AmMTa°yUr'i9i9arm'  '      ^ar  Chemistry  and  Medicine.  285 
District  No.  14:  Arkansas,  Oklahoma,  and  Texas.  Office:  810 
Western  Indemnity  Building,  1000  Main  Street,  Dallas  Texas. 
Editorial  Comment. — It  appears  to  us  that  pharmacy  opens  up 
to  many  of  these  returning  disabled  soldiers  and  sailors  an  exceed- 
ingly inviting  field  for  future  professional  careers  and  unusual  pos- 
sibilities for  them  to  make,  likewise^  notable  commercial  successes. 
The  schools  of  pharmacy  are  anxious  to  cooperate  with  the  Federal 
Board  for  Vocational  Education  and  the  Philadelphia  College  of 
Pharmacy  some  time  since  placed  before  the  officials  of  District  No. 
3,  the  facilities  of  the  college  and  the  desire  of  its  officers  and  fac- 
ulty to  aid  in  every  way  possible  in  the  education  of  such  returning 
men  of  the  service  who  desired  to  secure  an  education  in  pharmacy 
or  chemistry. 
WAR  CHEMISTRY  AND  MEDICINE.* 
The  signing  of  the  armistice  and  the  prospect  of  a  long,  if  not 
permanent,  peace  have  lifted  the  veil  of  secrecy  that  has  long  hidden 
many  undertakings  of  great  scientific  interest  in  connection  with  the 
war.  Only  a  few  months  ago  every  one  was  saving  fruit  kernels 
and  nut  shells  at  the  behest  of  the  American  Red  Cross,  It  was 
vaguely  known  that  the  materials  were  to  be  converted  into  charcoal, 
which  was  to  be  employed  in  the  manufacture  of  gas  masks.  But 
why  these  particular  products  were  selected,  what  became  of  them, 
and  how  they  act  were  questions  that  belonged  to  the  great  mass  of 
mysteries  developed  by  the  secrecy  of  war  time. 
Colonel  Burrell,2  chief  of  the  research  division  of  the  chemical 
warfare  service,  has  at  length  disclosed  some  of  the  "  inside  history  " 
of  his  service.  The  absorbent  value  of  charcoal  of  a  suitable  sort  is 
extraordinary.  During  its  preparation,  a  film  of  hydrocarbons  is 
likely  to  remain  adherent  to  the  surface  of  the  particles.  To  remove 
this  is  highlv  important,  because  it  seriously  diminishes  the  absorp- 
tive power.  American  initiative,  guided  by  chemical  science,  found 
a  way  to  overcome  the  difficulty.  By  oxidizing  processes  the  char- 
coal was  cleansed  of  its  hydrocarbon  film  and  rendered  active. 
The  extraordinary  and  utterly  unexpected  diverstiy  of  gases  and 
1  Reprinted  from  Jour.  Amer.  Medical  Asso.,  March,  1919. 
2  Burrell,  G.  A.,  "  The  Research  Division,  Chemical  Warfare  Service," 
U.  S.  A.,  /.  Indust.  and  Engin.  Chem.,  11,  93,  1919. 
