Evening star., 1918-07-21

IIOl8 the DdIeuIS III dil VI thS hot ~
eight states. except six; in two tiers:
on the Pacific coast Young men had
come into our laboratory and business,
and we transferred to them the rights
in Washington, Oregon, California,
Arizona, Nevada and Idaho. Also they
to the cement industry throughout the
country"
In explaining the remarkably un-
selfish and unique action OF DR.. Cot
Corporation recently said: I'm ISL
an offer was made to transfer az
gift to the Smithsonian Institution
extensive rights in the Cottreu pat
as | the eiectricai fnp preeipitssion Of sus-
pended particles. in order that the
profits resulting from the application
of the patents. already well assured.
might be applied to the advancement
Of scientific research and inyestiga-s
tion. -
Naturally" the corporation went on
to say. this proposition was at once
recognised as both generous in Spirit.
and highly original in conception.
The idea. which originated with DR..
Cottrell, was to render discovery al
ready made the mother of new dis
covery, and thus contribute to the
scientific and technical development
Of the industrial arts"
The profits derived from the patents
are to form "an endowment FUND TO
be used for the intensive study OF
scientific and Industrial needs and to
ing Of new discoveries and through
study. investigation and experiments
ton, Of applying such needs"
-
Such. then. is the romantic story Of
DR.. cottren's potboiler. Tho few
hundred dollars that he hoped to earn
never came into his possession Dur
ing the years that he toiied over his
inventions he earned his livelihood by
teaching. And when wealth was at
hand he turned It away. The great
foundations Of Rockefeller and Car
negie. in some respects. seem COM
mon by comparison r.
The precipitation process was first
used in the cement Industry at River
side. Cal Kilns Of q large company
there were raining clouds of lime
and clay PARTICLES on fruit and
cation was threatened. The COM
pany spent $1,000,o 600 in the purchase
Of surrounding land and Of machin-
cry to abate the nuisance. Practically
the money had been thrown away: -.
1t cost the cement company $2oo. 900
to install the Cottrell process, but tho
outlay resulted in the collection of
nearly 100 tons OF dust a day--oE
keeping that quantity Of lime and
the owners Of fruit and orange trees.
And enough potash was obtained
from the dust to pay q large dividend
on the money invested in the new
Since then the process has been
adopted BY many cement works in
other part Of the country. notably in
the east. and owners OF iron furnaces
are using. 1t for the utilization Of
Of this country is for q million tons
Of potash yearly. Before the war the
supply. as has been stated. came from
Germany. Its money value to the
Germans was $4,000. 900.
The cotton crop depends on potash.
and potash is a fertilizer for many
other crops. Since the autumn OF
1914 this country. deprived OF the Ger
man supply: has been searching for
earth and beneath it. There are
mountains Of potash locked UP in
rocks. but the cost of extraction
makes its uae impossible.
tons yearly the United States is now
producing about 1z7 900 tons. Host OF
1t is being Manufactured from natu-
raj brines found in the lakes Of Me-
braska and California About IL per
vested on the Pacific coast at depths
varying from so to 100 feet The
cutting is done from schooners and fs
. laborious undertaking. s5as7.sY
Less than q thousand tons are OBJ
tained from ulunite. Utah mineral
and the rest is made from the dust
of cement mills and blast furnaces
Potash taken from the waters OF sa-s
line lakes in the west costs too much,
successfully to compete with German
potash In times of peace. Freighfs
alone would shut 1t out of the domes- !,
tic market. -4ss-25 s
for q cheap and permanent supply of
American potash seem to be the ce-,'
ment kilns and the iron furnaces.
from the dust Of which, by the Cot.
trell process Of filtration. large guam.
title may be extracted. It Is now
being extracted. as has been shown.
and cotton supplies the soldiers with
tents and many other articles and Is
necessary in the manufacture OF ex-
plosives. - ts
So while Dr. Cottren. chemist in the
bureau of mines. sits daily at his desk
engaged In war work, he Is also. In q
practical sense. serving In the field and
for Prussian sea wolves lurking In the
waters Of the Atlantic.
Industrially. In the days OF peace that
are to come. the CottreH process VIII
add immensely to the wealth Of the
country. DR.. Charles II. Fulton, the
Of Case School Of Applied
Science. says that 1t has been demon
etrated at the Great Fails copper plant
In the west that the daily loss there
in dust has amounted in the past to
3.7T5 pounds Of copper, log ouuces Of
silver and seven-tenths OF an ounce OF