OcroBeER 18, 1918] 
tories of the Bureau of Mines, Bureau of 
Standards, and the Treasury Department have 
all cooperated with their full force in any war 
problems presented to them. Many of these 
problems have originated and been carried to 
a successful conclusion within the bureaus 
themselves. The civilian personnel of the 
bureaus has been depleted in almost every in- 
stance by the war, but men have been assigned 
by the War Department to assist in war prob- 
lems. For example, the Bureau of Standards 
at present has 70 men in uniform assigned to 
it from various branches of the government. 
These are for the main part engaged on stud- 
ies of new. methods of analysis, research on 
analysis of special materials, analysis of gov- 
ernment supplies, and development of airplane 
dopes, and study of new and improved specifi- 
cations on government supplies. The studies 
of electroplating with reference to government 
needs and the study of the physical characters 
of alloys have been taken up. 
The truly extensive chemical work of the 
civilian bureaus and their relation to war work 
will be published in detail at some future time. 
IV. COMMITTEE ON CHEMICALS. CHEMICAL ALLI- 
ANCE WAR INDUSTRIES BOARD 
Tn the very early days of the war, the Com- 
mittee on Chemicals, headed by Dr. Wm. H. 
Nichols, president of our society, and consist- 
ing of the leaders of our chemical industries, 
gave unstinted and invaluable service to the 
government in coordinating the country’s 
chemical manufacturing resources, in increas- 
ing the output of our chemical plants, and in 
allocating and fixing prices to the government 
of the finished product. 
The value of these services can not be over- 
stated, although comparatively little has been 
written about them. 
When the various war committees of the 
Council of National Defense were discon- 
tinued and their functions absorbed by the 
War Industries Board, the Chemical Alliance 
was formed to serve as a clearing house of the 
chemical manufacturers in their dealings with 
the government through the War Industries 
Board. It was organized primarily at the re- 
SCIENCE 
385 
quest of the Department of Commerce to as- 
sist in clearing up business questions in con- 
nection with the importation of pyrite, but 
later it became a regularly organized trade 
association, without any official government 
connection, to which the War Industries 
Board can turn for expert advice. 
Some of the directors at first were original 
members of the Committee on Chemicals, with 
Dr. Nichols as president. Later Dr. Nichols 
retired and Mr. Horace Bowker, vice-president, 
was made president of the Alliance. 
The War Industries Board has been active 
in the chemical field since its inception. It 
has well-organized committees to deal with 
chemical trade matters, especially with the 
allocating of material, fixing of prices, study 
of contracts, and a clearing of orders for both 
the Army and Navy. 
Vv. NATIONAL RESEARCH COUNCIL 
The National Research Council early or- 
ganized a chemistry committee, of which Pro- 
fessor M. T. Bogert was made chairman. 
When later Professor Bogert was appointed 
lieutenant colonel in the Chemical Service 
Section, Dr. John Johnston was put in charge 
of this work for the National Research Coun- 
cil, and continues in that capacity. 
A meeting of prominent chemists takes place 
in Washington in the rooms of the National 
Research Council twice weekly, and the con- 
ferences serve as a clearing house of research 
work going on in Washington and in the coun- 
try. The National Research Council has from 
the first served as a valuable feeder and inter- 
mediary on research between the universities 
and the government. The council has sug- 
gested and cleared many research problems 
both in this country and abroad. 
VI. GEOPHYSICAL LABORATORY 
The Geophysical Laboratory, under the di- 
rection of Dr. Arthur L. Day, has engaged in 
important work since the beginning of the 
war. The developments which this laboratory 
have made in optical glass are well known and 
have had an important bearing on the war’s 
progress. The laboratory has been assisting 
