SCIENCE TOMORROW . . .
Dii Pont Chief Predicts Synthetics
A S:ia? To Displace i'latural Rubbed
Ey E. R. 3RIDGV/ATER DuPont Co., Mgr. Rubber Chemicals Division
'Written For The Associated Press)
A
—--- — N
SECOND OF A SERIES
WILMINGTON, Del.—First, let
us see where synthetic rubber
stood when Hitler attacked Pol
and.
Neoprene was then the only
general-purpose synthetic rubber
in commercial production in the
United States.
The first plant
had been built
in 1931, and al
though produc
tion had dou
bled each suc
ceeding year,
the volume was
still small —
about 4,000,000
pounds (2,000
E.R. Bridgwater tons) for the
entire year of
1939. The price was approximate
t
ly three times that of natural rub
ber. Hence it was used only for
purposes in which its superior re
sistance to heat, sunlight and
chemicals justified its higher cost.
In Germany and Russia syn
hetic rubbers were being produc
ed in much larger volume but un
der economic conditions which did
not require it to stand on its own
feet in competition with natural
rubber.
Our Stake In Synthetic
Our government has invested
some $700,000,000 in plants for
making synthetic rubber. Most of
this has been for manufacture of !
GR-S, an improved version of the
Buna S that was made in Ger
many before the war. Other gov
ernment plants are producing
butyl rubber and neoprene. In ad
dition, there are now six private
manufacturers of synthetic rub
ber, where before the war there
was only one. Several other firms
are reported to be actively en
gaged in synthetic rubber research.
This has broadened greatly the
range of products that can be
made of better quality from one
SYNTHETIC RUBBER PLANT—These are storage tanks for syn
thetic rubber at Institute. W. Va. Tank cars come alongside to be
loaded with butadiene for other finishing plants. (
FANCY
MATANUSKA
PRODUCE
will be available in
NOME
During the Balance of the Season
Also •
FRESH MILK
Will be available at Your Grocers
3 Times Each Week
I
MATANUSKA VALLEY
FARMERS COOPERATING ASSN
*
J
or more of the synthetic rubbers
than from natural rubber. Hence
the postwar market for premium
quality synthetic rubbers will be
many times greater than the pre
war market.
This situation will encourage
private manufacturers to expand
and others to enter the field, un
less they are deterred by fear of
competition with the government
or with producers directly or in
directly subsidized by the govern
ment who conceivably could sell
below cost.
The future development of syn
thetic rubber may depend to a
a considerable degree upon the
government’s decision in this mat
ter.
The Elastic Race
Although synthetic rubbers are
superior to the natural product
for *many purposes, natural rub
ber is still far better than any of
the synthetics for hundreds of the
most imoortant uses, both civilian
and military.
If free competitive conditions
are re-established and all con
sumers, both governmental and
private, are allowed to use the
product that gives the best service
at the lowest cost, natural rubber
will regain a substantial portion
of its prewar market. Continued
research over the years, however,
will enable synthetic rubber to
command a constantly increasing
share of the market and ultimate
ly probably enable it largely to
displace natural rubber on the
basis of improved quality and
economy.
(Next: Dean Whitmore of Penn
sylvania State College foresees an
era of plenty.)
1945 Ice Pool Winners
Unite Their Winnings
Rita Harding and Thomas
Ringen, principal winners of the
Nenana Ice ,Pool, were married at
Anchorage August 11, where they
will make their home for the pres
ent.
More Mail For Her
Than The President
ST. LOUIS, MO. — Little Rose
Marie Chostner, 8, has gotten more
than 131,000 pieces of mail from
kind people all over the U.S. in the
last week, and it is still coming in
— a record in the history of the
local postoffice for any individual,
officials state. Victim of paralysis,
she sent a touching letter to her
favorite radio artist, “Smilin' Ed
McConnell, and His Buster Brown
Gang," asking for someone to send
her just one card for her birthday.
Smilin’ Ed read her letter on the
air.
BACK TO MOTORCARS — William Kady and Roy
Noah, veteran auto makers in a Hudson plant in Detroit, reassem
ble an internal grinder as some divisions of the plant prepare for
__ resumption of motorcar manufacture.
Allies Name 24
Nazi Chiefs In Mass
Murder Trial
LONDON, Aug. 29—GPi—Four
major western Allies named twen
ty-four Nazi leaders and Prussian
military chiefs, among them Geor
ing, Hess, Keitel, and Doenitz as
defendants in the first mass trial
of Germany’s arch criminals to be
held early in October. The list
was furnished first by evidence
given by Hess, deputy fuehrer of
all Nazi party affairs until 1941,
when he made the sensational
| flight to England and considered
I mentally able to stand trial with
l his one-time associates.
The list also includes the name
I of Martin Bormann, Hitler’s sec
i retary. There is no evidence of
Bormann’s whereabouts, despite
unconfirmed reports that he and
Hitler perished together. Bormann
was Hess’ successor as deputy party
leader. Others in the list are Von
Ribbentrop, Ley, Rosenberg,
Frank Kaltenbrunner, Srteicher
l and Schacht.
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