544  Third  Annual  Exposition  { November h?w 
given  for  their  disease?  Work  on  such  lines  as  these,  whether  by 
pharmacologists  or  by  clinicians,  will  help  to  maintain  contact  be- 
tween the  science  of  drug  action  and  the  art  of  treatment. 
NOTES   ON   THE  THIRD  ANNUAL  EXPOSITION  OF 
CHEMICAL  INDUSTRIES,  HELD  IN  NEW  YORK 
SEPTEMBER  24-29,  1917. 
By  Samuel  P.  Sadtler,  Ph.D. 
The  idea  of  a  special  exposition  to  show  the  condition  and  possi- 
bilities of  distinctively  American  chemical  industries  was  first  taken 
up  in  191 5,  shortly  after  the  general  realization  had  come  that 
because  of  the  world-war  we  were  cut  off  from  European  supplies 
and  that  we  must  take  hold  where  necessary  and  provide  chem- 
icals for  ourselves.  It  is  not  necessary  now  to  review  the  condi- 
tions that  existed  in  the  beginning  of  the  year  191 5.  Suffice  it  to 
say  that  not  only  the  users  of  dyes  and  synthetic  medical  prepara- 
tions and  the  manufacturers  of  fertilizers  had  already  realized  that 
their  supplies  were  cut  off  for  an  indefinite  period  but,  on  patriotic 
grounds,  manufacturers  had  determined  to  make  an  immediate  effort 
to  build  up  a  distinctively  American  chemical  industry  on  broad 
foundations. 
How  they  have  succeeded  in  this  praiseworthy  effort,  these  three 
successive  Exhibitions  of  191 5,  1916  and  1917  have  shown.  Not 
only  has  the  number  of  exhibitors  and  space  taken  increased  year 
by  year  until  three  floors  of  the  Grand  Central  Palace  building 
were  filled  this  September,  but  the  comprehensiveness  and  quality  of 
the  exhibits  increased  in  a  notable  degree.  In  this  connection,  it 
was  stated  by  Dr.  Herty,  the  chairman  of  the  advisory  exhibition 
committee,  that  "up  to  September,  191 7,  the  new  capital  invested  in 
the  varied  branches  of  chemical  endeavor  in  the  United  States  in- 
creased the  total  investment  at  the  opening  of  the  war  by  nearly 
$231,000,000,"  and  it  was  also  stated  that  the  total  output  of  46 
American  manufacturers  of  coal-tar  dyes  now  approximates  60,000,- 
000  pounds  a  year  and  that  more  than  $12,000,000  worth  was  ex- 
ported during  the  fiscal  year  ending  June  30,  191 7. 
We  shall  briefly  note  a  few  items  of  interest  that  a  visit  of  several 
days  to  the  recent  exposition  brought  to  our  attention.    The  won- 
