214 



NATURE 



[May 15, 1919 



CHEMISTRY IN THE NATIONAL 

 SERVICE.-^- 



SINCE the autumn of 1914 a great change hae 

 taken place in the public attitude towards the 

 natural sciences, and towards" chemistry in particular. 

 One of the recognised duties of the spokesmen of 

 science during the past sixty years or more has been 

 that of endeavouring to bring home to the .general 

 public and to its administrators the danger of neglect- 

 ing the cultivation of pure and applied science. The 

 eloquent discourses of our predecessors, Lyon Play- 

 fair, Roscoe, Meldola, and the veterans happily still 

 with us, Tilden and Armstrong, all past-presidents of 

 our society, on the national importance of chemistry 

 are well known to all of us, but we cannot claim that 

 these utterances produced an effect comf)atible with 

 their gravity. 



Recent events have, however, given a stimulus to 

 the popular appreciation of the need for wider applica- 

 tion to scientific investigation of all kinds which is 

 incomparably greater than had been excited by the 

 previous half-century of the spoken and written word. 

 It may be useful at the present time to ■ consider a 

 few of the causes for this change in public opinion, 

 partly because of the clarification of ideas which 

 emerges from free discussion, partly because of the 

 desirability of recording certain facts and particulars 

 which may be of value to future historians of the 

 strenuous period now ending and giving place to 

 another still more strenuous. 



At this time four years ago an urgent call was 

 made for the services in a military capacity of all 

 the chemists who could be spared from civil life. 

 Large numbers were taken into the Army, and formed 

 the nucleus of the magnificent Gas Warfare Service 

 which has been slowly but efficiently developed. 

 Many of these colleagues of ours are now returning 

 to their legitimate spheres in the industrial and 

 scientific life of the Empire, but many will not 

 return ; among those who have fallen I would refer 

 more particularly to one who was well known to most 

 present for the invaluable services which he rendered 

 on the defensive side of chemical warfare. Lt.-Col. 

 Harrison was one of the great discoveries of the war, 

 and his death on the eve of the armistice was one 

 of its many great tragedies ; the protection against 

 gas-poisoning which has been employed by our own 

 and Allied troops, a protection far more efficient than 

 that ensured bv the devices elaborated at leisure by 

 the Central Powers, was due mainly to his wide 

 knowledge, great organising ability, and unfailing 

 resourcefulness in emergency. A movement for the 

 establishment of a memorial to Col. Harrison was 

 set on foot by the Chemical Warfare Committee, of 

 which he was the Controller at the time of his death, 

 and a considerable sum has been collected from those 

 who had been associated with him In his work for 

 the Services. The Chemical Warfare Committee has 

 approached the council of the Chemical Society, and 

 has offered, under certain conditions, to place a 

 memorial tablet or other suitable permanent memorial 

 In these rooms, and also, under certain further condi- 

 tions, to establish a trust fund to be held by the 

 socletv. The council has with great pleasure Inti- 

 mated its willingness to accept these dfts, and one 

 of the first duties of your new council will be to decide 

 how best to carry out the provisions of the trust deed. 



The efficiency of the British gas protection, which 

 called for the exhibition of so much scientific skill 

 both in research and in manufacture, and led to its 

 adoption by our Allies, Is one striking Illustration of 

 the paramount importance of science which has ap- 



1 Presidential address delivered to the Chemical Society on Murch 27 bv 

 Sir William J. Pope. K.B.R.. F.R.S. 



pealed to the general public. This subject is, how- 

 ever, but a small branch of the enormous chemical 

 problem which presented itself to the nation nearly 

 five years ago, and led to the organisation under 

 Lord Moulton of the Department of Explosives Sup- 

 plies. During the working out of this problem issues 

 presented themselves which are probably dissimilar 

 from any which have ever arisen before. 



Thus, as the magnitude of the struggle became 

 gradually obvious, it was realised that the whole of 

 the resources of the Empire would haVe to be utilised 

 fully if success was to be attained. A census of 

 all available chemical products had to be taken and 

 schemes for their exploitation laid down ; all 

 materials had to be apportioned out in accordance 

 with the principle that whatever was used for the 

 manufacture of one particular war material left 

 a corresponding shortage of raw material in con- 

 nection with the manufacture of some other, and 

 perhaps equally essential, product. The intricacy of 

 gauging the chlorine output of the country, of deter- 

 mining how to increase it at the maximum rate with- 

 out unduly disturbing other interests, of apportioning 

 it most advantageously for use as liquid chlorine and 

 for the manufacture of phosgene, sulphur chloride, 

 carbon tetrachloride, bleaching powder, and manv 

 other war materials, is such as would disarm criticism 

 even if the result' had been failure instead of brilliant 

 success. This novel mode of presentment. Involving 

 recognition of the principle that the Empire could 

 only dispose of certain limited and measurable quanti- 

 ties of raw materials, was but one of the many fresh 

 views which forced themselves upon a newly created 

 Ministerial Department. Labour, fuel, and transport 

 had to be discussed in an analogous manner. 



The cessation of hostilities found this country manu- 

 facturing, roughly, 100,000 tons per annum each of 

 nitric acid and sulphur trioxide with an efficiency of 

 about 93 and 91 per cent, respectively of that 

 theoretically obtainable ; we were also making 

 60,000 tons of T.N.T. and 35,000 tons of cordite per 

 annum. These productions were for all practical pur- 

 poses upon a permanent basis, and could have been 

 continued indefinitely. The factories necessary for 

 securing this huge production were erected by the 

 Government, and for several reasons. First, for 

 economy in production. In spite of the large initial 

 cost of installation, and including rapid amortisation, 

 the national production of cordite was better in quality 

 than, and of approximately one-half the cost of, that 

 imported from America. Secondly, for certainty of 

 supply, which could be ensured only by a home pro^ 

 duction not subject to the risks of oversea transport. * 



With this necessity for gigantic production the 

 urgency for economy in manufacture necessarily went 

 hand in hand. One of the most interesting docu- 

 ments of the war is the second report on costs and 

 efficiencies for H.M. factories controlled by the 

 Department of Explosives Supplies, which has been 

 recently issued. This report contains a minute 

 analysis of the working costs for each period of each 

 factory engaged upon individual items of manufac- 

 ture ; it states what proportion of the cost per ton of 

 product is borne by labour, raw materials, fuel, 

 maintenance, etc., and provides an Incitement to 

 further effort towards economy of working by giving 

 a "bogey" cost-sheet made up of the most efficient 

 details of cost selected from the complete analysis 

 of expenses. It will be clear that an immense amount 

 of organising power was required to achieve this 

 stupendous result; it was due largely to the genius 

 and energy of Mr. K. B. Quinan. 



It must be remembered, however, that this per- 

 manent memorial to British chemical activity in pro- 

 duction was rendered possible only by the intense 



NO. 2585, VOL. 103] 



