The Washington times., 1913-01-06
CHEMISTRY CHIEF
PLANS RESEARCHES
TO AID BUSINESS
New Head Of Bureau Out
lines Plans for Cutting Cost
of Manufactures.

what is going to be the Alsberg
method of administering the pure food
law, and is he going to advance the
good work done by DR.. Wiley, or de-
tract from that work?
Scientists who have known the new
chief chemist, and who are friendly to
MIN, are resentful of the attacks made,
whether by Dr. Wiley or others, and in
sist he is going to make good More
over, they predict he will carry the
enforcement and administration of the
pure food law, if given an opportunity to
a point it has never before reached.
Plans Reorganization.
In response to inquiries as to what he
intends to do, DR.. Alsberg today said:
'I expect to reorganize the Bureau Of
Chemistry, but more with reference to
It's work than to personnel. 1 hope to
make it more useful not only to agri-
culture, but to industry.
THE bureau has three great func-
tions: First, the enforcement of the
pure food law, with which the public
is most familiar: second, the inspection
of imported foods and drugs for the
crstoms division of the Treasury De-
rartment, ard, third, the making of
original Investigations for the benefit
of agriculture and manufacture. / hope
tc develop line of investigation which
will bring public benefit equal to that
OF safeguarding the public food supply"
He illustrated what he meant by ref
crence to the GerE-an system, where
chemistry is made peculiarly useful to
manufacture through development of
perhaps dozen different ways of MAX
ing the same article. The cheapest and
pest method is then utilized and a big
service is done to industry. DR.. Ais
oerg thinks there are great possibilities
along this line in the United States.
Big Field for Chemist.
To be concrete ne continued, "let
me suggest that in the United States
ABOUT 80 per cent of the sugar extracted
from cane and beets is not refined under
present methods. 1t exists in the crude
moiasses and will not crystalIize.( This
molasses has its uses, but they are very
small in value compared with the result
If 1t could be turned into sugar. Here
alone is neld for the chemist
Recently one of my colleagues was
sent TO California, where he discovered
that the Gamers of apricots were using
the pits of the fruit for fuel He ex-
perimented and succeeded In producing
a cheap and wholesome table oil.
Il may say, broadly speaking. that
many of the processes of American
manufacture are wholly unscientific.
the confectionery trade affords a strik-
ing example. Much good confectionery
is made but largely by haphazard meth
odds. There is no standard scientific
process of candymaking, yet should one
be introduced, it would mean an equal
gain for the manufacturer and the con-
sumner.
Aid for Manufacturers.
The Government has done much to
aid the farmer and many of our chemi-
cal investigations have been 10 stimu-
late cultivation. We can continue this
work and will, but we must also turn
our attention more seriously to develop
ing scientific methods of manufacture
and thus enlarging the market for what
the land produces"
One of the important questions is
what will become of the Remsen board
under the new regime. No definite
statement is made. But there is an
impression in scientific circles here that
the Remsen board has practically seen
the end of its work.