Morgan County Democrat. (McConnelsville, Ohio) 1886-1943, 1940-02-22
WHAT WE DIDN'T HAVE
10 YEARS AGO

II you are looking back with re-
gret to the good old days of 1929,
and feel that the United States fs
getting old and that it's future is
behind there are a few of the
things that industry and science
have created in 10 years. Some are
just being hatched from their scien-
tific eggs-some we knew about 10
years ago but had not begun to use
fully.
Here they are-stilI growing:
Transoceanic passenger air traffic
across both the Atlantic and the Pa
cific
Thirty passenger, four engine
sleeper planes for transcontinentaI
travel with 1000 horsepower mo-
tors instead of 400 horsepower.
Hundred octane gasoline for air
plane motors and large production
of 70 to 80 octane gasoline.
A whole new technique of oil re-
fining and processing that is going
to turn the oil industry into a syn
thetic organic chemical industry.
and which will mean plant expen-
d1tures of many hundred million
over the next decade
"A SolAplC AGW
ganic chemical industry, in the in
cubator stage in 1880, which has
created thousand new chemicals
and new tank car business.
The new synthetic textile fibres,
Nylon and Vinyon, in some ways
much better than silk, and unlike
rayon in composition
industrial felts and textiles made
from acetylene gas.
Synthetic rubber in variety, bet
ter than natural rubber in with
standing oil and oxidation, ready
for industry when needed.
Half dozen new plastics and
resins, such as Styrene, the best in
sulator in the plastic field; various
types Of vinyls; DuPont's Lucite
with the properties or rock crystal;
others under way
Organic chemicals, including syn
thetic vanilla and plastics from the
waste liquors of the paper indus
try.
New plywoods with plastic CLUES,
suftlc1ently strong and resistant to
the elements so that they can be
used for building houses, boats and
airplane wings.
Sulphanilamide and sulphapyra-
dine, drugs that cure the deadly
strepticoccus germs, pneumonia and
perhaps many other diseases.
Synthetic vitamins and hormones,
once thought to be mysterious prod
ucts of living plants and animals
and now just new organic chemi-
Gals, helpful to health
Tank car shipment Of liquid oxy-
gen which has revolutionized use
of this gas in the steel industry.
Record use of ferro-alloys to
make record amounts Of fine steels
in infinite variety for specialized
uses.
Continuous wide sheet steel mills.
New metals for alloys, including
columbium, tantallum and beryl-
lium.
Multi-million-volt X-ray atom
smashers that are enabling the re-
search man to know the structure
of the molecule and how to make
it do tricks. New devices using in
fra-red light and electric current to
make diagrams of organic MOLE
sounds pretty theo-
retical, but which is being put to
highly practical use.
FluOreScent llghtlng-uSing new
chemicals to coat light tubes which
use fraction of currents now re-
quired and give better light in col
ors if desired. Some day we may
paint our walls with fiuorescent
paint.
Modulated frequency radio broad
casting that does away with static
and gives "clear as a bell' recep-
ton.
Television, coming slowly, but
rapidly improving in quality and
use
Colored movies in widestread
lSe.
Better safety glass using new
pIastics as a binder.
Polarized glass and invisible
glass.
Fibre glass for insulation and a
hundred industrial uses, also glass
eXtiles.
Glass building blocks for homes
md factories.
Streamline, light weight diesel
powered passenger trains, made of
lew steels and aluminum.-Wau
Street Journal.