Richmond times-dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1914-current, 1917-04-01
INDUSTRIAL RESEARCH;
MILLIONS THUS SPENT
And Yet This Country Hardly ut BE
ginning OF Appreciation Of
Its Great Value.
COOPERATIVE LABORATORIES
Interesting Facts Brought Out by
Professor Bacon After inquiry
Among Few Great Industrial
Establishments.

\ large electric company that spends
hundreds Of thousands Of dollars AN :
nually on its industrial research
laboratory adNcrtiScs that fact widely.
Says EaNmon T. Bacon. director Of thu,
Mellon Institute OF Industrial Rcscar cll.
University &c Pittsburgh ono IL I'M
pressed OIL studying tho matter. by
the truth that 4 large number Of com
panicS arc beginning in nation " Idle
way To advertise that they arc con-
tinuaily conducting wcll-dircctcd re-
search Ia improve their products. lIc
recently h.G occasion IL inquire Of
most Of the American industrial con-
Germs which conduct research. regard
ing the growth Of their laboratories
Though h" was aware OF the growing
appreciation of the value of research
as applied L. manufacturing. he was
astoni,li.d {, find that increases OF
from 100 /" 200 per cent in tho research
activities II these corporations were
OK .eo,in-riy frcaucn; There IS only
one conclusion to bc draw from this.
he says. in an article in the Scientific
American. and that is that research
pays--pays in dollars and cents.
JUST At THE BEGINNING
or GREATER THINGS
Yet Mr.. Bacon fccls that IN this conn
try. aud hc might have added especially
In the South. we arc hardly ut the
beginning Of real appreciation Of
what properly conducted research can
do FOR industry. Tho possibilities arc
almost limitlcss. for new discoveries
constantly open new fields. In illus
traiion. he cites some instances from
The domain OF iron and steel Tire
q, l,e ho.
made in Importing new properties 10
these old metals ny means or mere
traces Of other metals. For cMamplc.
il has been found that mere trace II
copper gives IL steel the desirable
prop"rt% "f resisting "orrosi"n. while
the addition -. small amounts al wanna
dunn or tungsten 10 steel affords
supcrstccl with certain physical pr"r-
critics far beyond those of amy ordinary
steel We sec tho addition Of mag
ncsium giving 1" aluminium new prop
critics Of strength and casting quality
which immediately MAX. this metal
available III largo way for use in
automobiles. acroplancs. etc Such
matters a. these. where a metal has
conferred upon it entirely novcl prop
critics and thereby enters into an inn
mcnsc new nr!d OF usefulness H.! ia
other metal or metals. belong III til"
hcld Of those things that cannot h."
predicted by existing scientific theories.
COOPERATIVE: WORKS
PROVING TO DE riiE TiIIN,.
'rhc only way such discoveries can
hc mad" j. hy patient aud careful APP
pliu%ti"n "f cut -ani-trN. and Whom one
considers that the number "f p"ssitl"
combinations runs into hundreds ol
thousands. il viii u" seen how mucn
WORK /" opcn in this ncld "f 'dilul, ~
loAS,'
Mr.. Bacon continues ~ some length
Ia give other illustrations. and III con
"luSion he SAYS:
The day is past when Great dis
.',Tcrics and noteworthy improvements
in amy particular line of manufactures
arc made ny some ono man ur even hy
some organization. Usually many "r-
ganizati"nS arc simultaneously On
gagged in tho investigation III some Ccn-
cral problem. and tho results obtained
hy all are gradually fused into al add
vance uf technical impurtancc."
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