BRITISH DYE STUFFS.

Auckland Star, Volume LVII, Issue 143, 18 June 1926, Page 4

BRITISH DYE STUFFS.

HOLDING THEIR OWN.

MIRACLE OF APPLIED SCIENCE.

(Prom Our Own Correspondent.)

LONDON, April 30.

The coal tar industry which in its peace time guise means dyestuffs, and in war high explosives, is one of those key industries about which even a hard shell freetrader has qualms when a big catastrophe comes like the great war. Dyestuffs in this country have suffered through the dual aims of scientific production, and it was good to have, at a meeting of the Science Guild here yesterday, in a paper by Dr. E. F. Armstrong, a clear and condensed statement of the achievements of the British dyestuffs industry, and of the improving prospects before it. The industry, he pointed out, was started here, passed before long to Germany, and grew into virtually a German world monopoly. It prospered because the Germans appreciated a_d applied scientific methods, and because the commercial leaders, men trained :xs scientists, were able to understand the problems and the point of view of the technical workers. Beyond becoming a great industry, it developed into a synthetic organic chemical industry, and into a potential arsenal for chemical warfare. During the war many were the mistakes that had to he paid for by this country in life and treasure, but the work done for the nation by our chemists could never be repaid. Those without ininterest in the manufacture of dyestuffs, however, had short memories, and would thoughtlessly mortgage the future for the sake of the profit of the moment. The fight, therefore, was not yet won. Dealing with recent criticism, he said that dyestuff progress in this country was regarded by those able to judge ac a real achievement To-d% the industry was virile in the highest degree. By far the larger number of the many hundreds of known dyestuffs were manufactured in adequate quantity and of entirely satisfactory quality, while the accumulated experience was enabling the forward progress to be more rapid than at any other time. The industry was finding its faith in research justified and had begun to reap in fuller measure the rewards of intensive and prolonged investigation.

The days of painfully toiling in the wake of others were passing. In the new fields opening to the dyer we were more than holding our own. In a year or two, we could confidently expect to have reached and consolidated a very strong position. The price of dyes made i- England in relation to world prices was a controversial subject. In considering it, the existence of reparation stocks from Germany, in part seized at low prices, and of stocks made there in the period of the inflated mark must be taken into account, as well as the invalidity of comparisons with colours quoted in heavily depreciated currencies. Almost always, from the ultimate point of view, the discrepancies between British and foreign prices were not so serious and should be remedied largely by tbe reductions taking place all the time as the result of factory improvements and research. It was significant how few dyeetuff licenses were now granted on the grounds of quality and price. The standards reached by the British maker in regard to dyeing properties, strength and shade, were in most cases higher than those of the Continent in the prime of pre-war days. In the circumstances, the price of dyestuffs, which on the average, brought to the British maker less than tea brought to the tea planter, was one of he miracles of applied science.