November 18, 1910] 



SCIENCE 



693 



the industries and all the geographical 

 divisions of the United States. 



It is, of course, impossible for those 

 charged with the responsibility of organiza- 

 tion and conduct of this congress to have 

 personal knowledge of the developments 

 along all the lines of applied chemistry 

 that are being followed in the United 

 States. That is true also of the presidents, 

 vice-presidents and the members of com- 

 mittees having in charge the various sec- 

 tions of the congress; it is likewise true of 

 the officers of the American Chemical So- 

 ciety and its divisions and its sections, and 

 in the last analysis it is the individual 

 member of the American Chemical Society 

 who must carefully search his mind and his 

 surroundings and ascertain whether or not 

 there is something, no matter how small, 

 which would be material to a correct re- 

 flection of the actual condition of applied 

 chemistry in the United States and to re- 

 port the same so that it may be properly 

 considered. 



In the short history of the organizing 

 committee of the eighth congress there has 

 occiirred a most laudable instance of in- 

 terest in the welfare of the congress, and 

 this instance is a movement on the part of 

 those chemists of the United States who are 

 interested in fats and oils directed towards 

 having that particular branch of applied 

 chemistry properly represented at the con- 

 gress. Letters have been received from up- 

 wards of forty different individuals from 

 all over the eastern half of the United 

 States requesting the formation of such a 

 section, and this interest lends substantial 

 ground to the expectation that each one of 

 these more than thirty individuals will con- 

 stitute himself an aggressive committee of 

 one in securing a correct reflection of the 

 condition of that industry in the United 

 States for incorporation into the perma- 

 nent printed record of the congress. This 



example of enthusiasm and interest on the 

 part of the fat and oil men ought to be a 

 further spur, if such further spur be 

 needed, to all other chemists in the United 

 States having interests in common. 



Therefore, such groups of chemists in 

 the United States, and particularly such 

 as are members of the American Chemical 

 Society, should make it a special point to 

 see to it that everything that could con- 

 tribute to a correct representation of that 

 particular industry at the eighth interna- 

 tional congress is properly brought for- 

 ward. 



Let the metallurgists, let the mining 

 chemists, let all the chemists interested in 

 the manufacture of heavy chemicals, and 

 those interested in the manufacture of fine 

 chemicals and all the chemists of every 

 other distinctive group of common interest 

 come together and see to it that their in- 

 terests are properly placed before the com- 

 mittees of the congress having their inter- 

 ests in charge. If any group of chemists 

 finds that provision is not made for correct 

 representation of its interest at the con- 

 gress, let it do as the fat and oil men are 

 doing and bring that to the attention of 

 those charged with the conduct and organ- 

 ization of the congress, and if such pro- 

 vision be not made let the responsibility 

 for such failure to provide be placed 

 squarely where it belongs. 



The same thing is equally true of the 

 local sections of the American Chemical 

 Society, representing, as they do, difi'erent 

 geographical sections of the United States 

 to see to it that the true state of applied 

 chemistry in their particular sections of 

 the country are properly and adequately 

 represented. These sections wiU find it to 

 the advantage of all to cooperate also with 

 the official member now appointed, or to 

 be appointed by the governors of each 

 state, territory' and insular possession to 



