The Bridgeport evening farmer., 1917-08-21
Turned the Job Over to a
 Private Manufacturer,
 Who Went Ahead and Solved It.
Manchester Guardian.)


 i .-,'
 Manchester 'Guardian.)
 A few months after the war began this country woke up suddenly to the fact that the usual supply of dyes and fine chemicals had been instantly cut off. Nine-tenths of our dyes and near ly all the new drugs used in modern incidence had come from Germany.
 Before the government had real ized the danger or had begun to make plans, private enterprise was at worK on the immediate practical problems
 Immediately on the outbreak of war pr. Herbert Levinstein, from his knowledge of the industry, foresaw that the war office and the admiralty would soon be in a very serious posi- ftion unless the hitherto despised Brit ish dye-rnanufacturing trade could rise to the occasion All the dyes hitherto used for navy blue and m1li- tary khaki came from Germany. pr. LLeyinstein saw that the cutting off of German dyes was a serious matter from a purely military point of view. It is well known that you cannot real fly begin to train a soldier until you get him into uniform; still less, of course, can you put him in the field. Self-respect, discipline and spirit are vitally helped by the uniform. But to get uniforms you have to get dyes.
 Three or four days after war broke out pr. Levinstein visited the war office and drew their attention to these facts. He pointed out that the khaki dyes that had hitherto been used for war office contractors came entirely or almost entirely, from Ger many. It was, however, possible to manufacture in this country khaki dyes both for cotton and wool which though different in character would be quite as fast as the German dyes. He offered to supply such dyes as quickly as they could be used, and the war office accepted the offer.
 Dr. Levinstein then went to the Admiralty who were in exactly the same situation as to naval uniforms. The chief color used by the naval contractors had hitherto been indigo and brilliant alizarine blue. obtain able only from Germany. He ex- pIained that he could not pretend to , supply this dye, but that he could supply a navy blue as good and fast as the German dye, which had al- ready been used and found satisfac- tory by the Japanese navy during the Russian-Japanese war. This offer also was accepted. It is important to observe that in | this vital matter the initiative was not with the government, but with the private manufacturer, who from his technical knowledge realized the difficulty in which the war office and admiralty would find themselves be- fore many months were over. To that initiative and foresight it iss due I that, enormous as were the armies we raised and equipped, the war of | flee never had any trouble in equip ping them owing to the delay in the supply of dyes. It was not 8 small ] undertaking that Dr.. Levnstein had l given when .s he, promised.s4to supply
 khaki and navy blue as fast as they were required. It meant a workshop revolution and an Initiation of a num- Der of manufacturing processes which had never before been carraed out In | this country. Before the war the dyes loffered had been manufactured suc- Ecessfully but the intermediate prod
 ucts which were the raw material had Ibeen obtained through Germany There was only in stock about six
 weeks supply of these raw materials | For further supplies there was no re- | source but to manufacture on the { spot. There were many difficulties and many mishaps. but the firm man. 1| aged to get the intermediate products \ manufactured before the German supplies ran out.
 K It is not too much to say that ii lit had not been for the initiative or the part of the. private manufacture1 the war office could not have been expected to discover the shortage o1 ldyes and all that it meant for many Imonths, and then more months woulG
 have gone by while experiments were being made and the manufacture go- T going. The inevitable result would
 have been to delay the equipment oi Kitchener's armies As 1t was, tht iproduction of these necessary dye.
 outran. the production of fabrics by . the cotton and woolen manufacturers
 The surplus was enough to supply American contractors and practical, all our allies. The war office placed 'J large contracts with American mills an the American manufacturers i'm
 mediately replied that they could exc cute the orders only if, the board O : trade would allow them to import tht , dyes from the British firm. S
 When the Belgian army was pu into khaki all the dye required wa!
 supplied within week by the sam,
 tralian army and all the green dy,
 for the Italian army when Italy cam, into the war. The Russian army wal equipped largely from America, ant 1.-the British firm supplied the dye. I also supplied very large part of tn, dyes for the uniforms of the French army.
 ,I Only manufacturer and a chem ist can understand what this enor II nous increase of output must hay,
 meant.
 !, Another pressing problem was tha
 of artificial indigo. To many admir- alty and war office contractors indigo : lis the one really satisfactory dyestuff sI A German firm had founded work at Ellesmere Port in 1907. It wa , equipped with plant for the actua , manufacture of indigo, but the neces sary intermediate product-pheny : glycerine-was imported from Ger many and was not manufactured il this country at all.
 Il When the war began, the board O l trade considered that the manufac 3 ture of synthetic indigo was so com plicated that no one in this countr. ] was capable of carrying it out. Tn
 works were therefore kept going un t der the German manager, and for : time supplied a little indigo, but tn : output gradually came to stop. Tr1 rr< r-k IL, De-.