The Mount Holly news. [volume] (Mount Holly, Burlington Co., N.J.) 1891-1942, 1916-07-11
SEARCH FOR DYES
VIRTUALLY FORGOTTEN INDUS.
TRY BEING REVIVED IN HASTE.
Chance Discovery Of Young English
Chemist Taken Up by Germans
and Made Great Utility for
Whole World.

A virtually forgotten industry is be
ing revived with frantic haste as 6
result of the discontinuance of Ger
many's world commerce in aniline OF
coal-tar dyes, according to a bulletin
issued by the National Geographic
society.
Z The United States, like many Other
countries, is looking longingly once
more to Avignon's madden root for its
4 Turkey red." to India's indigo for itf
blues, to Mexico's cochineal for Its
scarlets. to Central Americas logwood
for its blacks and browns, to our owl
oak forests for the quercitron yellow
and-no, not to the peculiar Mediter
ranean seashell for its purple, for the
manufacture of the Tyrian shade be
loved by emperors is one of the so
called lost arts.
! But these ancient vegetable dyes
some of which were in use when the
mummy cloths were being made for
the pyramid builders of Egypt, can
never replace the coal-tar dyes, which,
during the so years since they were
accidentally discovered, have revoIu-
tionized the art of adding color to
our clothes, our houses, our inks, our
shoes. our wallpaper, out hats, and our
book bindings. In fact, aniline dyes
furnish almost all of the modern tints
for which man is responsible.
1t was in 1856 that a young Eng
fish chemist, while trying to produce
artificial quinine. distilled from coal
tar substance which had a beautiful
mauve tint. This was the first of the
aniline dyes. dyes which have now
been produced in nearly a thousand
commercial shades, 400 of which are
widely used. This young chemist, VIII
liam Henry Perkin, secured capital
from his father and began the manu-
facture of dyes, as a result of which
he was knighted and amassed q for
tune. His discovery Immediately at.
tracted the attention of German man.
ufacturers, who, aided by far-sighted
bankers, employed university chem
lists, and established dye plants on the
Rhine and Main rivers, inaugurating
an industry which has enjoyed phe-
nomenal success. At the outbreak of
the present great war 81 manufactur-
ing establishments, most of them
within an area of 100 square miles. had
a practical world monopoly of the an
lime dye trade.
1t is not a coincidence that IL of
Gernany's biggest dye factories are
located at Essen, adjacent to the lead
ing munition plants of the Teutonic
empire. The same coal tar which pro-
duces dyestuffs also furnishes the es-
sential ingredients of the high explo-
sives used in the shells of the 16-inch
guns which battered down the forts
of Liege, and which fill the head of
the deadly submarine torpedo.
Up to the time of Perkins epoch
making discovery, coal tar was the
despised by-product when coal was
burned to produce coke and illuminat-
ing gas. Today the once rejected third
product has become. as it were, the
Keystone In the manufacture not only
OF dyestuffs and high explosives, but
OF many perfumes, photograph devel-
oprs and innumerable medical COM
pounds known as coal-tar prepare
tions.
At the outbreak of the world war
the United States was importing an
nually from Germany about SIS ,OO0,O
worth Of aniline dyes. The discontin-
uance Of these dye shipments has had
an effect upon our industries out of
all proportion to the actual value of
the imports, for the manufacturing es-
adjustments In this country which
used these dyes employ more than
100000 workers, and many of the
factories have been forced to run on
half time or even less
The increase in the prices of some
Of the dyes can only be compared
with the astonishing increase in the
prices Of shares in some of the war
bride" stocks. For instance. patent
blues have registered the astonishing
advance from 60 cents to $24
pound. Other dyes which formerly
sold for rs cents gallon now bring
112.
Since 1893 the United States has
produced about 20 per cent of the
Ives needed in domestic manufac-
lures.