The Birmingham age-herald., 1918-08-01
Rapid Growth of
 Chemical Industry

AeebRAN M wv oil OA
 Chemical Industry
 TN last Sundays New York Sun O Prof. Treat B. Johnson of Yale's Sheffield Scientific school, in telling of the advancement along lines of in dustrial chemistry, stresses the de- mand for chemical engineers-"ar army of them"
 The chemical industry in the United States on "grand scale" is, it is stated, "an infant four years old,' his parents being wartime necessity and the science of our few first rate specialists in organic chemistry" Before the war the number of spe- cialists in the United States could al most have been counted on the ten fingers, but any German university had as many such specialists in chem listry long years before the war. l The stimulus given to business by the, war must be maintained, says
 Professor Johnson, by educating 1T
 great numbers high-class chemists ;and chemical engineers. But where lis the future brain power of "thi; fastest growing of industries to come
 from?" is the question asked. Pro lessor Johnson says:
 Il The sudden development has I created an increased demand for I the well trained chemist and chemical engineer. In every in- I dustry definite steps in advance I involve the application of science through chemical research. Today an unprecedented call is being | made for. men of college training | who can undertake the develop i ment of new methods of manufac ] ture, new applications of maehin cry and the necessary investment
 of very large amounts of capital At last our conservative manu-
 lecturers are willing to admit that the German chemical industry owes its strong position solely to the highly scientific preparation of its
 collaborators. In order to man the l forces for the chemical organiza | tions our manufacturers have l drawn very heavily upon the re-
 serves in our several universities. I Professors, advanced students l and even only partially trained 1 undergraduates have been taken | from our educational institutions. 1 The result is serious shortage of 1 trained chemists and chemical en, l gineers, and also our reserves have been reduced to such degree that unless we immediately pro- 1 vide for replacing them with new 1 recruits a very serious situation
 will develop
 l The very best security for our | chemical industries is in the re- | search laboratory manned by com | potent men, where new processes are being worked out and cheni-
 cal theories carefully applied, As l a matter of national concern it is
 the duty of our educational insti-
 tutions to study more closely the 1 needs of industry and provide 1 training of suitable character
 for those men who desire to enter industrial occupations.
 One of the most constructive phase! Iof Professor Johnson's discussion i Ithat in which he shows the difference
 between the student fairly we'll ad
 vanced in theory and the chemist wh' lis able to do things in a large en
 gineering way.
 1 The young chemist can, for exam pie, take "flask and beaker" ant make sulphuric acid. "Now suppos he's asked" said Professor Johnson l'sto oversee it's manufacture in plan
 where the vats hold some ten thou Isands gallons. He's about where ; handy canoeman would be undertak ling to navigate the Leviathan.
 And it's navigators for Leviathans lstill figuratively speaking, for whom
 these people are calling, and are goin, Ito call more and more urgently a their industries develop. And wit them, you might say, more and nor instructors will be necessary to teacl them navigation, and more and nor research men to chart the new course they'll steer"
 l Professor Johnson mentioned a
 among Americas crowning achieve
 ments the rapid development of ou ldyestuff industry, the increased man lufacture of explosives for war pun poses, the development of the glas industry, involving the production c optical glass, and the. inauguration c |