Evening star., 1942-02-08

have many of the properties OF
metals, are lighter and more easily
manipulated than metals, and for
many purposes are superior to
metals. They enter into almost
every activity of daily life. Thou
sands of tons of them are made
every year. They are all products
Of the chemical industry in the past
20 years.
The E. I. du Pont de Nemours &
Co. has vastly increased its plastics
production in the last year, but
many common civilian uses may
have to be foregone until the war
is over. The materials will be sadly
missed by millions.
But there will also be new civilian
uses for plastics to replace even
more vital materials. They have
been introduced, for example. to
replace metal in the tips Of shoe
strings. It seems an incredibly
little thing to worry about-but 1t
will mean the saving Of about a
half million pounds of tin in which
there is one of the most serious
national deficiencies.
Used As Eraser Holders.
A few hundred thousand pounds
more will be saved by using plastics
to hold the erasers on the ends OF
pencils. Tin now is used for this
purpose.
Probably the most familiar of all
synthetics is cellophane. 1t was one
of the first introduced and the most
widely used OF late years every
thing from Idaho potatoes to Gig
arettes have been wrapped in 1t. 1t
is a Du Pont product.
Cellophane and similar substances
keep dust and germs away from food
and keep flavor and moisture in.
They make it more wholesome be-
cause no hands touch it. The pub
lie has come to look on 1t as a
commonplace thing which has al
ways been known.
But cellophane is not to be taken
for granted. Capacity for making
1t is great but limited. The Army
and Navy need prodigious quanti-
ties. Their foods must be pro-
tected under field conditions. There
are other uses which are more or
less military secrets. A good deal
of thought has been devoted to the
purposes for which the material
can be used by the civilian popu-
lation.
At present it seems probable that
no restrictions will be placed on use
of cellophane for wrapping foods.
1t is considered an essential pro-
lection for health, and the health
of the American people is the Ma
tons single biggest war asset.
Celophane on Cigarettes.
There has been some debate about
allowing its use for wrapping ciga-
rette packages, but. Du Pont ofh-
cials understand. it has been de-
cided for the time being that this Is
a justified use. A lot is saved by
keeping the moisture in the tobacco.
But the purely decorative uses Of
cellophane must be largely discon-
tinued. It can no longer be used
for artistic shop window dressing or
for wrapping gifts. These, OF course,
are minor uses.
Plastics largely constitute the
windshields, windows and other
parts of aircraft. They are used 10
replace materials that are scarce.
They also are used because they are
the best of all materials for the pur-
pose. They are strong, durable and
light. Most of them come basically
from coal, air and water and from
the cellulose of vegetation.
Take. for example, such material
as "lucite"-methyl methacrylate
resin. 1t weighs about half as much
as duraluminum and a sixth as
much as steel 1t stands up against
a wind resistance of more than 500
miles an hour. 1t does not shatter
like glass. 1t is easily adapted to
the production technique
which will be transferred by the
motor industry from making autos
to making airplanes. 1t can be
nodded into shape before it hardens.
One of its important civilian uses,
by the way is in the manufacture
of false teeth. Even the military re-