Arizona republican., 1919-06-29
HAS WAY OF MAKING
 POTASH FROM SMOKE
(New York Sun)

There IS man working for modest government compensation who tomor- row could command a salary which would make the earnings or a popular movie star look like pin money. He could announce his readiness to give his services exclusively to one concern and have the directors of American steel companies, copper companies, zinc companies, etc, hurrying here ready to outbid each other in big round substantial figures.
 Dr. Frederick G. Cottrell chief met allurgist of the bureau of mines, is the man in question. The story of his career, the results he has achieved and is achieving and the rapidly accumu- lating benefits which the nation IS get ting from his work form a striking TO- nance of science
 A little more than ten years ago, Doctor Cottrell was a poorly paid, struggling assistant professor of chem istry in the University of California. Now he has saved big plants in the country literally millions of dollars, has found a means of giving the United States potash supply independent of Germany, has been responsible largely for the development of the mon -inflam- mable gas helium of ineStimable mili- tary and commercial value, and stands out as such an undisputed leader in his line that he was awarded the Perkin medal for 1919 by the Society of Chem- ical Industry "in recognition of his most original and valuable work in ap- piled chemistry"
 Only in the matter of financial rec ompense has Doctor Cottrell remained backward. He has consistently refused all offers to make a fortune out of his work, and when money began to pour in upon him in spite of himself he promptly got his friends together formed what is known as "the re- search corporation" turned the finan- cial stream into the corporation with the provision that the funds were to be used to assist struggling scientists whose hardships he already knew. An ironclad agreement has been made that all profits from his work go to the corporation and not to MT. Cottrell himself .
 No one would imagine from his man her or appearances that Doctor Cottrel had already risen to the top rank among the scientists of the world There is nothing about him to suggest the popular conception of the great oSAOhtAoLs 1lC lOOho iiht li1e y DlCd wide-awake American business man ot 40, who has no fads and believes in the free and easy unconventional way ot meeting men with whom he comes ir contact
 The first big contribution of Doctor Cottrell to science was the electrica. precipitation of particles of liquids and solids, or, in popular terms, the eIimi- nation of smoke and rescue of smoke constituents by a process of electric lty. Undertaken first to eliminate smoke as a nuisance, the process | showed that the so-called smoke dust precipitated at big plants was worth 1T some cases more than the product be- ing manufactured.
 It was in 1906 while he was workins as an assistant professor of chemistry at the University of California that tn. l idea first came to Doctor Cottrell. Cal. lfornia at that time was much annoyed over fumes from smelters. There wer, examples of it close to the university | The fumes were admittedly necessar, 1 to the running of the smelters, bu were nuisance to every one within their radius. There was continued tall about it, but no one suggested a possi ble remedy, excepting to remove tn, smelters.
 Doctor Cottrell said little, but it wa noticed that he began spending all hi spare time in the laboratory. H worked whenever he got a chance dur ing the day and far into the night Finally he surprised his friends at tn university by telling them that he ha, discovered an electrical precipitation process" which would do away wit the smoke.
 1 In general way his idea was to re move the suspended particles from tn
 gases by the aid of electrical dis
 charges. Doctor Cottrell figured tha the suspended particles while passin
 between the electrodes would becom electrically charged and would b
 driven into pipes by the forces of tn
 electric field.
 The professors at the university be
 lieved in Cottrell and were intereste
 in his announcement, although they a
 agreed that nothing could be done wit
 it without money.
 Cottrell had no money. He was dis
 tinctly hard up" in those days, bu
 he was certain he could eliminate tn
 smoke nuisance if given a chance. H
 obtained the personal and financial as
 sistance finally of Prof. Edmond O
 Neill of the chemistry department an Dr. Harry East Miller and k. $. Helle
 both alumni of the university. Thi put him in a position where he coul attempt to get some of the smeltin