The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1915-09-02
THE GERMAN DYESTUFFS.
How the Teuton Chemists obtained
the Lead-The Chance for America.

she lehu-lHe tnhnce IOr 8IneTlcu'
DR.. Thomas III. Norton, agent OF the
Department Of Commerce, has begun
the work of accelerating the develop
ment of the dyestuffs industry In this
country! AS reported In THE Sun on
Monday DR.. Norton says:
Somewhere there may he a dorman'
chemical Edison floating around. and tn,
finding Of this man is what the industr,
needs. We rave the raw materials, w
have the brains, W. have the capital anC
we have the market. All we need d
organization.
The story of how Germany got the
start of the world and obtained almost
a monopoly of the d~yestuffs industry
Is as interesting and almost as i'm
portant as how by availing herself OF
American ingenuity and inventions
she got her machine guns and the
great howitzers which crumbled the
strong forts OF Liege, Namur, Ant
werp, Brest-Litovsk and Georgievsk
In both cases It was German capacity
to see and seize an invention or dis.
covery rather than to invent or dis
cover, a fact which Is of immense
credit 70 her even though she cannot
claim the honors OF discovery.
In the case Of dyestuffs It was Brit
ish chemists who first made the dis
covery of coal colors, and IL was n
OF proper monetary appreciation of the
discovery that allowed the industry
to / moved to Germany and perfected
In the '70s and sos OF the last century,
AS long ago as November 10, 1871, Pro-
fessor Roscoe. +. II. s., delivered II
Hume Town Hall, England, his lee
ture on coal colors and their deriva'
vainly sought in all countries excep'
Germany and Switzerland.
Professor Roscoe was not the dis
coverer OF coal dyes. That discovery
was a gradual one that had been go-
ing on in constructive chemistry for
half a century or more before. Fara'
day in 1925 discovered benzol, after
ward used by thousands OF tons in pro-
ducing aniline colors. Mr.. Perkin In
1856 discovered the beautiful mauve
color, and when Professor Roscoe de-
livered his lecture Messrs. Roberts
Dale & Co. were the largest manu-
facturers of colors in England.
In 1S4S Or. Schunk Of Manchester
showed that to allzarine, madder oweC
its power OF producing the beautiful
madden pinks or madden puppies and
turkey red. These colors were made
fast" by means of what dyers ant
calico printers call mordants.
But in the practical stage honol
must be given to two German chem.
lists. Graebe and Liebermnnn, who sue
ceeded by chemical synthesls At las
in producing by artificial means color
ing matter such as Is contained II
madden and other plants. This was Z
discovery OF such vast practical impor.
lance that the successive steps lead
ing up to it have To be considered,
only in this way "a chemical honors
be duly distributed. The greatest con.
tributions toward the synthesis Of ali.
zarine were made by Berthelot in 1862.
66. by Graebe ard Liebermann 1869
and later by Graebe and Caro-. Perkin
Schorlemmer and Dale. Professor
Roscoe in the lecture we have referred
to gives the following dates and name,
as the most important in the history
of a~liZarine:
1875. Faraday discovered oenrol in Goa
gas oil.
1891. Robiquet and Colin discovere
alizarine in madden root.
1882. Dumas and Laurent discovers
anthrAcene In coal oils.
lsis. Schunk gave tho composition o
sllzarine.
1850. s,ricker gave the same.
1862 Anderson examined snthracen
compounds.
1865. Keku!e explained the constitute
Of the aromatic compounds.
1866. Baeyer obtained benEol from phe
mol.
1865. Graebe Investigated IN. qu'rone..
1865 Graebe and Lichcrmnnu obta!ne
anthracene from a.!sariuc.
1869. Graobe and Llchermonn oh'aine
a,isarine from anihracsUe.
These are details familiar TO chem
lists, but merely 10 show to whom
honor Is due in constructive chemistry
the greatest commercial triumph q
which is 10 be found IN the dyestun
industry, We have given this roll o
honor. IN which the pames + English
French and German chemists appear
German chemists certainly played
great part, but the discoveries which
made Germany's d~yestuffs industry tn
chief in the world were due "a mucl
to the pioneers as 10 those who fol
lowed in their footsteps and took tn
next logical tchemicaD step in ad
yanCe
AS will be seen. there is scarcel,
any need to call f0r a chemical Ed
son" to come to the relief of Amer
lea. All that is necessary IL for tn
Government To provide for the abb
chemists this country has and Sc
them TO work on the dyestuffs problem
Private capital could do this and woul
do Il, probably, II 1t had assurance tina
after building up a dyesturs industy
proper protection after the close of tn
war would be assured against the out
put of Germany.
To some that condition may not b
pleasing, but any one familiar Wit
the development ,f tho industry /
Germany will admit that It is absc
lutely necessary,
NJCC PETTOD ON II m