The Bridgeport evening farmer., 1915-10-15
BIC SHIPMENT OF
 DYES WILL BE OF GREAT ASSISTANCE
Color Chemical Expert Points Out Effect of Ar
 rival of 50 Tons.

| expert of the Department of Com merce, who has taken charge of the
 campaign for building up a don1estic l dye industry, pointed out that the l amount in question represented
 about one-third of one per cent. of l the total amount of dye stuffs nor ma1ly consumed in this country every I year-about 1000 tons. At the same time, he added, it was not his wish to minimize the importance of any shipment which added to the facilities
 of the mills. The shipment arrived on the American liner St. Louis One pound of coall tar dyes, pr. Norton said. would keep 25 opera tives working one day, and to that ex-
 tent help to avert the distress of mill
 hands, which is one of the incidents
 of the dye shortage, that already has
 compelled the closing of some mills
 and the reduction of output of many
 others. It is Dr. Norton's opinion
 that it will be two years before Amer ican plants can produce one-haf the
 quantity of dye stuffs required, and five years before our dying industry
 will be absolutely independent. In the meantime, he believed, Fit is in Ecumbent upon the clothing manufac- lturers to utilize dyes with the max Eimum of economy.
 'Of the success of our attempts to establish a seIf-sustainipg American dye Industry there can be little I doubt he said. stnow that the ad- rninistration has made clear its in- tentiop to support a policy which will
 insure protection for American chem !
 ists from unfair competition from
 abroad.
 .eThe German dye industry has ] about S40o,oo0.o00 behind it. I think I that for $2e.e0o. .00e to $30.o0o.00o an adequate American Industry may be
 built up, but we must protect our I $3o, 100000 industry from the crush l ing attack of the $4OO,00O,0 900 indus
 President will ask Congress to do,
 and hope not an hour will be wasted | at the coming session in putting on
 the statute books legislation whicITj l will protect the interests of Ameri-
 can chemists and manufacturers, no matter what may be the issue of the
 future
 i q am glad to hear that 50 tons of
 German dyestuffs have reached this lcountry at last would not call this i a drop in the bucket; but it is not e1r- taggeration to say that it represents but a stein as compared with the re- quirements of our mills. Fifty tons 1 in 15, ooo-t11at is what 1t amounts to. One hree-hundredth, or third of one per cent. Still, let us not mininL ize in any way the importance of even 50 tons, importance in a social as well as in an economical way. The f Fotner5 day the proprietor of the big-E gest hosiery mill in the world sat at I my desk and told me that he re- quired 400 to 500 pounds of dyes a ! day to keep his plant running at it's full capacity And every pound of dyet he could use day kept 25 operatives busy. That figure is about an aver aos ao. 2 s'u can sec ~na' % 'ons will
 1ssBut by economy that man and others like him can make the dyes do i even more work than they are doing. 1 For instance, take this shirt have l on It is dyed in pencil stripes, heavy | bands and light bands If but one 1 kind of stripe and that a light one, were to be used then but one-tenth l the amount of dye would be required i and a pound of dye would go ten | times as far, would employ 25O oper- atives for a day. That is what I tell | all manufacturers who come to me-. They must think up ways to make l their dyes do extra work. They must | make them last. The famine in Ger man dyes was held off longer than | had expected, two full months longer, but now ii is beginning to make itself | felt, and soon we shall probably have to get along. in the best way possible E with what we can produce ourselves
 &sOur domestic production of ani1ine and coal tar dyes is already much greater than it was before the war, but a very large proportion Of coal tar crudes are in demand at present for the manufacture of high exp1o- sives,l and the abnormal prices they'll command for this purpose reduce the quantity avalable for dye purposes. A number of works are now ulAnufac- turing an1Iine and other Interme- ddatea. 5lI
 < Another year should see us we'll equipped to make most of the inter- rnediates required in the assembling of all known dyes. Some novelties are promised One Kentucky firm has undertaken to manufacture seven dyestuffs. covering the primary shades. their constitution being un-E known This tie have on is cotton dyed yellow and green by the new so-cal1ed petracine coIors. which come from the refuse of petroleum. which she Standard Oil Go. has paid to have taken off its hands.
 Personally I have urged, and shall continue to urge. the necessity at this time of increasing the output of aniIine, rather than branching off into inc manufacture of a varied list of 1yes. What we should do at presentsI s to try to get out the greatest quan- .ity of dyestuffs and wait until later H 0 produce varieties. It would be ale to deny that hardships and shortages will have to be faced. Ship nents of 50 toms, while welcome, cam lot greatly influence the situation. We must face facts as facts, and by econ-l ,ay, conservation, and pulling toll sether, expeet@to round the corner t0 find ourselves facing a prosperity which would not have oeen ours had it not been for the opportunity placed in the country lands by the unique conditions grow ng out of the war.
 sIn about two years it is probable hat we shall be producing about half he quantity of finished dyes we will equire, and in five years we shall N produce almost enough to fill our