Omaha daily bee., 1915-05-16
OPPORTUNITY NOW
FOR UNITED STATES
After Touring Europe, DR.. Wander
kleed Believes America Will
Be Able to Capture For.
eign Trade.
GREAT MARKET FOR GOODS

Correspondence Of the Associated Press)
BERLIN, May 10.-The war af-
fords America an opportunity to be-
come the drug and chemical center
Of the world, in place Of London and
Amsterdam, II America but knows
enough to grasp the advantage. is the
opinion of DR.. G. e. Vanderkleed,
chief chemist Of big Philadelphia
manufacturing and biological chemi-
cal concern. who has been touring
Europe for several months.
This possible leadership may come
however, only in case American
chemists develop the ability to make
synthetic chemicals as Germany al
ready has done, out of the raw and
crude materials that come largely
from South and Central America, and
that now. because of danger of ship
ping, are being sent in huge quaint
ties to New York, instead of Amster-
dam and England.
Once America achieves some of the
highly specialized German ability along
this line he believes, II will be able to
compete for all time with the rest of the
world, and attract to itself the lions
share of the raw materials so close at
hand.
Market for Serums.
DR.. Vanderkleed's travels through Ger
many. Austria, Holland and Denmark
have shown him that there is q scarcity
of serums in practically all of the coun-
tries at war as we'll as a scarcity of
some opiates. There is consequently a
market here for every ounce that can be
made in America and shipped over.
Practically every laboratory in Europe.
he finds. is manufacturing to the limit
of its capacity serums for tetanus, dys-
entery and spinal meningitis, three of the
great war scoIrges. Zach country, how
ever. is hampered by two things-the
length OF time that is necessary to pro-
duce serums of the requisite strength and
universal shortage of the high grade
horses used In the manufacture Of the
medicines
comparatively small quantity OF
tetanus serum, when injected very soon
after q soldier has been wounded in
such way that the dreaded lockjaw is
liable to set in, will save him, says DIR.
Vanderkleed. But In case there is delay
in the njection-something that fire.
auently happens because OF the ext
gencies of warfare-it takes an infinitely
greater amount of medicine to offset the
disease. And under the present circum-
stances. and shortage. he believes. no
country has a sufficient quantity on hand
to be able to dose it's patients with the
necessary Iiberality when there has been
great delay.
Plenty of Vaccine.
In contrast to the shortage of serums
DR.. Vanderkieed finds that all the nations
seem to be fairly we'll supplied with the
necessary vaccines. which can be and are
being prepared in great quantities. and
in a comparatively short time.
The time difference between making
the serums and the vaccines Is due TO the
essential differences In the characteristics
of the two medicines. The vaccine is>but
a quantity of the dead bacteria of G
given disease, which, when injected into
the blood, causes no harm, but does
stimulate the growth of live anti-bodies
that ward off the disease II 1t comes
The serum, on the other hand, takes
from three to six months in preparation
and consists of a quantity of live anti
bodies that have been painstakingly
brought up TO q standard OF strength
They are created by inoculating sound
and healthy horses with increasingly
large doses of bacteria OF a given disease
The animal, less subject than any othei
60 the disease, gradually and increasingly
generates a powerful anti-toxin. and
when in the proper state of health will
eventually yield from three to four quarts
OF the serum.
Vaccination Compulsory.
Germany and Austria. DR.. VanderkleeC
finds. manufactured great quantities o.
typhoid vaccine, and have on hand plent,
of vaccine for cholera, plague and othe
diseases to which the soldiers may b
liable. Following the example of thu
United States, these countries have, dur
ing the war introduced compulsory vac
cination against typhoid in their armies
With the single exception Of cocaine
Germany at least possesses all the opiate
Il needs. There are quantities OF chloro
form. ether. morphine and opium oil
hand. The cocaine is coming In from
New York. which gets II in turn from
South America
To some extent also there is a marke
here DR.. Vanderkleed believes, for chem
icals out OF which can be made material