The Bridgeport evening farmer., 1915-11-16
PHOTO CHEMICALS
 RARE AND COSTLY
Prices Have Scared to Sky
 As Result of War.

not only tied up but forced to go out of business from the war. This time it is the photographers who are af- fected, and, if there is no entrance of ships, bearing loads of chemicals necessary in that industry, it is likely that soon some of them will be forced to abandon their profession. Practi- cally all chemicals have advanced tremendously in the last year, while some have dropped out of the market altogether and-cannote be had.
 The shortage of chemicals affects a number of different branches of the photographic industry, but moving picture fans need not worry irnmed- lately, at least. The movie people were canny in the extreme and when
 the war broke out had a supply on hand which would last two years.
 Some time later, a ship came in laden with photographic chemicals which were snapped up at once by the nov ing picture people, so that their busi-
 ness is safe for some time at least.
 Mq5ts of the chtmicals necessary to photography are manufactured in Germany, and the commerce blockade of the allies has cut off that supply
 absolutely. Several haIf-hearted at
 tenpts have been or are being made to
 manufacture them in this country, but Most of the chemicals necessary to full. There are few plants in the
 United States qualified to make the materials and manufacturers are re- 1uctant to spend million or two doI- lars to start a factory. when the cessa- ton oI the war will make this invest ment useless. because of the ability Of German competitors to carry on the business more cheaply.
 One of the principal chemicals which is in demand both in Europe and this country though for widely different uses, is magnesium, the chief ingredient of the f1ashIight of the photographers. Both the allies and the Germans are using this to great extent for fire balloons. The balloons are loaded with the powder and then released, to float over the
 enc mics camp and trenches. The brilliant light illumfnes the country
 for miles and gives the attacking forces a clear idea, of the conditions
 The demand for magnesium is so
 great here and the supply is so limit ed that the price has gone up re- markedly. Owing to Sthe constant change in the quotations it is impos- sible to give exact figures but it is graphs taken at banquets or sini-
 lar occasions, where flashlights are used extensively, will be considerably
 diminished. At present, there is hardly any profit to the photograpf- CT in taking these pictures.
 Two more requisites to photo graphy, which are practically unex- istant in bulk, are elon and metol, both necessary for deveIopingc Fly droquinone. which, at the beginning of the war, was selling at between
 TO and 90 cents pound, is now up in the vicinity of $9. Bromide of potas- siurn, used in making prints, has Jumped from 25 and, 40 cents to about $4.0o a pound and the price of fine quality of glass plates wich has hith- erto been made in -BeIguiIlas- has gone up 20 per cent
 For eight rnof1ths practically none of these things have come to the United States, while the use of them has been about normal. Fortunately most photographers have a supply on hand at the beginning of the warade- quate to last for some time, but in many cases this supply has been ex-S hausted and photographers are forced to do a hand -to-mouth business with any odds and ends they pickup from amateurs or get from wholesale chemical companies at what would formerly been considered an exorbit- ant rate.
 It is the reaping days for amatuers who have small supply on their hands, While the amateurs cannotfl get quite the wholesale prices, they may reap golden profit practically
 anything on their shelves. Oother sub stances, besides those already men
 
 arealum and pyro.. The latter has ad- Evanced, although not so much as
 others. While it is a good developer, it is regarded with hostility by most
 photographers as it stains the hands
 badly
 Another disadvantage under which photograph are laboring is the fact
 that, while they are required ito run credit accounts, the wholesalers de-
 nnand cash for their products. It is to the honor of photographers and
 their prices have not been raised, whereas the cost of taking the picture at least doubled. Photogra aphers themselves assert that if they receiy- ed the chemicals and plates free, they would be justified in charging the
 present cost of the picture for the la bor and technical knowledge used in their making.
 It would be entirely possible to
 make photographs in the old way, under existing conditions, but this would mean a backward step for the
 art, which would not be allowed by either the photogra aphers or the pub lie Su1phite of gold and silver might
 be used, by the pictures obtained from them would be crude, according to present standards, and most of them would result in red tint, which would be distastefu1 and hard to re- produce in newspapers should they
 be designed for the purpose.
 Studio photogra phers are even
 harder hit than commercial ones be-
 cause of the famine in chemicals No yember9 and December are the banner months are the banner months for these men, owing to the great demand for pictures for Christmas gifts, and this season many of them have been
 operating at practically no profit
 
 BUSINESS WOMEN WILL