Valdez daily prospector., 1914-01-07
INVEST NEARLY A
 BILLION IN TRASH
Waste Material Reclaimed by
 Business GeniuseS.
SPECIALIZE ON FIVE THINGS
Export $2,000,o00 In Woolen Rags For "shoddy"-Get s114,ooo,ooo Worth of Tin and Iron Out of Discarded Tin and Hardware-True Conservation ists, Says Head of Association.

ists, Says Head of Association.
 At the second meeting of the Ma tional Association of Waste Material Dealers. held in New York recently, delegates from many places in the east and middle west discussed conditions in the waste material industry and the policy of the association. The organi- zation was formed i'll Boston only last March, but, according to the report of the secretary, the members of the as- sociation represent an investment in the business of more than $7OO.OOO,- 900. The members are divided into five general classes, according to the par ticular waste materials in which they deal, and each class is represented on the board of governors of the associa- tion by vice president. The five products upon which the classification is based are rubber, metals, paper stock, cotton and woolen rags and scrap iron, and recently the vice president representing the business in each of them made report of the conditions of the trade in which he was inter ested
 Millions In Rags and Tin Cans.
 Through their vice president the rag dealers reported that more than $2,- 100000 worth of woolen rags had been exported from the United States last r., 1,n fo ort, Jx fnp ir,A mills into cloth known as "shoddy."
 According to another report, old tin cans, useless cooking utensils and dis carded hardware of all kinds furnish ed $114,OOO,OOO worth of pure tin and iron, which were used in manufacture.
 In many cases, said the representa- lives of the old metal dealers the same articles were made from tue metals re- covered which had originally been manufactured from them. The tin coating on old, rusty cans, for ex- ample, was removed by some facto- ries, purified by chemical treatment and then again used as veneer for cans. Some of the tin was also con- verted into tetrachloride and used for Weighting silk.
 Old iron and steel can most easily be recovered and used fbr a second time tue vice president of the dealers In iron said. What is commonly known as scrap from can be melted down and converted into structural steel and iron implements of as good quality as any. according to his report.
 Buying Up Old Auto Tires.
 The automobile industry has fur nished field for the rubber men They buy old tires and tubes. which they restore with chemicals to pure rubber for new tires and tubes. Their report showed an active and profitable business.
 In bringing the meeting to q close the president of the association, Theo. dore Hofeller of Buffalo. addressed waste material business.
 "Without attracting attention" he said, "the dealers in things that not very long ago were considered useless and even unprofitable trash have built up business that in capital in, volved and material handled ranks i with most recognized industries. and , greater results have been obtained from the saving of the waste materials than from irrigation of barren lands The waste material dealers are the true conservationists. They have re claimed millions of dollars from the dump heaps throughout tlle country" ! The secretary of the association is Charles Nj. HaskiEs of Boston. and the treasurer is Mark Sherwin of the same city