal addresses at the Golden Jubilee meeting were we report the great advances in chemistry and chemical engineerdelivered b y Prince P . Ginori Conti, who spoke on "The Develop- ing at the ACS meeting and at t h e congress, w e should continue ment of t h e Chemical Industry in Italy"; Irenee duPont, who to bear in mind that science is no longer a thing apart, b u t rather discussed " T h e Dyestuff Industry, Forerunner of W h a t ? " ; and a powerful world force that can b e used for good or evil. While Paul Sabatier, whose paper "La Chimie Moderne et Marcelin we as chemists and chemical engineers cannot dictate how these advances are used, w e do carry the heavy responsibility of exBerthelot" was given in French. A public meeting was held during the Golden Jubilee meeting, plaining to t h e world h o w they should b e employed—for the a feature w e are sorry to say will not b e repeated in our Diamond betterment, n o t t h e destruction of mankind. W e are particularly happy to point out that two men who have Jubilee year. T h e speakers on that occasion were Irving Langcontributed greatly to the progress of chemistry will b e honored muir, H u g h S. Taylor, and Ernst Cohen. T h e News Edition of Sept. 2 0 in reporting the public meeting stated: "By looking into at the Diamond Jubilee meeting of t h e Society—Charles L. Parsons, secretary of the ACS for 3 9 years and mainly responsible t h e caricatures of t h e past, it is possible, according to Ernst Cohen, of Utrecht, Holland, to gain a much more intimate insight for the growth in size and influence of the Society, and Marston into t h e science of t h e past than by t h e mere study of history. T. Bogert, a past president and for years an influential member T o illustrate his point, Dr. Cohen snowed caricatures of Dalton, of the Society. Dr. Bogert has been a leader in international F a r a d a y , Davey, Rumford, van't Hoff, a n d Kekule a n d traced relations of chemists, and mainly through his efforts the union for the audience the connections between the drawings and the and congress were revived in London in 1947 after the hiatus caused by World W a r II. Both of these men richly deserve the early developments of chemical science." Dr. Cohen also was one of t h e speakers at t h e b a n q u e t which honor of being honorary cochairmen of t h e Diamond Jubilee featured Harvey W . Wiley, w h o h a d m a d e certain prophecies Meeting of t h e AMERICAN C H E M I C A L SOCIETY.
VOLUME
2 9, N O . 2 6 » » * J U N E
2 5, 1 9 5 1
2551
