The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1900-06-19
VALUE OF CHEMISTRY.
Now Realized In Its Practical Relation
to business Affairs.


Among the various indications of pro-
gress in American manufacturing is the
alliance, daily growing closer, between
the merchant and the chemists and physl-
cists.
"Twenty years ago." said well-known
New York foundryman, chemistry was
almost unknown in its practical relation
to business; but today there is hardly a
manufacturing or construction company
that does not employ from one to fifty
chemists. Railroads, coal companies,
gas companies, iron and steel works,
brass, copper and iron foundries, powder
mills. paper mills, ink, glue and muci-
lage factories, oil companies, tobacco
companies, soap makers, cloth manufac-
turers and dyers; almost all of them
have their own laboratories where u few
years ago they would have secuted the
idea.
"Take for instance the Pennsylvania
railroad, he continued. 1T has SPLEEN
did laboratory, and employs, l have un-
derstood, some thirty men in this one
department Certain it is also, that this
less it was economy to do so. The seat of
every breakage on the Pennsylvania sys-
tenn, If it be metal or wood, is subjected
to analysis. The supplies, such as oil for
both lubricating and Illuminating pur-
poses, rails, wheels, axles, lumber, struc-
tural IRON coal, etc, are all analysed,
and contracts made for these supplies are
| all drawn up according to specifications
and limitations set down by chemist or
physicist.
I'm buying Illuminating oil a chemical
! test is made to find the Illuminating
power, and in buying oil for lubricating
purposes the chemical test for friction
| is applied The structural iron In cars,
wheels, rails, fish plates, etc, is all of
different quality, and each must be tested
for certain properties. Some of 1t must
| be elastic and some firm. These tests
come largely within the province of the
physicist. Machines are provided for
making these tests. The metal is pulled
apart, to try its tensile strength. To
find what pressure 1t will stand before
breaking, 1t is put into a compressor.
! A transverse test is applied by laying the
metal across two supports, one at each
end, and applying pressure in the mi idle,
while tortional test is made by twist
ing. II wheel, or any other part of
the equipment, breaks on the road, It is
brought TO the laboratory and analysed.
! When the weakness is discovered the
specifications under which such materials
are brought in future carefully exclude
the weakening substances.
1.-The Carnegie Steel Company employs
some fifty chemists, and the Illinois
Steel Company has thirty men. These
men are in three shifts, so that there / S
staff of chemists working all the time.
Soap companies have large laboratories,
as a rule. Here chemical tests for aka
| lies and fats are made.
Il have a friend in the soap business,
who told me n story showing the value
of chemistry to him He said that he
happened TO be In the factory of rival
soapmaker, and noticed certain part of
the material being thrown out. Why
are you throwing that away he asked.
It's waste, said the man who was with
him. You may call it that here, he an
swered, but we make fine soap OF IL in
our factory and, sure enough, the ma
| terial which was being thrown ont, when
properly treated, made splendid soap.
! a few years ago my foundry COM
pany was at loggerheads with the chem
lists, and none of them was employed in
our place. One day young man came
| in and put up such strong talk for chem
| istry that we gave him some money with
which to fit up a little laboratory in a
corner of the building. We were having
great deal of trouble with the lack OF
uniformity in castings, and what did this
young chap do but put us right on this
| matter within week. We then gave
1 him more money to tib up good labora-
tory, and now we have several other
chemists working under him. Our
laboratory is the means of saving several
thousand dollars TO us annually.
| "Our chemist is also our buyer for his
! knowledge of chemical work enables him
TO draw up iron-bound specifications and
| limitations such as no ordinary buyer
would Likely be able TO make.
1.-The government has, l understand,
a splendid laboratory in Washington for
testing everything used by any branch
of the service.
THE recognition of the colleges Is a
testimonial TO what CHI amistry is today.
a great many of the large colleges arr
now giving courses in engineering chem
| istry, as we'll as ordinary chemistry. -
New York Mail and Express.