Norwich bulletin., 1914-09-12

viewpoint. however, the seriousness of | the situation is cause for hopefulness- l Chemists declare that now the patient l is sick and about to die, something may be done to make the American manufacturer realize how far behind he is. That this country might supply practically all of the raw materials now imported from Germany is con- fidently believed by many chemists.
 Take our American clothing manu- facturers," one chemist replied in an- SWer to question as to what could be done to help the situation. Eighty per cent. of the analine dyes used in that trade, as we'll as in the cotton and linen bus mess, are made in. Germany The Germans make their dyes, and dozens of chemicals, from coal tar, a by-product of Illuminating gas. Car bol1c acid used in surgical and medi- cal work and in the manufacture of explosives is one of the many by products of illuminating gas. In this country the residue from the gas man. ufacturing plants, outside of the small percentage that is used for road mak- ing, is wasted.
 Tn London illuminating gas is sold to the public at 30 cents thousand, against our S5 cents or more, because the by-productS are converted into profit In America the gas plants | spend money in buying legislation that should be spent for legitimate develop ment work And the politicians want | to keep it that way, because every step towards efficiency lessens their prof its. Outside of a few Parisian shades and rast cotton colors, we can make in | this country all of the dyes that are now imported from Germany We have the plants and the technical skill, and | It is only a question of how long we as nation are willing to continue to | reach out and grab profits in a gam bling way. rather than by building up | our detail.
 l Chemicals Gone to Waste.
 Tn Germany. the manufacturing man with capital, the engineer and the chemist all work together from the | very beginning of an industry. Here | we boast that we are rNactical men, and the manufacturer does not call on | the technical man until after he gets and purely practical men do not try to get together as they do in Germany"
 All or the potash and potash salts
 used in this country in manufacturing soap, fertilizer, glass and many other finished products are imported from Germany. Within the past three wears
 our imports of that one raw material | alone have increased from $7OOO GOO to
 over $10,000,000, yet chemists declare
 that we have more than enough clay
 ana Ieldspar rock to manufacture all Of the potash and potash salts used in this country
 1t was declared that the same was
 also true regarding arsenic, caIomel.
 oorac1c acid, oxalic acid, benzoic acid
 aiHaioids which form the basis of mor-
 pnlne, atropin, and heroin, and scores
 or drugs and chemicals now imported
 from Germany. Over 5000 pounds of
 blsmuth salts, it was declared, was aI-
 lowed 10 go to waste in this country
 through the smokestacl1s of smeIter
 plants That was cited as only one of
 scores of instances of how we allow
 valuable by-products to go to waste. Il This Country Has Progressed. While Germany has left the United
 States behind in the race for indus.
 tIHal supremacy. chemists admit that
 this country has made considerable progress during the past five years ir
 eliminating waste, developing by-pro-
 ducts, and the manufacture of raw
 materials, but it was declared that as
 yet the surface has not been scratched
 made.
 Two theories were advanced as tc | how this country could develop it's ovr dyestuffs. One was to put a tax on the
 materials now purchased from Ger.
 many, to give our own plants a chance:
 the other called for co-operation or the part of all wool, cotton, linen ana silk mills and domestic dye manufac, 2 turers. ,l Chemists admit that many American
 manufacturers who are dependent upo,
 Germany for raw materials are holdin,
 pack on research work because of un 7 certainty as to how long the European : war would last. In that connection i ! was pointed out that there was m doubt but that practically all of tn } ayes. chemicals and drugs purchase l from Germany could be duplicated il s this country with the expenditure O 5 time, labor and money. It was added f however, that manufacturers were re ] iuctant to appropriate funds for re
 search work because if the war taste, s only short period Germany, with it ] cheap and skilled labor, could. easiI Q recover all of the lost business, an e thus make unproductive the capita @ that had been invested here in dyeinj and chemical works.
 t Chemists are of the opinion, how ] ever, that manufacturers here nov Ehaye a chance for development sucI l. as has never before been offered t 0 any country. It is believed, further d that if the American manufacture S once takes up seriously the question o = competing with German made dye e and other coal tar products, chemical . and drugs the advantage of the chea 2. foreign labor can be overcome as d has been done in the case of steel.