The Washington herald. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1906-1939, 1907-02-03
Uncle Sans Busiest Wise Men
Speaker Cannon the Sugar Room and His Interest POascop

William L. Strong. then mayor of New
York. 1t was not desirable that any one
around the Appraisers Stores should
know what was going on, and. anyway,
there was no place in which to lock up
an investigating chemist. So ] went to
see Mayer Strong.
Il asked him TO lend me place in
the laboratory of the city board Of
health. and told him that I would recip-
rOeate the courtesy whenever he wanted
me To lock up Il chemist. He laughed
and gave me a card to the president Of
the board, who. he said, would give me
all the laboratory facilities I needed
Then 1 hustled around TO ind chemist
finally selecting young German. a re-
cent graduate from Heidelberg Dr.. T.
b. Wagner-who had not Yet found n
place for himself
I gave him one or two assistants OF
his own selection. furnished him with
copy Of the law and key to the labor
atory and told him to go 10 work / told
him also TO get whatever apparatus and
books he needed and added that he was
not TO show his face at the Appraiser
Stores under any circumstances. Then
I began to send samples of imported ar
ticles to him and also to honor his requi-
sitions
Il never knew a man who wanted so
much apparatus and so many books in
my life. but he was furnished with ev-
erything he demanded. / did not see him
for six months and it was nearly year
before he began to make official reports
Meanwhile the regular work OF the Of
flee was going along the best way It
could, but not very satisfactorily. The
highest rates of duty on articles cover
ed by the chemical schedule We're being
collected, the plan being to make rebates
later. # so required. under the final in
depreciation of the law. Meanwhile both
importers and the board Of general ap-
praisers were making constant demands
upon our office for information regarding
the proper duty 70 be paid on aniline and
other dyes, paints. oils. and the like,
about which 1 personally knew nothing
and am still uniformed
zone day I had a talk with the late
Gen. TichenOr. then Of the general APP
praisers' board, who, in my judgment.
was the best authority on customs mat
tiers this country has ever known He
said that If some definite information
was not forthcoming soon from our Of
fee much of the law would be rewrit-
ten by the board Of general appraisers.
Soon afteTward. 20 the great relief of us
all, I began to get reports from the
young chemist, and the practical Inter
probation OF the law was begun at once.
4 have been told that the yearly reve-
nue. from customs dues was increased
about million and half year by the
secret analysis Of the samples Of mer-
chandise falling under the chemical
schedules which were submitted 10 the
young German chemist I had locked
up Naturally the importers appealed
all the cases ia which the duty was In
creased to the United states courts, but
I do not know Of a single case wherein
the new rate, based upon Wagner's
analysis. was not sustained.
he has since much more than justi-
fed the confidence I reposed in him. be-
ing now chief chemist OF one Of the
country's greatest corporations at a fab
ulOus salary"
Finest Laboratory Of It's Kind.
The big brick building now occupied by
the appraisers stores was then in course
Of construction, and 1t was agreed by ev-
cry one interested that its laboratory
ought 10 be ample in size and equipped
in the most perfect manner possible Ac-
cordingly, Mr.. Wakeman appointed a
of three. Messrs. Russell W.
Moore, J. Howard Wainwright. and Ed
ward Sherer. TO make specific recon-
It was advised from Wash
ington that. while there should be no IN
due expense, It would be we'll to ask for
everything that could possibly be needed
for really complete equipment. This
would be comparatively easy TO get at
the time of the new buildings occupancy.
but most impossible to procure later,
The commission visited the laboratories
Of Columbia and Princeton universities,
the Massachusetts Institute Of Technol-
ogy, at Boston, the Pratt Institute. in
and some other great scientific
schools. They We're assured that what
ever they recommended would be pro-
cured. There was only one condition,
they must agree in their demands.
The laboratory resulting from their in
vestigatons has no superior of its class
TN the EA)rld. It covers a floor space Of
about l2,6G5 square feet, and If all in
closed in one room would require "a vast
apartment. 80 feet wide by 400 feet long.
For convenience 1t is divided into sever
al smaller rooms, the first OF which con-
tains the Offices Of Dr. Moore. now the
chief chemist, and the library. OF which
the books bought by the young locked
up chemist formed the nucleus. Next
in order comes the rooms for the anaIv-
sis of metals and ores, alcoholic com
pounds, general chemical compounds,
oils, paints. cOlors, &c; organic chemi-
tar products. aniline dyes. and
the like-woOd pulps, drugs and medi-
n
largest the sugar. room.
Part of the space originally devoted to
these various departments is now oc-
CUpied temporarily by the analyzing
chemists of the Agricultural Department
who have TO be located here to examine
all food importations in order TO prevent
the bringing In OF any foreign food con
sidered unit TO eat under the new pure
food law. Every room. including this
one is fitted with the best and most ND
.o-date apparatus in existence. There
are stills and retOrts. and furnaces and
besides many other odd
looking things the names of which would
convey no idea concerning their use to the
reader.
The pure food room men, though work
ing In harmony with the appraisers
chemists, are directly under the author
lty OF the Agricultural Department at
Ii must not be understood despite the
injunction Of Congress to get whatever
was needed, that the fitting up of the
appraisers laboratory with the complete
ness indicated was altogether an easy
matter Visits TO the new appraisers
stores by members of the Appropriation
Committee. that they might see for them
"a rr-1g~
structure was being built and equipped.
were frequent.
One of those visits was made by
Uncle" Joe Cannon. then chairman of
the committee. 1t is only fair to say of
him. however. that he was not hard 20
He had already done every
thing be could to insure perfect eauip-