SCIENCE WATCHDOGS

Waikato Times, Volume 127, Issue 21196, 20 August 1940, Page 9

SCIENCE WATCHDOGS

ADULTERATED RATIONS? LABORATORIES KEEP GUARD WIDE VARIETY OF TESTS “Of course, the quality isn’t what it was. Since the war and this rationing started there’s a lot of water and muck in the stuff ” How often have you heard that typical grumble since the war began? writes H. Robertson Holmes, of the Association of British Chemical Manufacture, in a Scottish newspaper. People make that sort of complaint about tea, baccy, pool petrol and and dozens of other commodities. It is even said about meat, as though an inferior stock of animals has been specially developed by grasping war profiteers! Of course, the best meat goes as first choice to the army; and that’s how the rest of the nation would wish it to be. But so far as ordinary commodities are concerned there is no deterioration in quality. In fact, the Government tests for standard qualities have been enforced even more rigorously than ever for certain definite reasons. Still the Same Don’t be gulled into thinking that, since the war, inferior brands of tinned and preserved goods are allowed to be marketed; that there is more “filling” in your tobacco; or that you’re getting a higher percentage of water in your butter or margarine. Almost every week it is part of my job to discuss facts and figures with the experts who work in a “hushhush” laboratory, staffed with Britain’s “watch-dog” scientists. These are the men, highly-paid chemists, whose job it is to test samples of every commodity on public supply, petrol, food, drink, tobacco, as well as war-time materials, steels, explosives, and so on. The secret Government research “lab.” is at the back of the Law Courts in London. You’ll find a staff of over 150 white-coated experts, many with long strings of titles and degrees after their names—men who in peacetime could command over £4O a v/eek in the various scientific and dispensing branches of Harley Street clinics. Clerks’ Pay Now they’re doing a vital national job, and their salaries in many cases are less than those earned by junior clerks. These clever scientists, chemists and doctors work for the Board of Trade, the Ministry of Mines, the War Office, and even the Intelligence (Secret Service) section of the War Office. They test over 10,000 samples of butter and margarine every v/eek for purity and water content. They have to do intricate machinetests of over 3000 samples of tobacco and cigarettes every week—not only testing for impurities, but checking up on the moisture content of the tobacco.

This is one of the jobs where they’re serving the Government as well as you, for an increase in the moisture content of even 1 per cent on the legal maximum of 14 per cent would mean a difference in Government revenue of over £IOOO a day! Now that we are importing tobacco from sources vastly different from those in peacetime, this moisture check is of vital importance. These chemists have rigged up a robot “smoker”—a contraption of glass tubes and rising and falling 3lass jars over water, operated by •n electric motor. Smoke from a .obacco sample is driven along the .übes by suction, cooled, and then analysis is made of residue—a job involving a microscope. 300 a Day Scrape a pat of butter or “marg.” with a knife and you may see tiny beads of what looks like water. This is a natural product of the animal fat, but every day over 300 different samples are tested by the food section.

All told, over 800 trained chemists are working in Government “labs.” at various centres in England and Scotland—head of them all being Dr. Appleton, who earns nearly £6O a week for his vital job on the headquarters staff. The food inve'stigation department is a unit on its own, headed by Sir Joseph Barcroft, C.8.E., who has as his director £I4OO a-year Mr E. Bernard. Chemical research is done at Teddington, Middlesex, where the chairman, Dr. Mills, has many capable men. like Dr. G. Stafford Whitby (£I4OO a year) and Dr. D. Pratt (£IOOO a year), to help him run a large staff. At Greenwich there is the fuel research station, of immense importance now, not only in testing “pool” petrol, but in making secret Government tests of aero fuel, and petrols from Russia, Rumania and elsewhere. Nazi Specimens Britain’s fuel-test “king” is Sir Harold Hartley, and the director of this secret station is Dr. F. S. Sinnatt (£35 a week), with £IOOO-a-year Dr. J. G. King as chief chemist. If there was ever any attempt to foist inferior petrol on the R.A.F., or on private motorists, Sir Harold and his men would know about it. The M. 1.5 experts of the War Office often have to send samples of metals to these secret laboratories for test. Specimens taken from captured Messerschmidts—samples of Nazi fuel,. specimens of captured bullets and explosives, samples of special detonative mixtures from captured Nazi mines—all these must be handled. Obviously I cannot tell you where all this secret work is being done, but Aberdeen, Cambridge and Slough are officially admitted centres where much vital war time work is carried out. It is essential to maintain these secrets, however, for the safety of hundreds of experts’ lives, as well as the well-being of priceless sicentific apparatus, may depend on your silence. If you sec an 8001 b magnetic mine being towed along the road, or a shutdown Heinkel, covered with tarpaulin, on its way to a secret testing

station—then remember that tills is one of the many “Official secrets’* you must not discuss with strangers! Sugar Research Now that the sugar rationing is affecting users of almost every class of food, the food investigation scientists have a busy time. The Board of Trade must know exact sugar content of every brand of imported condensed milk—the amount of sugar used in typical cakes and sweets. Trade samples are taken at random and put through a robot-like demulcent test. One hour they’re investigating the contents of a condensed milk tin; the next hour they’re doing a gas chamber test of nice little poison gases like trichlormethyl-chloroformate! In the morning they’re testing a harmless specimen of pithead water for the Ministry of Mines. In the afternoon they’re trying out specimens of lead azide—a dangerous new detonator in crystal form, so dangerous that just breaking one of the tiny glass-like crystals ca'n blow the whole test-tube sky high! Your food supplies depend on the job done by these scientists in many curious ways. There is a shortage of herrings at one part of the coast, and the men complain to the Ministry. What has spirited the shoals away? “Gulf Stream” Our white-coated chemists get busy with testing samples of sea-water—-over 5000 samples a year being tested. They find—over 200 miles away from the coast concerned—that there is a miniature “Gulf Stream” which is causing the salter water to take a different path, and the fish follow the path of salinity! Fisherfolk are advised the best times to send out their trawlers—and then the information goes on to secret “D” list, for the Admiralty officials believe that this information may also be of value to the Nazi mine-sowers. Dr. Appleton and the hundreds of other scientists today are doing a job that is guarding your life and health. Not till the war is over will you probably know how much you owe to them.