402 



SCIENCE 



[N. S. Vol. XLVII. No. 1217 



There is, then, gas, for the city mains, 

 ammonia for fertilizers and munitions, 

 benzol for colors, toluol for explosives, 

 phenol, being just plain carbolic acid, for 

 antiseptics, explosives and phonograph rec- 

 ords, creosote oils for the wood preserver, 

 anthracene for more colors and then just 

 plain tar. This enumeration brings us di- 

 rectly to a discussion of the coal-tar dye 

 industry. 



Three years ago we were being warned 

 tha/t the foreign dyes would soon be ex- 

 hausted, that none were made in America, 

 that the men would have to wear white 

 socks and neckties to match, and that gaily 

 colored ribbons and dress patterns for the 

 ladies would have to be forgotten. All of 

 which delectable information was accom- 

 panied by the query, "What is the matter 

 with the American chemist?" A number 

 of thoroughly well informed among the 

 brethem made reply which in substance set 

 forth the fact that the American chenoist 

 was all right and just as competent as any 

 other chemist in the matter of dye stuffs, 

 but with much emphasis, they set forth the 

 very pertinent fact that as a manufacturing 

 proposition it required large capital. That 

 the business was interrelated and inter- 

 woven with so many subsidiary lines that 

 all must be built together in order that any 

 one feature could succeed. The complete 

 circle of establishments and processes need- 

 ful for embarking in the industry is well 

 suggested in the short list of by-products 

 already given. Now they estimated that on 

 the most conservative basis, the capital 

 needed to start the dye industry could not 

 be less than ten million dollars and what 

 was more, the experience of a former at- 

 tempt to establish the industry in this coun- 

 try resulted in almost complete industrial 

 wreckage of the business caused by the 

 dumping process from German factories. 

 A financial record of this sort made the 



prospect of interesting large capital im- 

 possible without protection. Because there 

 was at the time a total lack of protective 

 legislation it was argued that the same dis- 

 astrous experiences would result, so the 

 chemist passed on the question and referred 

 it to the capitalist and Congress with em- 

 phasis on the fact that it would take both 

 legislation and money to establish an Amer- 

 ican dye industry. And so the matter 

 rested quiescent and was almost forgotten. 



A few days ago I hapened to be passing 

 through one of the largest department 

 stores in Chicago and indeed of the world. 

 My route, purely by accident of course, took 

 me past the dress goods and ribbon counters 

 and also through the division where neck- 

 ties and socks were displayed. The profu- 

 sion of colors on every hand recalled quite 

 vividly some of the predictions of three 

 years previous and I made mental note of 

 the confirmation of numerous facts, which 

 have been coming to the surface, relating 

 to the development of the dye industry in 

 this country. These facts are doubtless 

 familiar enough to the chemists, but so 

 quietly has the work gone along and so 

 little has been said about it outside of chem- 

 ical circles that a brief reference may not 

 be amiss at this time. 



Four years ago the firms in this country 

 engaged in the manufacture of dyes and in- 

 termediates or accessory substances num- 

 bered all told about six, mostly in fact im- 

 portation houses. Only two or three of 

 these were of even moderate size or had any 

 great amount of capital invested. At the 

 present time there are not six nor sixty nor 

 twice sixty, but 130 such corporations ac- 

 tively engaged in the business. The capi- 

 talization of these concerns, previous to 

 about October 1 of last year, was stated to 

 be approximately $150,000,000. Since that 

 date the Dupont Company has announced 

 its intention of entering upon the manu- 



