Evening star., 1932-01-10
Continued From First Page.l

10
and incandeScent lamps. for example
TO the synthesis Of rubber, to tht
strengthening Of steel and even to such
improbable engagements as spinninf
and weaving a silk purse out OF sow.
ear.
These chemists Of pure science are
The creators, and these chemists of in
dllstry are the molders OF the modern
world. They are such to far create.
extent than are the politicians and
statesmen who rule it, or the bankers
who finance it, or the managers and
other industrialists who direct its bust
ness Any city can get along with O
mediocre mayor. and even with an in
capable one-aS is being proven here
and there-but TO drift along with an
incapable chemist would be to court
breAkdowns. fires. water pollution. epi-
denies and other cslamitieS In our
urbaned. mechanized, wired, piped and
paved life Of today we are Safeguarded
at every material step by applications
of chemistry II Is largely by applica-
tions OF these same laws that we have
reached our present stage Of indus
trialiSm.
As I was walking along the spacious
Charles River front in Cambridge.
Mass, on my way TO an appointment
with the chemist DR. Arthur D. Little,
aerial motor noises dominated the air.
I looked up to see the graceful bulk
Of the dirigible Akron floating over
the city. 1t was as beautiful a surprise
aS any one may hope to see. And
reminiscent Of the triumphs OF chem
tstry. For that buoyant miracle Of
aluminium. rubber and helium fioated
out Of a chemists laboratory as surely
ss 1t fioated in that gray Winters sky.
Chemist Spotted Helium.
Helium was unknown until a chemist
spotted 1t in the sun through a spec
roScope. Another chemist later dis
covered 1t in the earth and determined
les properties Aluminium was a lab
oratory curiosity at $50 a pound until
another chemist learned how to reduce
it from beauXite at a cost OF less than
10 cents pound Rubber was a sticky
nuisance until another chemist discov-
cred, quite by accident, that the ad-
mixture OF little sulphur would make
n the tough, dry, dense stuff OF our
automobile tires, balloon bags and a
hundred other uses. BY relating and
combining these and other chemical
and physical discoveries, the Akron was
produced. And along with it whole
new aircraft manufacturing industry.
Those piles Of wheat in the Western
elevators, and those rows and rows OF
waiting cotton, in the Southern ware
houses, and those mountains Of sugar
and coffee and SiSal-can chemistry do
nothing to develop profitable consump-
tion. OF these huge surpluses which are
too much for the worlds accustomed
uSes?
I believe 1t can" answered DR..
Little. Il have said that the only
remedy for unemployment Is industrial
research, and / believe the same rem
ody applies TO the plight of agricul-
sure"
Arthur D. Little is past president of
the American Chemical Society. of the
American Institute of Chemical Engi-
neers and Of the Society of Chemical
Industry. He has headed revolutionary
programs Of research for the paper in
dnstry the petroleum industry, the
rubber industry and various other spe-
caalized factory projects His research
laboratory on Charles River road, ad-
joining the buildings Of the Massachu-
settS Institute Of Technology, is in
scrioed in its stone as dedicated to
industrial progress"
Already Applied to Farm.
And surely industrial progress ought
10 include the largest industry OF all
fhat represented by the farm" con-
Finued DR.. Little. 1T Is true, OF course
that science has already been applied
10 agriculture. Because OF the work of
scientific researchers, the beets coming
TO the refinery now carry Is per cent
OF sugar instead OF their former 6 per
cent; tobacco plants grow 80 per cent
more leaves At for wrappers; wheat has
more gluten; corn and potatoes more
starch; hogs are heavier; cattle are
bigger and hides larger and better.
without the labors Of our Department
OF Agriculture and the regional expert
ment stations, 1t Is certain that Ameri-
can agriculture would be less produc-
tive than it is"
But production is what the present.
DAY agricultural economists seem to
esteem least. In the South it was sug-
gested last August that every third row
OF the cotton crop be plowed under to
re0uce production e-third. In Brazil
&ne government Is willing to allow r.
eeo,OOO bags OF coffee TO be dumped
INTO the ocean, but the coffee growers
contend that $4,000, 900 bags must be
sacrlnced to reduce the glut suffi-
ciently to affect prices favorably. Out
West there has been talk of burning
wheat this Winter unless coal prices
come down.
Destroying goods strikes me as a
rather pitiful example of incapacity to
meet situation" answered DR.. Little.
.There Is something wrong when mil
lions OF people want a cup OF coffee,
and the coffee producers feel 1t neces-
sary TO destroy coffee as a means of
raising the price. The same thing is
true Of proposals to burn wheat when
there are breadlines
New Uses Must Be Found.
THE only way out is TO find new
uses for these products. We have too
much OF almost everything the
reverse OF conditions in Sir William
Crookes time. Take this enormous
tonnage Of surplus Sugar-on Decem-
Der l 1t amounted TO several million
tons. There ought to be some nom
FOOD uses for sugar-snd I believe a
consistent program of research would
ind them
"A hundred years ago log Of wood
was suitable for two purposes. You
might shape 1t into lumber or some
other structure, or you could use it as
fuel. Today some 100000 cords of
wood are used every year in paper
making, and an additional 100 900
cords are used in the manufacture of
Tayon and other synthetic textiles. The
development OF the woodpulp paper in
oustry and the rsyon industry has
added uncounted millions to the value
OF American forest lands.
There ought to be some non-food
uses for wheat and corn" continued
DR.. Little, and here again the surest
way to success is by organized expert
ment. Search and ye shall find.
During the World War our labora-
cory developed an airplsne dope from
protein existing in the germ of
indian corn. This was an emergency
measure to relieve the shortage OF
acetate Of lime, the basic raw ma
terial for the usual 'dopeS' OF course,
the test always is the cost sheet. A
few years ago we we're making butanol
rs substitute for the expensive amyI
slcoholS so largely used in industry,
and making 1t from corn. But re
M 1NT u#a !