202 



'I HE ALUMNI JOURNAL, 



Utilization of the waste liquors in the 

 manufacture of chlorine made bleach 

 cheaper, books cheaper, education cheap- 

 er. He grasps the idea of the tremendous 

 importance of the chemical principle 

 made a fact by the genius of the mechan- 

 ical engineer and a thing of life by the 

 skill and adroitness of the business man. 

 And, when he ponders on all ot these 

 things he may see, more clearly than he 

 has yet, the irresistible power that may 

 be exercised by the human mind. 



WONDERS AND ACHIEVEMENTS OF 

 CHEMICAL SCIENCE. 



In the study of Organic Chemistry the 

 marvellous ingenuity of nature is illus- 

 trated in a way that is startling and im- 

 pressive. With a few elements many 

 thousands of substances are constructed, 

 all differing in properties. The subtle in- 

 genuity and inventiveness of nature man- 

 ifested in this realm surpass in some 

 ways anything found in other branches 

 of science. Its wonderful atomic archi- 

 tecture, the infinity of kaleidoscopic 

 changes of structure of which the com- 

 pounds are capable, the astonishing and 

 almost creative power that a knowledge 

 of this science has given to man at first 

 bewilders and then exhilarates the mind 

 of the student. Its studv cannot fail to 

 assist the development of ingenuity, orig- 

 inality and independence of intellect. 



Through organic chemistry the phe- 

 nomena of life must be approached. The 

 principles of development and degrada- 

 tion observed in living objects have been 

 mostly studied as to external form and 

 internal structure, and as yet little has 

 been done to study the chemical relations 

 and changes involved. The various 

 species of a plant genus often produce 

 compounds closely related. Substitution, 

 isomerism, synthesis, analysis and atomic 

 migration are all included in the growth 

 of a plant. Who can say what wonders 

 will be discovered when chemistry turns 

 its search light on this field of silent ac- 

 tivity. 



It would take me too far from my 

 theme to dilate on the advantages to be 

 derived from a study of higher chemistry 

 and its mathematical consideration. The 

 student who studies chemistry as a liber- 

 al education can hardly expect to go as 

 far as this, unless he can devote a post- 

 graduate year or two to it. A year de- 

 voted to rounding up a course is always 

 advisable when possible, but it is not al- 

 ways possible. 



I cannot refrain from speaking of the 



value of a course of reading in the history 

 of chemistry. It is hard to appreciate 

 the enormous debt that our modern civili- 

 zation owes to the development of chem- 

 ical science, the discovery and application 

 of chemical facts. In agriculture, man- 

 ufacturing and medicine, in the increase 

 of our personal comforts, in fostering 

 health and resisting disease, in reducing 

 the cost of living, in augmenting the 

 thrift and happiness of communities, in a 

 better understanding of the failures and 

 successes recorded in history, in the in- 

 creasing ability to apply knowledge, in 

 the development of a science of econo- 

 mies, in learning the relations between 

 cause and effect and the accountability of 

 matter to law in appreciation of personal 

 responsibility — in all these things, and 

 in others too numerous to mention, the 

 influence of chemistry is clearly defined. 

 The student cannot fail to understand 

 how strongly and how beneficially a 

 knowledge of chemistry will influence 

 his own life — how much he will miss and 

 how much he will discount his own ac- 

 tivity if he has not a fair knowledge of it. 

 I am not now aiming to discuss the 

 different studies of a chemical course but 

 to consider the characteristics of chemical 

 study in general, and their effects on the 

 student's mental development and char- 

 acter. The more detailed consideration 

 of the work and study demanded in a 

 chemical course would carry me far be- 

 yond the limits of a paper of this kind. 

 It is evident, however, that all through 

 life a man has to deal with the material 

 objects about him ; it may be to utilize 

 them, to protect himself against them, or 

 to appreciate their part in nature. It fol- 

 lows that he should have as thorough a 

 knowledge as possible of the nature and 

 properties of the matter of which these 

 objects are composed. This knowledge 

 cannot be obtained by mere attendance 

 at lectures, no matter how well they may 

 be experimentally illustrated, or by the 

 reading of books. Experimental work 

 with the typical forms of matter done by 

 the student himself is demanded, and the 

 acquisition of this direct knowledge pow- 

 erfully and beneficially influences the 

 student's mind and character, as I have 

 endeavored to indicate. For these reasons 

 I am convinced that a young man who 

 does not intend to make chemistry his 

 profession, but who expects to devote 

 himself to mercantile pursuits, will find 

 a course in chemistry, laid out on a 

 broad basis of general education, the best 

 preparation. 



