The Hardin tribune-herald. [volume] (Hardin, Mont.) 1925-1973, 1944-06-15

American Business
By John Cruddock
The call of the soil Is still a
dominent interest of many men
in the armed forces, according
to surveys just completed
through the middle west. In
numerous instances parents are
investing in farm land so that
their soldier sons will have
homes and land to return to
after the war. In Michigan a.
lone, the demand for farm land
has been so great that acreage
prices have risen 40 per cent
since 1912. Many factory workers
who are ex-farmers, have also
indicated a desire to return to
the land, having found that the
rush and clatter" of assembly
line work does not appeal
them as much as the peace ana
quiet" OF farm work. It is en-
couragfng to know that our
natural resources are not going
to be neglected after the war
and that our men are thinking
seriously of returning to the
fundamental job of producing
food and raw materials for the
! nation.
OF immedite significance to
farmers is the fact that approx
mately 100000 service men a
month are being discharged
from the armed forces. With the
surveys indicating that a good
pedcentage of these men going
into agriculture, manpower
! shortages which have hampered
efforts to increase crop produc-
ton should be gradually allevia-
ted.
SCRAP SAVING DOLLARS
A mark for collectors of scrap
metals to shoot at in their own
operations is provided in a re-
port by T.. J. Coonce, manager
Of the American Can company's
Armertop plant in Foretst Park.
Ill. The plant has a scrap sal
wage program which retains the
identity of the metal and so
permits its maximum reuse.
Prices paid for the scrap range
as high as 1888 a gross ton. The
program is saving the Navy ap-
proximately $6,289 monthly at
this plant, which received the
Army-Navy "E" award for pro-
duction of torpedoes.
Major reason, according to
Coonce, for the high prices paid
for scrap is the system of pre-
serving the metals identity. AS
an example of this, he explains
that scrap with a high chrom-
ium content is valuable as such.
If it were mixed promiscuously
with cast iron and carbon steel,
the value of the chrome would
be negligible, while as chrome
it is valuable to any prchaser
In addition to saving metal, the
probram Is also salvaging 12,-
600 gallons of oil and more than
5000 gallons of solvent monthly
Savings from oil reclamation
are reported to be approxim-
ately $3,46O a month.
THINGS TO COMEUpon
completion of it's projected ny
lon expansion program, the du
Pont company expects to deliv-
er % million pounds of hosiery
a year enough to make about
I $50 million pairs of women's
stockings, so cheer up girls.....
Soapless soap, that removes
dirt, oil, and grease in any kind
OF water. It is a petroleum de-
rivative.
COCKTAILS FOR THE AXIS
When the time comes for the
complete history of American
industry's World War II achieve
mentS to be written, one vivid
section assurdly will be devoted
to war alcohol Without the con
verified beverage distilleries' vast
outpouring of this vital wal
chemical, it would not be DOS
slble now to report that the ma
tlon's 1914 output of synthetic
rubber is expected to exceed
peak pre-war consumption OF
natural rubber by more than
$4,000 tons. Nor could it be re-
corded that the wars gravest
single production problem had
been licked. But official recog-
milton of the distilleries' indis-
pensable production perfor-
nance came to light only re-
Gently. In a government report
Dr.. Walter G. Whiteman, assis-
tant director of the War Pro-
duction Boards Chemicals Bill
reau, declared: 1T is fair to
regard the rubber manufactured
to date as being almost solely
the product of the beverage dis
tllling industry" Commendine
what he described as IAN almost
night conversion of an entire
Industry from peace to war" he
revealed that the converted dis
tilleries have produced enough