Vol. 19, N o. 11 NOVEMBER 1, 1927
An Offensive Alliance
T 'lI E columns of our technical and daily press have been kept fairly active for som e tim e in recounting details of progress made by the several chemical groups in Europe toward perfecting a sort of Pan-European alliance for offen
sive and defensive purposes. T he nationals of the countries involved have n ot alw ays seen eye to eye w ith the inter
national bankers and w ith the boards controlling these chemical industries, but the m ost recent accounts indicate the successful com pletion of the plans, which originated, we believe, in the home of the great cartel. T o w hat extent the industrialists of France, England, Italy, and the other countries m ay be likened to the young lady from Niger cannot be determ ined until the tiger returns from the ride.
We have repeatedly discussed the major factors involved and what it m eans to American industry. Wo have en
deavored to em phasize how American m oney loaned to foreign industries could scarcely be expected to be of any benefit to hom e enterprises." W e have pointed out how such practices inevitably lead to th e conversion to free traders of all the nice old ladies in black silk dresses enjoying their rocking chairs, and th e bespattcd old gentlem en in morning coats gazing from the windows of their clubs and supported in leisure by their foreign bonds, if their foreign investm ents are to remain safe. I t m ust also be apparent th at tariff tinkering for the sake of aiding the international bankers and those who have been persuaded to invest abroad can scarcely be undertaken w ith respect to the chemical industry without affecting the entire tariff schedule and reflecting itself throughout A m erica’s econom ic structure.
While we are notoriously short-memoried, surely Americans will not have forgotten in th e ten years th at have passed the necessity of a dom estic chemical industry. D o you not remember how Germ any undertook to ration us on medici
náis, dyes, and other im portant products of the coal-tar chemical group? And have you forgotten the pride with which Americans discussed the establishm ent, one after another, of chemical plants w hich soon produced satisfactory goods? D o you n ot recall th at it is a “key” industry upon which m any others depend?
When great concerns abroad which formerly stood alone as sources for world needs in chem istry find it desirable to combine on an international basis, it is som ething of a compli
ment to the success of our American chemical industry. It shows not on ly th a t we have supplied well our domestic needs but th at in foreign markets, where formerly prices and deliveries could be dictated, an American salesman with an American product now frequently stands in the w ay. Of course th at is unsatisfactory to our foreign competitors, and so they propose to organize an attack which th ey intend to make irresistible in strength and sm othering to the Amer
ican industry in its effect. W hat are we going to do about it?
We feel reasonably sure th at American ingenuity, American science, and American capital can hold its own in these world markets, if an effective tariff be used to protect the
great American consuming market against unfair foreign competition, if the industry cooperates w ith the universities in furthering research and training men, and if the Ameri
can chemical industry will whole-heartedly cooperate, one unit with another, in entrenching itself and perfecting its program of developm ent. Operation should be in large units, and mass production w ith lowered costs often demands a w’orld market for outlet. W e cannot dream of retiring. In foreign markets there must be a consolidation of sales repre
sentatives, cooperation in educational advertising, and com
plete agreements on policy coupled with the m aintenance of high quality a t a fair price.
Great combinations such as are being perfected abroad have their serious defects. T h ey threaten only when our own manufacturers fail to remember the old story of the bundle of sticks, unbreakable as a bundle, but the stides of which were easily broken one by one. Our governm ent officials m ust be sym pathetic in their attitude and helpful in their advice. T he offensive alliance has been formed.
If we will, the defense can be made adequate.
An Unused Machine
n p i I E extent to vfliich equipm ent is em ployed can usually be taken as an index of the health and a ctivity of a given plant. Idle machinery is not a good investm ent, and the efficiency manager either uses or scraps his equipm ent.
In the Prize E ssay C ontest of the Am e r i c a n Ch e m i c a l
So c i e t y1 we have a well-designed machine capable of operation
w ith an efficiency which is in direct proportion to the alert
ness of those for whom it is provided. There have been great differences in the results obtained locally by different users of this machine. W hen coordinated w ith the English departm ent, the best results have been obtained in the high- school work. An ideal arrangement has been found to be credit in English for one of the longer them es and credit in chemistry for a major quiz or equally im portant piece of work for each of the essays w ritten. T he results in such cases have been satisfactory to teachers and students alike, even though a prize winner has not always resulted. Several schools find the best source for supplementary reading, or indeed for texts, to be the books made available in connection w ith the contest. In all such centers the m achine is be
ing efficiently used.
B u t there are still too m any places where the m achine is but partly used or neglected altogether. T his is more par
ticularly true in the contest for freshmen in our universities and colleges than in the other contests. T his year the subjects remain the same but the prizes have been changed.
Heretofore there have been six prizes of one thousand dollars each. T his year there are six of five hundred, six of three hundred, and six of tw o hundred dollars each, so th at w hile the individual award is not so large, the chances are more in favor of the individual writer.
T he So c i e t y expects the machine w a ll be in splendid use in this fifth contest.
1210 Vol. 19, No. 11
A t the Exposition
r P H E E leventh Exposition of Chemical Industries closed
*■ its doors after an active week w ith appreciation on all sides and a resolution passed b y the exhibitors com
mending the m anagem ent upon the effective w ay in which details had been arranged and objectives achieved. One heard on every hand the opinion th a t th e eleventh w as the best of the expositions and th a t th e attendance represented a greater proportion of directly interested visitors. The large number of exhibits m akes it practically im possible to dwell upon them one b y one, nor can we hope to stress all th e advances indicated in the exhibits. One cannot attend an affair of this sort b y proxy. A part of the story reaches you in our general accounts and through the an
nouncem ents made in our advertising pages. T he full story reaches you only b y a personal visit.
As has been said, it would require forty years for an indi
vidual to v isit th e industrial plants throughout the world, th e products of 25,000 of w hich were presented in the E leventh Exposition. I t is a great service to the science to compress into three floors of the Grand Central Palace and into one w eek’s tim e all this material, and this service is rendered by the exhibitors, the m anagem ent, and all those connected therewith.
T he next exposition w ill be held the wrcck of M ay 6 , 1929, this decision having been reached b y the m anagem ent and exhibitors after a careful canvass of th e m any factors in
volved. I t gives you ample tim e to make your plans, and our principal hope is th at the next exposition w ill be more truly a chemical exposition in the sense th at it w ill be of the industry rather than to it, but this hope can only be realized if the great manufacturers of chemical products in this country take pains to display the proofs of their progress.
T he Cotsworth Calendar
A X 7 E H A V E come to look upon som e hum an devices as
* fixed, forgetting how recently th ey have been given their present form. Our present calendar is an example, and w hile several efforts have been m ade to correct it, little has been accomplished. Industry, as represented b y George E astm an, has become interested in w hat is generally agreed to be the m ost satisfactory plan so far advanced, the new calendar bearing th e name of M r. C otsworth who devised it.
This calendar has the follow ing advantages:
All months would have the same number of days (twenty- eight), the same number of working days except for holidays, and the same number of Sundays.
All months would have exactly four weeks.
Each week day would always occur on the same four fixed dates of the month.
Quarter years and half years would be of the same length.
The month would always end on Saturdays.
A holiday would always occur on the same week day.
Yearly calendars would no longer be necessary; one fixed monthly calendar would be sufficient.
There would be thirteen monthly settlements during the year instead of twelve, there would be a faster turnover in money;
the same annual volume of business could be handled with less money.
Reforms of this sort come about on ly after long periods of education. Progress is hindered b y inertia, failure to comprehend advantages th a t m ight accrue, and the general tendency to let w ell enough alone. W e all suffer more or less from m ental laziness. W here th e advantage to be gained b y a change is clear, it becom es a part of th e work of technically trained people to further th e project. W e believe th at our thousands of readers w ill be glad to stu d y the C otsworth calendar and to explain its features to others.
Federal Figures for Private Profit
'T 'H E insistence th a t under average circumstances scien-
* tific research and control are a profitable investment is leading an increasing number of industries to apply them.
T he v a st m ajority are quickly convinced and increase their appropriations for such activities. T he individual pur
chaser is beginning to realize th a t laboratory results would be of great benefit in guiding his purchases, and that if it pays the mail-order houses, th e departm ent stores, and asso
ciations composed of those doing a com paratively small business to m aintain testing laboratories, one would be useful to him. H e finds upon inquiry that as an individual it would cost him more to get the inform ation than it might be worth, and it m ay occur to him th a t by joining resources w ith his neighbors a com m unity or a tow n laboratory might be supported w ith profit. T he establishm ent w ithin recent years of several hundred testin g laboratories provides the public w ith places where products purchased can be tested.
Then some one refers to the statem ent th a t by using the laboratories a t its disposal the Federal G overnm ent saves S100,000,000 annually. Perhaps he wonders w h at interest he as one 110-m illionth part of the population should have in the m oney spent b y the people for the people in govern
m ental testing and research work and concludes that here is a place where he can get his share. Perhaps he reads that the Bureau of Standards has been called upon to advise those refurnishing the W hite House. If the W hite House, why not his house? A nd w e com e a t once to the q uestion: Why w ould it n ot be beneficial to all the people to know the result of governm ent tests, th at th ey m ight use them for their own guidance in purchasing various commodities?
T he Bureau of Standards, which officially serves as one of the testing laboratories for the G overnm ent, is most often m entioned in this connection, probably because of the great diversity of its activities. T his bureau, in common with others, stands in the sam e confidential relationship to the General Supply C om m ittee, w hich does m uch of the federal buying, as does any consulting or testin g laboratory with respect to its clients. 'While there is no legal barrier to the publication of findings, there are a number of very practical reasons w hy these data w ould n ot be useful, but indeed harmful, to the consum ing public if an attem pt were made to use them.
T he fundam ental difficulties are sim ply th a t th e tests are usually incom plete from th e public point of view and that in no tw o cases are th e conditions of use identical. A hundred uses m ay exist for a given com m odity, each calling for a slightly different group of characteristics and each laying stress on certain attributes and minim izing others. Many of the tests made for governm ent departm ents concern but one quality of the material under consideration, and that one is of interest only because peculiar conditions of use make it th e outstanding point for consideration. E ven where full tests are m ade, th e results are technical and require expert interpretation w ith due regard to intended use. This needs no great elaboration, since it is obvious that in the m ajority of purchases the service tw o people expect, the amount of m oney th ey wish to spend, and numerous other factors lead them to a different choice of w h at is offered, and makes a set of standard specifications difficult to apply, let alone the report of a testin g laboratory.
Another point is th a t th e things w hich govern purchases are often incapable of precise m easurem ent. In dress goods ladies often rank first color, fancy w eave, finish, draping possibilities, and similar criteria w hich bear no relation to wear. E ven if we attem p t to set standards of wear, we find ourselves confronted w ith a variety of factors which have so far made this a m ost unsatisfactory’ determ ination.
November, 1927 I N D U S T R I A L A N D E N G I N E E R I N G C H E M I S T R Y 1211 Suppose, however, th at notw ithstanding these effective
barriers, an effort is made to inform the public th a t m anu
facturer A makes, let us say, the m ost efficient refrigerator.
There is no m eans of being sure th at som e entirely new production w hich w ould far outrank those under test is not about to make its appearance. In other words, in a country
■«nth hundreds of thousands of manufacturers, it is alm ost a physical im possibility for any laboratory, however well manned, to be sure th at it has com pleted tests on the latest products of all makers. T hen, too, it is ju st as difficult to overtake and rescind, if circum stances warrant it, a letter of approval or a statem ent of comm endation as it is to correct the bad effects of an error or the evil effects of scandal. The man who m akes the best m ousetrap today m ay n ot be making it tomorrow, but he m ay still be using recommenda
tions issued w hen he was forem ost and th e corrected state
ment m ay never reach his consum ing public. Specific advice, therefore, can be given only for the case in hand, and that advice can be but tem porary because the state of the art changes and a different situation would call for a different answer.
These are som e of the reasons w hy it is n ot practicable for the public to attem p t to use directly the results of govern
ment tests, b u t it is clearly recognized th at there is no place for double standards— one standard of excellence for the Government and another for the individual user. Conse
quently, the work of all governm ent bureaus is intended to help the public through show ing those w ith whom they come in contact how im provem ents m ay be m ade, pointing out the weaknesses in their products, suggesting remedies, and at tim es evolving entirely new products w hich m ay be put into general production.
In a number of cases groups of manufacturers have co
operated w ith governm ent bureaus in prosecuting research designed to uncover and rem edy faults and to establish underlying science. T he results of these tests, w ith code numbers assigned to makers’ sam ples, have been made gen
erally available and w hile the maker m ay knowr only the identity of his own sam ples, he can see where he stands w ith reference to those who have joined him in the research and can apply these data to the betterm ent of his product. This has been done over and over again, and w hile the original investigation has usually been prompted b y needs of the Federal G overnm ent, th e public at large lias been the direct beneficiary. Instances of such work m ay be cited. T hey include dry cells, w attm eters, vacuum cleaners, refrigerators, and autom obile brake lining. T he public continually benefits from investigations upon foods, drugs, insecticides, fuels, and on through a long list of comm odities. N o t infrequently the General Supply C om m ittee sees fit to advise interested parties as to w hich products have been purchased for a particular use.
Aid has been extended in other directions. The Bureau of Standards, for exam ple, has initiated the certification plan, in accordance w ith w hich there are compiled and dis
tributed lists of manufacturers willing, w hen requested to do so, to certify to purchasers th a t m aterial to be supplied under contracts based on certain U nited States Governm ent master specifications w ill com ply w ith the requirements and tests of such specifications and is so guaranteed b y th e m anu
facturers. Then there is available an index to federal specifications, and it should be emphasized in passing th at before adoption all federal specifications m ust pass the censorship of th e industry concerned. T his is done to pre
vent unreasonable requirem ents and the inclusion of im practical specifications, w hich obviously would defeat the entire purpose.
More than th at, there is a N ational Directory' of Com
m odity Specifications, covering som e 27,000 item s. Wher
ever possible the scientific basis for the specifications is indicated, in order to make them more useful. As a further aid, a D irectory of Commercial T esting and College Research Laboratories has been compiled.
Federal testing, therefore, originally undertaken to con
serve th e m oney of the taxpayer, brings a further return in service through the utilization of information so obtained by the manufacturer, and while there is need for more ex
tensive use of qualified testing and research laboratories, the ultim ate consumer even now is not w ithout his champions.
Our Chemical R eview s
T T IS n ot often that one journal praises another except, of course, Chemical Abstracts. I t is w orthy of note, therefore, and of gratification am ong American chemists, th at the British Chemistry arid Industry has recently published a graceful editorial comm ending the success of Chemical Reviews and calling attention to its international list of authors. “ Chemical science is becoming so highly disperse a phase th at soon th e school investigating the nucleus w ill cease to associate w ith the school studying the electron shells. * * * Thus does the wood tend to become obscured by the trees.” T his is a pertinent com m ent on the conditions which led to the founding of Chemical Reviews.
The honor for the w ide acceptance of this new journal, w hich has become established on a firm basis in three years, is due to its first editor, W illiam A. N oyes. In praise of his policy Chemistry and Industry says: “ O bviously reviews, if th ey are to be reviews and n ot mere compilations, m ust be w ritten b y m en who know', and know that th ey know.
Too often those who know don’t talk, and those who talk don’t know .” D octor N oyes has added another item to his long list of gifts to American chemistry. H is recent retirement places in the hands of his successor, D ean Gerald W endt, of the Pennsylvania State College, an established journal which cannot but grow' in im portance as our science increases in diversity.
A W aiting Market
V V T ’E L E A R N th a t in London the In stitu te of P atentees ' now regularly issues under th e title “ 'What’s W anted”
lists of inventions for w hich the world im patiently w aits.
T his is compiled from suggestions offered b y individuals as w ell as industries, bu t all are n ot listed, those responsible for the publication doing a certain am ount of selecting to dis
card the obviously frivolous. A partial list recently appear
ing contains som e item s of chemical interest and leads to the thought th a t perhaps som ething would be gained if serious inquiries for developm ents in the chemical field m ight be occasionally listed in our publications.
W e find th a t there is still a demand for a lum inous paint more satisfactory than existing ones to m ake signs visible at night; a perm anent paint for gas stoves; a non-slippery floor polish; an im proved ships’ paint to prevent th e attach
m ent of barnacles; an efficient, safe, and economical m ethod of removing carbon monoxide and carbon dioxide from the air of rooms in order to m ake th e atm osphere more invigor
ating and safer; an unbreakable, unblurrable, and flexible glass-like substance; a device to prevent w ater from freezing in house pipes; an im itation tortoise shell th a t would be less brittle and easier to repair than existing m aterials; and a m ethod of raising bread w ithout the use of y east or baking powders.
W e believe th e listing of really practical suggestions m ight lead to practical results. W hat have you?
Vol. 19, N o. 11
T h e F u n ctio n s of R esearch 1
By C harles F. K etterin g
Ge n e r a l Mo t o r s Co r p o r a t io n, De t r o it, Mic h.
T
H E functions of research as we analyze them industrially today are manifold, and perhaps the m an who is interested only in the extrem ely technical phases overlooks a few of the very im portant contributions which science can make to the great questions of industry.
I w ould rather have a young m an firmly grounded in elem entary physics and chem istry, whether he ever did a chemical analysis or not, than any other one thing. I can teach him the specific application of th e art, but I have never been able to teach him the fundam entals underlying science after he has once gotten his diplom a. From an engineering standpoint, if I were to w rite the curriculum of an engineering course today, I w ould w rite it very sim ply:
four years of physics, four years of chem istry and anything else you have to give the man. W hy? B ecause chem ists have been too specific.
E very great thing th at the world has ever seen has been a re-arrangement of materials, and, to me, chem istry is only the construction, the constitution, of material. I t is only the wonderful configurations th at are built up from the elem ents, the wonderful handiwork of N ature th a t has pro
vided us w ith the m illions upon m illions of m aterials. T hey tell me th a t in the hydrocarbon series alone there are so m any compounds possible th at if w e used the very finest Japa
nese paper, printed w ith the finest typ e th at the ordinary person can read, and gave only a quarter of an inch per page for each com pound, we have n ot enough paper to print them all. T he m an who w ants to be a chem ist and tries to learn all those com pounds is absolutely lost, but underlying all of these miraculous com pounds there are a few funda
m ental principles in both physics and chem istry th a t are so basic th a t we can tell, w ith ou t even having to determ ine m any of their characteristics, w hat th ey would be, even though w e had never heard of them . I t seem s to m e, therefore, th at th e determ ination and application of such basic principles is of so m uch greater im portance than analytical data as to make the latter seem a w aste of tim e in comparison.
Chemical q uantitative analysis is the art of chem istry.
W hy you analyze them is the science of chem istry. In procuring and directing research m en, I w ould prefer to have them know why th ey w an t to find ou t som ething, why th ey w ant to know th e constitution of a given m aterial, than to be the m ost expert technicians in determ ining it.
In terp reta tio n o f S cien ce to P u b lic
I have been interested for a great m any years in the appli
cation of scientific discoveries and scientific developm ents to the comm on, everyday w orkaday principles of life, be
cause a great m any years ago I recognized this very elem en
tary principle: you m ay perform the m ost miraculous experim ent in the laboratory and produce a m ost wonderful result, bu t so far as having contributed anything to the welfare of the hum an race is concerned, you have done nothing until you have delivered th a t result to a custom er who m ay be entirely unconscious of its existence. Therefore, com mercial research tod ay is the translator of high and fine scientific ideals to a using public, w ho get the results and appreciate their value w ithout knowing of their existence.
A recent news article discusses a synthetic m ethod of pro-
1 P resen ted a t th e 7 4 th M eeting of th e A m erican Chem ical Society, D etro it, M ich., Sep tem b er 5 to 10, 1927.
ducing phenol, and follow ing th a t discussion it is stated th at probably in due course of tim e, because of the low cost of the phenol, our furniture could be m ade ou t of synthetic resin. There are 115,000,000 people in the U nited States, and 114,750,000 think of resin as the stuff th ey put on the bow of a fiddle. T h ey have n ot the slightest idea of what you are talking about w hen you speak of resin as furniture.
T h ey think of it only as being the m ost brittle stuff in the world.
Science in general has needed an interpreter to translate it into the term inology of the m an on the street, and that is one of the great functions of industrial research. It trans
lates w hat the m en in the laboratory, the men who speak only in technical terms, have to say. W e of industry perhaps represent a very m uch lower order of thought than the pure science researcher, but w e are able a t least to translate it into the term s of the man on the street. W e represent the 114,750,000 people of the U nited States who pay the bills of translating the wonderful discoveries of physics and chem
istry into the term s of the average man.
D e te r m in a tio n o f F acts
T he next great function of research is the determination of facts in term s of comm ercialism . Like m any others, I w as taught, w hen in college, th at a scientist is a man who <
w orks a t his subject for the sake of th e subject alone, and th at a m an who works on a scientific project w ith the idea of selling i t has no right to be associated with science. I have since learned th a t a bank account in the black is the popular applause of a scientific accom plishm ent. Therefore, if I can translate a scientific fact into som ething that the people can use, and th ey are w illing to pay more for it than it costs me, and I have a bank account in th e black as a re
sult, it is a very satisfactory situation, even though it may be a lower order of intelligence.
T he procurement of facts is, of course, th e basic principle of all research, bu t in th e engineering world a fact Is purely a question of opinion. Y ou m ay have so elim inated opinions from the facts in th e chem ical industry th a t every one of them is a perfectly definite, relative thing, bu t th at is not true of th e engineering world. T h ey sa y th e m ost phe
nom enal thing th a t ever happens in engineering is to have tw o engineers agree upon any one point. H ow ever, there is this much to be said— th at a chem ical com pound, say sodium chloride, does exist; th a t it is made up of tw o elements, at the present at least, of sodium and chlorine (some discussion as to w hich one of th e isomers of chlorine m ight be used);
th at each one of these has a nucleus of a certain number of electrons (some doubt as to the num ber); and th a t if you put it on your egg it tastes salty. W e know th at much about sodium chloride, b u t there is a perfectly definite constitution of sodium chloride w hich remains as it is, regardless of w hat you and I think about it. T h a t is why it is so im portant to get a t the facts.
T he more argum ent you have upon an y subject, the less is known about th at subject. So if you w ant to go into research, find out th e things upon w hich there is the greatest disagreem ent and the m ost opinions, and you perhaps have a virgin field. Argum ent alw ays presupposes a lack of knowledge.
O btaining facts, entirely apart from individual opinion,
November, 1927 I N D U S T R I A L A N D E N G I N E E R I N G C H E M I S T R Y 1213 is a very im portant part of research. An example of wonder
ful advances through physical re-arrangement of materials is found in the developm ent of transportation from the sailing vessel to the steam ship, to the railway train, and to the airplane.
W hen people ask, “ W hat next are we going to encounter?”
I have only this to say. W e shall have seen no marvelous phenomena in the world until w e get the chem ist to work, especially the organic chem ist, who has it w ithin his power to re-create and re-develop typ es of material of w hich you and I today know nothing.
We have been by-product experts up to the present time.
We depended upon the sailing vessel, which w as purely a by-product of the wind, until som e one developed the steam engine, and w hen the developm ent of the steam boat was first proclaimed you know w hat people
thought of that. W e are no different now than w e were one hundred years ago. There is tod ay being expressed in an em bryotic w ay the m ost funda
mental principles of our advanced civilization, and w e pay no attention to them because th ey do n ot fit into our w ays of thought. W e have never recognized a fundam ental principle of a great advance a t the tim e it has been presented. T h e m an who has the greatest foresight is the m an who is most ou t of step a t the present time.
I believe th a t hum an nature has not changed, and therefore I think there is being expressed in m any w ays the m ost advanced things in scientific results which w e m ay n ot appreciate because they do n ot fit in to the category of today’s operations.
S ellin g Ideas
Another great function of research is th at of selling. E very great in
dustry tod ay has a procurement de
p a r t m e n t , w h ic h purchases the materials th a t industry needs. A
recent national m agazine has com m ented upon the procure
ment departm ents of our great industrial organizations, con
demning them as great pirates. T hey accuse them of purchasing a t the expense of the supplier and of em ploying sharp practices. I do n ot believe th at to be a fact, but I simply relate it to show th a t every great industry has a procurement organization as w ell organized as possible for purchasing a t the proper prices those materials which they need for their product. B u t there is n ot a single organi
zation in th e world th a t has had a departm ent for the pro
curement of a new idea. There is n ot a single institution in the world th a t has listed a new idea am ong the m aterials which it uses. Therefore, industry has no possible w ay of procuring these new ideas. Y ou have to sell an idea, sell it to them as an entirely different en tity from w hat enters into their production. Therefore, research has a very im
portant function, one w hich is about 90 per cent of its total function— nam ely, to sell its product, ideas.
You m ay look upon th is w ith som e question. I have been interested in research and developm ent for a great m any years. Pure scientific research is, in its last analysis, one which has to do 100 per cent w ith the science of materials and the laws governing their function, whereas th is con
stitutes betw een 10 and 20 per cent of the total activities of an industrial research organization. T he other percentage is the question of salesm anship, of selling the idea.
Selling the idea is a tim e function, and w e have developed, over a long period of years, this very im portant thing, which is absolutely no criticism of anybody, that th e ordi
nary period for selling a new idea is four years. I t is at least four years from the tim e you talk about a thing until you can hope to offer it to a customer. T h at is just as much your fault as it is mine, and the reason is the influence of heredity, of instinct over intelligence.
T he human race is the one distinctive creation in the world which I think has been the experim ent of the Creator.
I think the human race is the unfinished work of the Creator, because every other organism has operated in exactly the sam e w ay as far back as we have records. B u t the human race has n ot y et completed its evolution. I t is going step by step; its m ethod of life has changed from generation to
generation. T he one particular re
spect wherein we have been different from other creatures is th a t we have been given a thing called intelligence.
W e discovered th at a few centuries ago, and for a long tim e intelligence w as beginning to develop into a super ego, which, thanks to the chem ist and the physicist, in th e last generation or two or three, has been boiled down to the pure elem ents of intelligence.
Therefore, when w e present a new idea today, the first instinctive re
action is against it, and th at is w hy som e philosopher said a few years ago th a t the second sober thought is a l
w ays essential and seldom wrong.
W ell, the only thought you had w as the second one. The first one w as your instinctive animal reaction against it, and when you took your second sober thought you said, “ Come on in, intelligence, and see w hat you think about this thing,” and it said,
“W ell, here is w hat w e think about it .”
In other words, intelligence has had such a sm all am ount of practice at this game of ours th at we have to bring it in b y ringing the bell; but instinct is alw ays on the job and says, “I don’t think th at is any good.”
So when you present a new problem, its history is as definite as th e history of a silkworm. Y ou lay a new idea on th e table, and th ey push it off into th e w aste basket.
D o not get discouraged at that. T h a t is only the first tim e th ey pushed it off. Lay it on th e table again and th ey will push it off again, and after you lay it on th e table for about three successive years, th ey w ill say, “W here have we seen th a t before?”
T h a t is no criticism of any industry. I t is sim ply recogni
tion of the applied principles of psychology, and you w ill react to som ething outside of your business in exactly the sam e w ay.
I t is how people react toward it w ithout thought th a t de
term ines the success or failure of any proposition in the world today— it is n o t th e thoughtful reaction. Therefore, you have to present it and present it until you get an unthoughtful, favorable reaction.
T his question of psychological research is im portant, be
cause th ey tell me a great m any chem ists are tem pera
m ental. N obody should be tem peram ental and be in re
search work, because the on ly thing you get in research work is having your ideas shoved off into the w aste basket. W ell, you know where th ey are then and you can get them out again.
I N D U S T R I A L A N D E N G I N E E R I N G C H E M I S T R Y Vol. 19, N o. 11 T he only tim e th a t anybody can ever discourage m e on
a new idea is w hen th ey throw it in the w aste basket after I have laid it on the table for four years. T hen I do not blam e them or the idea; I wonder w h at is ivrong w ith m e, th at th ey have n ot seen th e point. So th e question of selling the idea is m any, m any tim es more im portant than the idea itself, because it does not do the human fam ily any good a t all until the thing is sold and put into production.
F osterin g D issa tisfa ctio n
A few years ago I w as called on th e carpet of a very im portant financial organization, one of our great N ew York banking establishm ents. A question which w as extrem ely embarrassing w as pu t to me. T h e banker said, “W hat right have you to exist?” I said, “ I don’t know. A sk m e another.”
“W ell,” he said, “ the question I am talking about is this:
You represent a great body of people known in this country as research people, and, so far as the banking fraternity are concerned, th ey are the m ost dangerous outfit in the world.
W e loan a concern half a million or a m illion dollars on a perfectly good bank statem en t today. In another year som e guy com es along w ith a process th a t entirely upsets th a t situation, and, while their bank statem ent is good today, three years from now , w hen th ey are supposed to repay the m oney, som e other fellow; has pu t them ou t of business.
N ow , you arc the people th a t m ake banking hazardous.”
“ I will give you a concrete illustration,” he added. “ Last night I drove ou t to m y home in a perfectly good auto
mobile, which happened to be made by one of the companies associated w ith your organization. T he chauffeur said to me, ‘D oesn ’t this m otor run fine? I t certainly is a marvelous car; just think, we have driven 10,000 miles and it runs this n ice.’ I agreed.”
“ W hen I got home there w as a beautifully engraved invita
tion on m y table: W ouldn’t I please call in a t th e X -Y -Z Autom obile C om pany and see a new model? T his morning I stopped in at th a t com pany, w hich happened to be the sam e w hich sold m e the car I w as driving, and I saw the new model. I v ras trem endously impressed w ith it. It w as beautiful. T he advance m ade v ras quite marvelous.
T he only thing th at made me sore w as th a t they w ould n ot allow me w ithin §200 on m y old car of w hat I expected, and I left there very m uch disgruntled. A ll th a t you did w ith th at new' m odel w as to depreciate S200 w orth every one of the cars th a t you made last year.”
“Y ou are absolutely w rong,” I replied, “D id w e put a scratch on the paint of your car? D id we scratch a bearing?
D id wo score a cylinder? D id w e break a spark plug? D id we punch a hole in your gasoline tank betw een last night and this morning?”
He said, “ N o .”
“We did n ot touch your car, did we?” I said, “I t is a hard thing to get a car touched even if you take it into a service departm ent, let alone m aliciously going out and doing it.
B u t you say I depreciated your car $200 w orth between last night and today. N o, w e did n ot do that. W hat we did was to appreciate your m ind $200 w orth b y show ing you a new model. W e m ade you see in a new m odel w hat to you looked like a so m uch better autom obile that, despite the fact th a t you are crabbing about the allowance for the old car, you are going to buy the new car— aren’t you?”
H e said, “Sure.”
I said, “ Y ou are ju st sim ply learning to know th a t it is w orth $200 to have a change of m ind. T h at is w hat you are doing. W e have elevated your m ental idea of w hat an autom obile should be— $200 w orth,” and I said, “ If we had n ot done that, you w ould n ot have bought a new autom obile, would you?”
H e said, “ N o .”
“ T hen,” I said, “ we would n ot have made one, the steel
maker w ould n ot have m ade th e steel, th e paint-m aker would n o t have made th e paint, and the tire-maker w ould not have m ade the tires, and then business w ould n ot have been so good.”
One thing th a t the great financial organizations of this world have n ot y e t discovered is this— th a t good business does n ot represent the great flow of m oney and exchanges through the banking houses. T h a t is a secondary thing;
th a t is the negative wire, so to speak, of the great electric current of prosperity. T he positive current is the flow of use
ful m aterials through the channels of trade, and th a t can only be produced provided you are dissatisfied w ith w hat you have.
So the next great function of research, and b y far the greatest of all of them , is to keep everybody reasonably dissatisfied w ith w h at th ey have. If w e can keep you reason
ably dissatisfied w ith w h at you have, you are going to buy som ething th a t satisfies you, a t least for the tim e being.
'When you do, you are going to pass your m oney on to some
body else, th e y are going to pass it on to som ebody else, and so on around th e circle.
H ours are the only assets th a t you and I have; twenty- four a day have been given to every one, every human being no m atter w here he lives. N ature dem ands that you shall lie in an unconscious sta te eigh t or nine hours a day— and som e of us exceed the lim it. B u t the rest of the tim e w e can consider the things th a t exist in th e world and how w e can reorganize them so w e think w e have a good tim e. T h a t constitutes the progress of civilization; and an y tim e you spend a dollar and are convinced you have your m oney’s w orth in exchange, it does n o t m ake a bit of difference whether it w as gam bling on a horse race or what not; you have spent your m oney w ell, because the question betw een having a good tim e and n o t having a good time is purely a m ental and n o t a physical condition. I have seen m en who have com plained about conditions a t home, that have gone o u t to fishing cam ps and put up w ith stuff that th ey sim ply w ould n o t tolerate around th e house. Then th ey come back and te ll w h at a wonderful tim e th ey have had.
T he problem is how b est to use th e tw enty-four hours th at w e have. T o give a specific illustration, let us go back to a R obinson Crusoe story. Suppose tw o people land upon a desert island where there is no m oney, where there is practically nothing, th a t th ey have different ideals, and th a t one fellow goes down and sits on the beach, catching enough fish to keep him alive. Suppose th e other fellow takes som e stones and begins to la y up a w all for protection, finally building him self a hut. H e finds som e boughs, and tries to m ake him self more com fortable than the other.
T he other fellow laughs a t him and says, “Y ou are crazy for doing that, I w ould n ot do it .” F in ally, a storm comes and the one who has spent his tim e fishing gets angry because he is kept ou t of th e h u t, where th e builder is protected against the storm . H e does n ot get in, and begins to say,
“ W hy, you are a cruel individual.” W e have lots of people exactly like th at today.
T he m aterials of the world were here long before the human race. T he only m odifications in m aterial are brought about by the thoughts th a t had to exist in som ebody’s mind be
fore the m aterial ever changed. Y ou cannot change a chem ical com pound in a te s t tube; you have got to change it in a m an’s head first. There have been a few accidents, bu t th ey have been very, very rare.
T r a n sla tio n o f T ech n ica l D eta ils in to R esu lts W e still m ust recognize, as th e great problem in industrial and scientific research, th a t th e people a t large are not in
N ovem ber, 1927 I N D U S T R I A L A N D E N G I N E E R I N G C H E M I S T R Y 1215 terested in a chem ical com pound or a physical law. T h ey
are interested in a v ery m uch more ordinary th in g than that w hich concerns u s so-called scientists. W e cannot touch their lives unless w e can produce things w hich th ey can use in their ordinary w orkaday life entirely unconscious of underlying principles. T h ey are n o t interested in the type of m otor th a t th e y have in their autom obile; th ey are not interested in th e typ e of lubricating oil th a t th e y use or the typ e of gasoline th a t th ey bum ; th ey do n ot know whether i t is a carbohydrate or a hydrocarbon, and th ey don’t care. T h ey are interested in w hether th ey pay 16 or 18 cents a gallon for it. T h ey are n ot interested in tech
nical details, b u t if th ey ge't b etter results from one than the other, th ey sa y th e X -Y -Z gasoline is better than the W -X -Y , and th a t is all th ey know. Therefore, a great function of research is to convert technical relationships into the terms of the user.
I had laid on m y desk som ething which read like this:
I question it, but, nevertheless, here it is. “I f a hydrogen atom is propelled in th e plane of the orbit of the electron, the orbit assum es a varying elliptical path and as such it must radiate energy; a part of the propelling energy m ust be translated in to th is radiation. B u t if it m oves a t right angles to th e plane of radiation, th e path of the electron is that of a spiral, and, inasm uch as there is no change in acceleration, no radiant energy is supplied.” I t m ay or may n ot be a fact, b u t you could n ot be elected m ayor of the C ity of D etro it on th a t kind of a platform. B u t if you can translate th a t over in to som ething th a t affects a fellow ’s egg or coffee, he w ill say, “W ell, this com pany has a better thing than th e other.” I t has on ly been w ithin th e last ten years th a t industry has opened up its arms to th e thing we call research.
R esearch O rganization
I have translated another function of research which, to my notion, is as im portant as an y w e have in every industry today— a perfect set-up of organization. W e have the financial organization w hich is composed of the treasurer’s department, th e auditor’s departm ent, etc. W e have the manufacturing departm ent, th e sales departm ent, and the engineering departm ent. T hese departm ents have been recognized in th e budgets of industry for years. T h ey have been recognized in th e great financial institutions. T hey say, “ W hat is their financial set-up? H ow w ell are th ey equipped for m anufacturing? H ave th ey a good sales organization? H ave th ey good engineers?” B u t people, without know ing it, have introduced the necessity of another department w hich is as im portant as any. I do n ot say it is more im portant an y more than I sa y th a t one finger or the thum b of m y hand is more im portant than another, but if you were hiring a fellow and he did n ot have any thumb and you w anted him to do a special piece of technical
■work, I do n ot think you w ould give him quite th e same consideration as if he had a thum b, and I think you m ight question him if he had a thum b tw ice as long as normal.
So I do n ot hold th a t research is som ething w hich dom i
nates any other part of the organization, but a great function of research, as I see it as an industrial research man, is the developm ent of scientific change-m aking. I t is the science of making changes in a system atic w ay, because every tim e some one establishes a new marriage relationship in the atom ic world it affects in som e w ay every industry in the world.
If you re-com bine a hydrocarbon m olecule, it m ay affect the deposit on the porcelain of our spark plugs. Research is the organized function of know ing how to m ake changes, and th a t is essential in these transient days.
The m ost elem entary form of research th at can be applied to industry consists of one m an a t a desk, busy in getting
from the world’s technical journals and from all the tech
nical societies those things w hich he believes have a bearing upon the particular industry w ith w hich he is associated.
A fter he has washed th em down and filtered them ou t he has a residue of w hich certain principles m ay apply. He should present to the m anagem ent those things which, out of the w hole gam ut o f changes w hich have been made in the scientific world, will affect his particular industry, saying
“ Here arc things which have a possible effect upon the in
dustry' in which w e arc involved, and you should know about th em .” T h at is purely a question of gathering together elem entary facts w hich have been obtained from the raw material b y scientific m inds and effort throughout the world.
R em ed yin g T roubles
There is another function of research that belongs to this great change-m aking, and one upon which our particular laboratory' a t the General M otors operates—nam ely, trying to fix w hatever is wrong w ith what you have. Y ou would never guess from reading our advertisem ents th at there is anything wrong w ith w hat w e m ake, b u t every once in a w hile a fellow comes in with a slight difficulty. In trying to rem edy w hat is wrong we get our problems. And so 1 felt that, in deference to tho great, scientific organizations I should n ot be the head of a research organization, and 1 have recommended to our board of directors th at we be called
“The General M otors Fixing D epartm ent” rather than the
“ Research D epartm ent.” W e start out to change w hat is wrong b y using som e of the things wo make and know.
We first find out the things that the chem ists, physicists, and others have gathered together. Then, if we engineers cannot get from w hat th ey have found out the thing that we need to fix w hat is wrong w ith the particular thing that we arc m aking, w e have to go and dig out ourselves the particular kind of information w hich we m ust have to enable us to overcom e the trouble. Then we become pure scientists, tem porarily. I cannot sec a n y difference in im portance betw een digging ou t a fact when you need it and digging out one when you don’t need it. T he only difference between pure science and commercial research is th at in commercial research y’ou dig ou t a fact because you need it, and in pure science you dig ou t a fact because you w ant to dig it out.
W hen we start to remedy troubles w e som etim es learn that these scientists have been w oefully lax in not digging out the required inform ation. The greatest w ay to provo th at is to get the latest books, such as the International Critical Tables of Physical and Chemical C onstants. W hen you go to look for a great m any of those constants they’ are not there. C onstants are there on both sides of the alphabot, bu t the particular one you w ant is not there— just like looking up anything in the encyclopedia. If it had been there you would never have a chnneo to find it out; som e
body else w ould have been there long before you. So when you begin to solve some of these comm on, ordinary problems you w ill find m any data m issing. We have been working on gasoline and lubricating oils for y'cars and wo find m any of those com m on, ordinary things to w hich nobody has paid any attention. I feel th a t th at is largely because of religion.
I dislike to mix religion and science here, bu t a lot of people believe th a t the earth has been created ju st for us and us alone, and therefore have relied upon natural products to be exactly suited to our particular needs. To them it has been rather sacrilegious to question it. W ell, I don’t quostion it bu t I would like to know w h y th ey are th a t w ay.
Consider rubber. I cannot believe th a t the rubber tree, w hen it developed th at particular lym phatic circulation that is necessary' to heal a tree scar, ever had a pneum atic tire in
