The midland journal. (Rising Sun, Md.) 1885-1947, 1942-10-30
WAR CoMpELs PROGRESS

War is hell, but 1t is also a cata-
lyst that speeds up progress. So DR..
Charles M. A. Slime, vice president
in charge of research for du Pont,
told the Buffalo meeting Of the
American Chemical Society. We
emerged from 1919 practically
a new nation. Before World War
we had no dye industry, no nitrates
or potash. We wore the same tex
tiles as the Caesars, "All steel rust
ed. The best tires were worn out af-
ter 5000 miles"
From that war we developed a
chemical industry, the radio, mass
production of autos. So now, said
DR.. Slime, "the pressures of war are
COMPRISING into the space of months
developments that might have taken
us a half century to realize if neces-
sity had not forced the pace. From
it, we shall emerge into brave new
world with new materials, new
housing, new transportation.
Materials: 1t took century to
bring world crude rubber production
up to a million tons yearly. The U.
S. plans to accomplish almost as
mighty feat in less than two years,
by the manufacture of chemical
rubber. By 1914, our aluminium
production will be seven times
greater than that attained in 1889
after SO years effort. "The alumni
mum capacity created will furnish
in one year metal enough to build
thrice the number of passenger cars
now operating on all American rail
roads. This production will require
more electricity annually than was
consumed in 1910 in 27 of our As
states. At the same time we will be
recovering from sea water and other
sources 100 times the amount of
magnesium that was produced in
1882. Magnesium is so per cent
the weight of aluminium.
From petroleum we will get
everything from drugs to rubber.
"a barrel of crude oil contains liter
ally thousands of chemical COM
pounds. Plastics will be available
after this war on a scale beyond all
previous conceptions" Synthetics
open up a vast new field. ''The high
pressure synthesis of ammonia, one
of the major chemical exploits of
the century, will have taken on an
industrial status that may be COM
parable to the discovery of a sixth
continent. 1t may supply so much
fertilizer that ''the basic trends of
agriculture might be changed.
This is but one "of hunred or
more products stemming from high
pressure synthesis, which utilizes
air, water and coal as it's building
blocks. We will have glass that is
unbreakable and glass that will
float, wood that won't burn, and
Nominations of plastics and wood
competing with the structural
metals.
Transport: The autos nov
gathering dust in dealers store
houses have aged, technically, at
least two decades" Postwar cars
will probably have sealed radiators,
will weigh half what they do now,
deliver double, treble and even
quaruple" the power per cubic inch
of piston displacement, and give SO
miles to the gallon. There will be
fleets of huge cargo and passenger
planes - technical considerations
no longer limit the size of airplanes"
plus air trains" that will pick up
and drop .gliders. Likewise small,
highly efficient, almost foolproofed"
planes will be available for private
owners.
Housing. This development will
speed the movement from city to
country, help eradicate slums. For
our new houses, we can expect pre-
fabricated sections, which can easily
be handled by two men," New insu-
lating materials will make possible
light walls several times as efficient
as masonry. "Plywoods. plastics,
rustless steels, non-ferrous alloys,
various types of composition board,
fire-resistant woods, ceramics and
synthetic finishes of lasting dura-
bility will be employed in profusion-
Stainless steel is indicated as a COM
mon roofing material. 1t will last as
long as the house and requires no
maintenance"