Omaha daily bee., 1919-09-06
Chemistry IN Peace and War
From the PHILADELPHIA Ledger

He would indeed be dull to all the most
inspiring signs of the times, and blind and in
different to the signal historic background
which Philadelphia affords in the matter of
chemistry alone, who should not see in the 5Sth
annual convention of the American Chemical
society which begins here today event of
the greatest Importance to the intellectual, SCI
entihc and industrial development of America.
Philadelphia, where Priestley in the revolu-
tionary period lectured on his epoch making
| discoveries of the gases and elements and COM
pounds laying the foundation of modern chem
stry, and where later Robert Hare with his
| assaying and his oxyhydrogen blowpipe and
electric furnace made those experiments that
are the basis of metallurgcal and eectrochemi-
cal industries, and where general commercial
chemical manufacturing began over century
and a quarter ago with the same families still
continuing the enterprises, to say nothing of
| the gigantic development of later times, not
| only in industrial chemicals but in drugs and
| medicinas as WE'LL Philadelphia is unquestion-
ably the proper place for this convention there
fore since it has some of the most famous
| "hrsts' to its credit in American chemistry,
and, today, easily leads in output in many lines
far beyond all other sections of the country.
But the unusual character of this convention
does not grow out of the normal developments
of the American chemical industries, as is so
strikingly exhibited by the activities of the
well-known firms of Philadelphia and the
philadelphia district" but by reason of the
conditions that confront the American chemist
and the American chemical manufacturer
result of the world war. For. while it has be-
come almost commonplace for various groups
and interests that took their part in the war to
claim that this and that thing won the war, it
would be very easy to make this claim for the
chemical interests of the allies. and, partcu-
larly, to give the American manufacturers Of
powder and of the chemicals needed in all the
industries tributary to the war; the credit for
bringing Germany to her knees. This triumph
IF he m oh ica1 pufa
over. took on peculiar character of industrial
revenge, since the extraordinary success with
which the menace of Germany was met and
overcome not only represented great military
victory secured by science, but civil and in
dustrial victory which, us far more fatal to Ger
man pretensions in peace than it was to Ger
man proves on the field.
In other words, it was not only that
we're shipping 100000 gas-hlled shells month
abroad when the armistce came; or that we
were able to turn out 100000 gas-masks hav-
ing twenty times the protective value of
German gas-mask; or that we were manufac
turing "Lewsite," the most deadly gas known
to man, at the rate of 10 tons day Novem-
Der IL; or that from total production the
world over of only 100 cubic feet of heum in
at cost of $1,000 per cubic foot we were pro-
ducing helium to the extent of 100000 cubic
feet in 1918 at a cost of less than 10 cents
cubic foot from natural gas in Texas and Kan
sas, but that all these things that figured in the
chemical warfare service were but secondary
to our production of dyes and drugs and chemi-
calls used in the industries, arts and sciences
that ran into the millions, and once and for all
settled the so-called monopoly by Germany of
the chemical trade of the world
OF course, what has happened in the five
years of the war is long and brilliant story of
scientific achievement by American chemists
and manufacturers, and great deal of this was
forecast at the fourth national exposition of
chemical industries which opened at New York
just one year ago. But that was in wartime.
Now, at peace, the American Chemical society
is eager to meet the challenge of the world,
and is ready to take an account of stock to
tell what has been accomplished by its asso-
ciates and to settle beyond all controversy that
the Philadelphia convention is to hear
declaration of independence and that is the
independence of American chemical industries
of the German monopolies that have disap-
peared with the war, never to return unless the
American chemist and manufacturer be sold
out by those who control things in Washing
ton But such fate is not in sight, and, con-
sequently the society meets today under aus
pieces that easily proclaim this the greatest
occasion in the annals of famous organiza-
ton The American chemist has proved his
right to be reckoned with as determining ele
ment of our industrial supremacy in the future.
And it goes without saying that the American
Chemical society will not be recreant to this
trust or Indifferent to the possibilities which
lie at its door and await the country's recogni-
ton of its UNPARALLELED opportunity