World activity in chemical research has slumped about 13 per cent. since the outbreak of the European war in September, 1939, according to a report by Prof, E. J. Crane, of Ohio State University to the American Chemical Society. The decline, as reflected in the scientific, technical and trade publications of all nations, compares with a drop of about 24 per cent. in the year following the beginning of the World War in 1914. Professor Crane suggests that the chief reason for the lesser effect of war on creative chemistry lies in the notable shifts which have taken place in the centres of chemical investigation. The United States and Russia have grown markedly in chemical activity, while Germany, though still hag lost its leading position since Figures based upon information assembled in "Chemical Abstracts" show that during 1939 215° per cent. "of the reported scientific irvestigations of chemical interest issued throughout the world came from United States laboratories, an increase from 20.7 per cent. over 1913, Russia, a small factor in chemical research before the World War and for a number of years thereafter, has climbed from a chemical research output of 2.5 per cent, in 1913 to 11.1 per cent. in 1939. The output of the British Empire has remained approximately constant. It was 144 per cent. in 1913 and it is 14 per cent, now.
French chemical activity in 1913 was shown by the publication of 13 per cent. of the world's reports of chemical investigations, a figure which dropped to 9.1 per cent. in 1939 and to something far less since the collapse of France. All other countries put together accounted for 15 per cent. of the published reports in 1913 and for about 20 per cent. of them in 1939. Of these other countries, the leading Producers, in the order named, are Japan, Italy and Holland, with Japan showing sturdy growth from an almost negligible position in 1913, Professor Crane states that there are other factors besides the shifting in activity centres to account for the lesser early effect of the present war on published chemical research as contrasted with the effect of the World War. Warfare was not carried on so intensively during the earlier months of the present war as it was during the first months of the World War, Russia was in the World War at the beginning and is not at war now. This is important only because of the shift in activity centres above mentioned. All factors other than this shift seem to be of lesser significance.
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.