The Washington herald., 1917-11-27
CITIES TABOO
FOOD WASTING
Products Hitherto Thrown
Away Now Swell Nations
Resources, Says Holland.

At the recent meeting OF the Amer
lean Chemical Society in this city
some Of the members spoke both pub
licly and in private conversation with
something like enthusiasm Of the new
spirit which charscterizes the United
states respecting the utilization Of
tarious products which heretofore
were not even dignified by being call
ed waste products Those who are
/ leaders in the new field of the electro
chemical industry. conspicuous among.
them being DR.. Edward G. Acheson,
believe that within a few years science
and capital in combination viii dis
cover and utilize methods by which
many things which formerly were ut
terly destroyed by burning or casting
into the sea because it was believed
the were absolutely worthless, viii be
recovered to great commercial use.
A few days ago announcement was
made Of the enlargement Of the cap
ital stock of a corporation whose
product Is to be alcohol designed for
Industrial uses. Within a few years
men of science believe that hundreds
of thousands OF tons or carloads Of
material which heretofore have been
destroyed as worthless will be. by
chemical methods. probably aided by
electricity, converted into Industrial
alcohol. The sources of alcohol are
found almost everywhere, as Is the
case Of the aluminium, but heretofore
they have been neglected. DR.. Ache
son says that almost any material eX-
cepting solid rock or sand can here
after be SO treated as to yield to COM
mercial advantage its contents to
1IcOhoL
Great Waste of Food.
The president of the Texas Ma
terial company, a large industrial
1 organization at Dallas, has within a
few days written communication
to Richard T. Edmonds, editor of the
Manufacturers Record of Baltimore.
This correspondent, c. W. Martin,
makes the amazing statement that
in Texas alone there is wasted every
year forty million dollars worth of the
choicest feed for the dairy and beef.
That is to say, the farmers of Texas
burn up each year the leaves and
stalks Of corn which might be utili-
zed for feeding cattle and for dairy
purposes and which. in the aggre-
gate, are worth forty million dollars
One Of the effects of the war will
undoubtedly be the realization by the
farmers, as well as by all others, of
the fact that We have allowed to go
To- waste pr cts which, properly
utilized, would in each year have a
commercial value of hundreds of mil
lions of dollars.
When at the suggestion of Mr..
Hoover. who looks at the food situa-
tion and the invention of waste from
all points Of view. critical examina-
ton Of the garbage cans of Chicago
was made, it was discovered that a
considerable percentage of the con-
tents Of these cans was available for
food purposes, indirectly available
pe1haps, because this garbage could
be fed to sine and to poultry. c. o.
, Bartlett who is president of a large
xndustriaf corporation of Cleveland
ROhio. is OF the opinion that the gar
baSe cans Of the United States, if
properly utilized. could furnish very
valuable commercial commodities
which now are going to waste.
That was the idea of the late judge
Henry Hilton. of New York, who at
one time offered to the city authori-
ties to take over the removal of New
Hork's garbage provided he was al
lowed to establish certain plants in
"AAACAA lAlt COultIt- OF lne garbage
could be recovered for commercial
purposes. Judge Hilton said to the
present writer. that New York City's
garbage. properly handled. should not
cost the city cent for its removal and.
possibly might return a considerable
income to the city. New York paid
no attention to Judge HiIton's prOpo-
sition- 1t did not interest the city au-
thoritieS. Mr.. Bartlett in his recent
communication states that there is
hardly anything in the United States
at this time more important than the
utilization of garbage. Nevertheless
thousands of tons of it are being burn
ed or dumped into the sea every day
Utilizing Waste.
iSOme Of the American communities
which are well governed have already
learned the lesson of utilizing for
commercial purposes this waste Of our
Scities which is daily deposited in cans
for the collector to take up. As for
instance, Los Angeles three years ago
established a sanitary garbage plant.
contracting with a reduction company
from which it received 81 cents ton
Tor all garbage produced by the city.
As the garbage of Los Angeles
amounted to about 200 tons a day the
city received 800 a day, approXi-
nately, for this waste product, while,
on the other hand. the reduction COM
pany manufactured large amounts OF
fertilizing material, which is readily
marketed for some SIS ton. 1t also
recovered the grease which is a COM
ponent element in the manufacture of
nitroglycerine. The California farmers
have discovered that this fertilizer is
Unsurpassed, especially for citrus fruit,
because it Is rich in potash, ammonia
and lime phosphates. Garbage greas Sc
Furnishes a great deal of glycerin, ap-
proximately II per cent. and this is an
important commodity in the manufac-
lure Of explosives. New Orleans,
which is a very progressive city. is to
Establish a sanitary reduction plant
hnd will probably receive a large in
tome from it.
There are however, a thousand-and-
Pne other things heretofore regarded
Is e no use which contain possibilities
bf Commercial value that may be
demonstrated by science in combina-
ton with capital. There is nothing
hat should go to waste. And one OF
he greatest chemists in the United
States said recently: "One Of the
beneficial results which will follow
he termination of the war will be the
htilization by the American people OF
Fast amounts of stuff so to call it,
Fhich heretofore was not dignified by
he name Of waste products"
HOLLAND.