50 SECTIONAL ADDRESSES 



for life is not new — it is at least 1900 years old — -but I believe it to be true 

 to-day as always that the finest work in any sphere is linked with that ideal. 

 The cynic will, of course, declare that the idea of ' service ' in the present 

 connection is both sentimental and irrelevant, and that concern for profits 

 and pay need not be tempered with any less material considerations. 

 Against this so-called realism I would urge that the spirit of narrow 

 commercialism and professionalism, without vision of the potentialities 

 of science for humanity, and without concern for the social issues 

 involved, gives colour to the false view that science is anti-social. 



Whatever may be our individual views on these questions, practical 

 considerations suggest, and even demand, the formation of a corporate 

 body to represent the common views and stand for the common interests 

 of chemists as a whole. Much has been done already in this direction, 

 but formal unification to the extent which prevails in the medical pro- 

 fession, for example, has not been achieved. The very diversity of the 

 spheres of work with which chemistry is concerned means that the points 

 of view and the interests of chemists vary widely : the outlook of the public 

 analyst is not that of the research chemist or the man operating a chemical 

 process on the factory scale. It is not surprising, therefore, that progress 

 in the collaboration of chemists has been slow, and it is improbable that 

 the chemical profession can ever become unified as closely and exclusively 

 as the medical profession — even supposing it were desirable. 



If for the moment we regard as ' trained chemists ' all those who have 

 taken an Honours Degree in Science with chemistry as the principal 

 subject, or who have equivalent qualifications, their number in Great 

 Britain is probably in the neighbourhood of 12,000. The majority of 

 these are members of one or more of the three large chartered bodies 

 concerned with chemistry — the Chemical Society, the Institute of 

 Chemistry, and the Society of Chemical Industry. The Chemical 

 Society, which is the oldest of the three and celebrates its centenary in 

 1941, has had for its chief objects the publication of new knowledge in 

 pure chemistry and the building up of a comprehensive library — aims 

 which have been achieved to a notable extent. The formation of this 

 Society took place at a time when the professional and industrial aspects of 

 chemical science were still in the background. 



At a later date — over fifty years ago — the Institute of Chemistry was 

 founded as a definitely professional organisation, designed to ensure the 

 possession of adequate qualifications by those engaged in the practice of 

 chemistry. The Institute, now the largest of the three chartered bodies, 

 has had a considerable influence on the training of chemists, more especially 

 for consulting and analytical practice, and membership of the organisation 

 is, for certain kinds of chemical work, taken as a necessary and sufficient 

 guarantee of professional competence. Unfortunately, however, there is 

 not yet in existence a complete and authoritative register of trained 

 chemists. 



The rapid growth of interest in the applications of chemical science led 

 to the forrriation in 1881 of the Society of Chemical Industry, which aims 

 at the promotion of applied chemistry, by regular publication of relevant 

 information and discussion of the latest developments. The members 



