190 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1940 



Materials made available, either directly or indirectly, through 

 the organic chemical industry have enriched our lives by bringing 

 to the masses of the American people many of the good things of 

 life which formerly were to be had only by the relatively well-to-do. 

 Thanks to the development of synthetic textile fibers, millions of 

 girls who work in offices and mills dress better than did the queens 

 of a hundred years ago. In 1924 a standard type of viscose rayon 

 sold for about $2 a pound. Today, greatly improved rayon yams 

 sell for approximately 50 cents a pound, and such price reductions 

 mean large savings in clothing cost to the ultimate consumer. More- 

 over, the synthetic dyes used today, superior in many respects to 

 the natural dyes used by our grandparents, are produced at a cost 

 which adds at most only a few cents a yard to the finished fabric. 



Synthetic plastics, previously referred to, have also enriched our 

 lives by making available a wide variety of beautiful articles, in- 

 cluding toiletware and costume jewelry, formerly made from rela- 

 tively expensive materials such as ivory, jade, tortoise shell, and 

 amber. 



For our comfort, safety, and health, the organic chemical industry 

 has provided a wide variety of products. Reference was previously 

 made to the nonpoisonous, nonexplosive, and nonflammable fluori- 

 nated hydrocarbons widely used in domestic refrigerators and air- 

 conditioning units. I spoke also of the new polyvinyl acetal plastics 

 used as interliners in the safest safety glass ever made. There can 

 be no question that many serious injuries have been averted, and 

 many lives saved, because of safety glass. 



But nowhere have organic chemicals played so vital a role as 

 in the prevention and cure of disease. An outstanding illustration 

 is "Salvarsan," synthesized by Ehrlich for the cure of syphilis. 

 "Salvarsan" is now made in this country, of course, and research is 

 credited with bringing about a 94 percent reduction in the price of 

 this synthetic medicinal.^® 



Not since the development of "Salvarsan" has a synthetic medi- 

 cinal met with such a welcome reception as sulfanilamide, or shown 

 greater promise. Although introduced into the field of medicine 

 only a few years ago, this coal-tar derivative has already saved the 

 lives of thousands suffering from "blood poisoning," peritonitis, 

 streptococcic sore throat, puerperal or childbirth fever, meningitis, 

 and other dangerous maladies due to streptococcic infection. Al- 

 though the du Pont Company does not make this product, I am 

 proud to say that the company did prepare the sulfanilamide with 

 which the pioneering work in this country was carried out by Dr. 



" Chem. and Metallurg. Eng., September 1937, pt. 2, p. 546. 



