356 



NATURE 



[May 20, 1920 



Prof. Bayliss's desire for " free import of such 

 apparatus until equally good material is to be had 

 cheaply at home " is provided for by the Bill with 

 the exception of the one word "cheaply," and I sug- 

 gest that he has, perhaps unintentionally, given the 

 impression that a tariff on goods which either are not 

 or cannot be made in this country has been proposed. 



The whole question appears to be : Are scientific 

 men prepared to pay more for British-made scientific 

 instruments of approved quality to meet higher wages 

 or the depreciation of foreign currency rather than 

 have the whole industry extinguished in this country? 



With the mark at something like one-tenth its pre- 

 war value, it is obvious that no instrument can be 

 produced in this country to compete as regards price 

 with those made in Germany. The Government, 

 through the British Scientific Instrument Research 

 Association, is giving State aid as regards perfecting 

 processes. Sir Herbert Jackson (who is director 

 of the association) is already producing most 

 valuable results; but if financial considerations make 

 it impossible to sell the articles so produced, it does 

 not meet the case. 



Quite apart from the danger to the State which 

 wilt ensue in case of another war if the scientific 

 industry does not exist, surely it must be evident that 

 science cannot develop properly in any country that 

 cannot produce at least the majority of its own 

 scientific instruments. 



A much closer combination between scientific and 

 practical men than existed before the war is required. 

 It has already commenced, and I desire to take this 

 opportunity of explaining that the association of 

 which I am president has a technical committee the 

 members of which place their services at the disposal 

 of the scientific world to discuss all questions the 

 solution of which depends on the production or 

 development of scientific instruments. 

 Conrad Beck, 

 President of the British Optical Instrument 

 Manufacturers' Association. 



2-3 Duke Street, St. James's, West- • 

 minster, S.W.i, Mav 10. 



Prof. Bayliss's letter in Nature of May 6 raises 

 a subject which is of the greatest interest to manu- 

 facturers, as well as to users of all classes of scientific 

 apparatus. We do not think that anyone will dispute 

 the contention that scientific workers should have the 

 very best apparatus which is available, and wherever 

 British apparatus is not up to the standard of foreign 

 competitors there is no doubt that the importation of 

 the foreign articles should be allowed. It is, how- 

 ever, quite a different matter when orders are placed 

 by scientific workers, hospitals, etc., with foreign 

 firms on account of the latter being able to quote 

 lower prices than the English manufacturers can do at 

 the present time. 



It has recently come to our knowledge that an 

 important hospital supported chiefly by voluntary con- 

 tributions has placed a large order for X-ray equip- 

 ment abroad on account of the- lower price quoted, 

 not because the staff was of the opinion that better 

 apparatus could be obtained from this source, as, in 

 fact, we were definitely assured that, except for price, 

 our 'models were preferred. We would ask the com- 

 mittee which was responsible for placing that order 

 whether it had carefully considered the effect of 

 its act, especially should' it be repeated to any con- 

 siderable extent.' It is generally acknowledged that, 

 prior to the war, the British manufacturers 

 were not giving to the medical world the very best 

 service, and both medical men and manufacturers 



NO. 12638, VOL. 105] 



have often asked the reason why. It is too large a 

 question to go into the fundamental reasons, and 

 opinion would no doubt differ as to these; but there 

 is no doubt that in the year 1914 there did not exist 

 a sufficient demand for British X-ray apparatus to 

 allow manufacturers to work on a large enough scale 

 to ensure satisfactory service and economical produc- 

 tion. During the war the cutting off of foreign sup- 

 plies and the increased demand for apparatus enabled 

 the firms concerned to venture on a bolder policy, until 

 by the end of the war there were established in the 

 country adequate manufacturing facilities. After the 

 armistice the Government orders dropped to zero, but 

 the demands for up-to-date equipment from private 

 hospitals, and from, foreign quarters which had been 

 starved during the war, were suflficient to fill the gap 

 and to enable various firms to carry on their manu- 

 facturing programme without undue alarm for the 

 immediate future. 



The past year has been one of great difficulty in the 

 manufacturing world, and, with the publication and 

 issuing of catalogues and price lists scarcely yet com- 

 plete, a great deal of the heart will be taken out of 

 British manufacturers if they find that, owing to a 

 circumstance over which they have no control, they are 

 going to lose a large part of their home trade. The 

 circumstance to which we refer is that of the rate of 

 foreign exchange, against which tariffs, unless ex- 

 tremely heavy, are of no value whatsoever. It is 

 very difficult to obtain trustworthy information 

 as to the prices at which German and Austrian 

 goods can really be delivered in this country, but in 

 one specific instance we ourselves are being offered 

 one of our staple articles of manufacture at .a price 

 which is very considerably below the actual cost of the 

 raw material which we use in the manufacture. Prior 

 to the war the articles were not made in this country 

 at all, and it was only by the employment of consider- 

 able research and a heavy initial expenditure that 

 their production was assured and perfected. We do 

 not think that some scientific workers, medical 

 men, and others quite realise that under present con- 

 ditions high prices are essential in connection with 

 scientific apparatus as with all other commodities, 

 and that if they wish to obtain really good service 

 from British manufacturing firms it is necessary 

 that the amount of apparatus purchased from them 

 should be considerable. Then when our Colonial and 

 foreign friends come to this country for instruction 

 and advice, and find that instruments of British manu- 

 facture are emoloved by the doyens of the scientific 

 world, our foreign trade will develop, and increased 

 production will then lead to lower prices with better 

 quality. 



B. H. Morphy, Man. Director, 

 The Cox-Cavendish Electrical Co., Ltd. 



Twyford Abbey Works, 



Acton Lane, Harlesden, N.W.io. 

 May 12. 



Referring to Prof. Bayliss's letter on scientific 

 apparatus from abroad, we cannot quite agree with 

 his view that the instruments made in this country 

 are more costly than those purchased frorfi the Con- 

 tinent. We think that when conditions in this countn,- 

 are more settled Prof. Bayliss will find that foreign 

 prices are equal to, if not in excess of, those 

 ruling on this side, owing to the considerable increase 

 in wages and raw materials. At the moment the rate 

 of exchange makes the prices seem low as compared 

 with those in this country, but can Prof. Bayliss 

 obtain deliverv at the low prices? 



If manufacturers in this country do not receive the 



