Evening star., 1937-02-25

The machine age Is passed.
Even while economists and politicians
during the depression were shaking fists
over its blessings and curses it was giving
way to a new era in history-the chemi-
cal age.
Such was the conclusion of DR..
C. M. A. Stine, Dupont vice president,
speaking before the University of Gin
cinnati Friday night. The passing has
been almost imperceptible, dating essen
TALLY from the World War, but gathering
its greatest momentum during the past
six years.
At the best, DR.. Stine stressed, the
machine had one great limitation. 1t
could produce in great quantities all
sorts Of goods. It could reduce prices
and improve quality so as to give the
poorest products which the richest could
not have afforded before. Despite the
criticisms of machine production-the
decline of individual craftsmanship, the
concentration of wealth, the displace-
ment OF labor-it probably justified itself
a hundred times over in the increase it
brought about in the wealth of man
kind which was. in some manner, shared
by all. But the machine could work
only with existing materials. 1t could
create nothing new. 1t could turn out
rubber boots by the millions. 1t could
make them better than they could be
made by hand. 1t could reduce the cost
of making them so that every man could
afford a pair-provided he had job and
could afford anything. But it could only
make them of rubber. Their quality
was circumscribed by the qualities OF
rubber The same was true of all other
products, from locomotives to safety
pins.
Along came the chemist. Before the
war he has been a rather humble figure.
In 1914 all the American universities
conferred only II doctorates in chem
istry. The chemical industry was largely
concentrated in Germany. The machine
was in It's heyday OF power. The master
of the machine was master Of the world
at least economically
Now, says DR.. Stine, this mastery has
passed from the man who could make
the most of natures products to the
man who can create products not known
in nature. Nature, after all, was not
essentially concerned with mans needs.
She has not labored through the ages
to meet his critical approval. She
created latex, the raw substance OF rub
ber, to protect rubber trees from insects
not to keep mans feet from getting wet.
She created the raw material Of silk to
make cocoons for silk worms, not to
make hose for milady. She created wool
TO keep sheep warm, not to keep men
warm. It so happened that man could
utilize these products, but it was none
of Natures concern whether he could or
not.
The machine had to take them as 1t
found them and make the best of them.
No machine could make better wool than
q sheep or better wood than tree. 1t
could only facilitate their utilization.
with all their defects from mans point OF
view. The vast possibilities of improve
ment on nature were hardly dreamed
of 20 years ago.
II do not mean," DR.. Slime said, shat
the machine has declined in importance.
It is, perhaps, even more important than
it was. But we have moved up to a
higher plane of progress into a higher
air Of economic development, that begins
where the plane Of the machine age
stopped. The machine is simply means
OF doing better and at less cost what
was once done by hand and foot power.
It Is essentially . labor-saving device, o