GEM By WILLIAM C. UTLEY can life an influence which is perhaps second to that of no other group of men. But one country editor little dreamed 65 years ago that he had started new and amazingly common factor in the daily life of virtu- ally all Americans—indeed, in the lives in every corner of the world. He simply believed he had failed to win $10,000. Now country are not wealthy as a rule, of persons newspaper editors and John Starkey, N. Y., was no exception. He had ideas, though. And w billiard ball manufacturer, aged by the expense of stalking African pachyderms for the raw material of which his product was made, offered $10,000 for a synthetic ivory substitute, Hyatt began some torts and a Bunsen burner in the back of his shop. old Washington hand press and his laboratory, Editor Hyatt managed to keep from getting highly explo- sive gun cotton mixed up with the local items and the legal notices, and ted exhaustive ments. n this gun cot cell he failed to proc the ory, and of cours he missed out on the $10,000 prize But he did stumble upon something con in the for man race than all the ivory world—he found the formula celluloid. Celluloid was the first commer- cially usable plastic; it opened the pages of history to what we now think of as ‘the plastic age.” They make billiard balls, jewelry and a few fancy doo-dads out of ivory, and they still do. But today, through the magic of modern chemistry, more than 300,000 articles in gener- al use are manufactured by the men who pioneered in plastics. What Plastics Are. The end is nowhere in sight: in fact the plastics industry is still in its swaddling clothes. But the ef- fect it will have upon society in the days to come is not going with- out recognition. The national re- sources committee, in its much-pub- licized report to the President, rec- ommending social planning for the development of new inventions and young industries, named plastics most likely to have profound effect upon our society of the next fifteen years. Yet you cannot find one per- son in fifty who can tell you much about how plastics are made, or one person in ten who can even tell you what they are. Actually, a plastic is anything that can be molded or pressed into a desired shape. In industry the term applies to a wide range of synthetic materials classified ac- cording to their chemical nature and the way they are made. The most important classification in industry —and in our daily life—is phenolic resin. The utility of this plastic was accidentally discovered: in fact fortunate accidents were largely re- sponsible for ‘the plastic age.” Ten years after Editor Hyatt stumbled upon celluloid, the mate- rial was in general use; 10,000 high- ly diversified articles were made from it, the most famed probably being the old celluloid collar that reached popularity in the days of handlebar moustaches. Catalin Was a War Baby. Next in the succession of plastic accidents was the discovery made by Dr. Leo Baekeland, Belgian. American scientist, forty years aft- er the Hyatt incident. Experiment- ing in his laboratory at Yonkers, N. Y., Dr. Baekeland was searching for a highly insulating material much in demand by the electrical industry. He inadvertently hit up- on the formula for a cast phenolic resin which was non-inflammable. This was highly important. Any Left: In test. laboratory, a chemist puts catalin buttons through the same trials they would ‘ace in of wear. Right: Adding color to catalin. § . decades can recall when ‘‘the best dressed man in " had to mighty carefu cigar be- cause his celluloic ollar vhich be cloth, could also be touch a tiny spark, leaving him under the collar. The inflammabil- ity of cellul and the consequent hazard of storing it had precluded the extension of its use, but the dis- covery of the new non-inflammable ening use of plastics. the third and most recent impor- tant development in the world of plastics. European Entente chem- ists worked feverishly trying to cre- (the carbolic acid derivative of coal) and formaldehyde (a gaseous derivative of wood alcohol captivat- ed in water). Desperate they were, these re- searchists. With their ports block- aded and supplies cut off, the En tente nations needed raw materi- als. Rubber was sorely needed t soften the screect wheels of militar creaked and rattled, indie 1 rer. i red iTON-LIT we are.” Gas masks, footgear and other articles required the precious rubber. Synthetic rubber eluded them. But the German scientists did discover catalin, a material similar to that discovered by Dr. Baekeland, and made from the same ingredients, but so processed that it would be produced in a new aurora of color ranging from water-clear white, re- sembling glass, to delicate pastels, vivid hues, black, white, ivory and many combinations of colors defi- nitely divided or blended by mot- tling. The Germans had too much other business on hand to spend a great deal of time in the development of catalin, so the formula, patent rights and manufacturing vrivileges were bought by Americans. Industry Still in Infancy, Three important plastics had now been introduced to American indus- try. It was not long before 3,000 manufacturers, many of whose they could make many salable the same machinery which had for- merly been used in tooling wood or soft metals and with the same craftsmen and technique. A shin- ing example is a Canadian firm which made spools for thread. Its community depended upon the em- ployment it offered for a living; yet its market had fallen to nearly nothing. The plant turned to the manufacture of catalin articles and now, with the same equipment and craftsmen, it produces buttons, jew- elry and scores of other items that amaze the public with their brilliant beauty. The flood of plastic articles to the market has in a few years altered fashion trends in costume jewelry, made insignificant accessories an important part in the fashion pic- ture, created thousands of new ver- sions of useful articles—and the President's natural resources com- mittee warns that the industry is only in its infancy, that society will have to plan to adjust itself to its development. Thus is the magni. tude of this ‘plastic age” being rec- ognized by men who contemplate our future! How dc the 200,000 articles now made from catalin and other plas. tics affect our daily lives? We start the day with a plastic-handled tooth brush, razor and comb. At the breakfast table we may find knives forks and spoons with colorful han- dles of catalin-~the insulating han- dles of the toaster and percolator are of the same material. The kitchen electric service comes and fittings, anc in all bability ab plastic hade. (For lamp are now being made of paper, glazed with liquid phenolic resin, as th ] used commercially shades ¢ most lastic is called, Dials for cle dios and speedometers are similar- ? providing eff and fi iOT previous processes.) comin wks, ra- } ” “A is treated, icient an nttractiv an aitracuw O economic: BUDsuIiule This is just a fair morning start Driving to business, we use a pias- tic steering wheel, gear shift handle and all sorts of gadgets on the instrument panel At the of- fice the telephone instrument is made of plastic, and it is an “odds- on’ bet that so are the inkwell, pen and ashtray on the desk. Veneer surface woods in the furniture are cemented in place with a plastic adhesive. How Catalin Is Made. Almost no matter you encounter plastic wall panels in ters, dwellings and ocean So are jewelry cosmetic CoO q what you products orful modern liners a icles, ickles, umbrella fittings nancies, club and game are made of plastics, as are the dental to which they are affixed. For those who like to quaff the flowing bowl, advent of catalin dental plates welcome boon, the old ior plates cohol, while catalin is not. But den- tistry is only one of the numerous professional fields in which plastics as left an indelible mark. You can turn into almost any other line of endeavor and there it is—plastics, making important new strides Catalin is made by mixing for- naldehyde and phenol in nickel- lined kettles of approximately 3.000 pounds capacity. The weight is re- duced to about 1,500 pounds by the time the first production phase is complete. The mixture is cooked at a low temperature. Heat is pro- duced by the reaction of the two ingredients and held down to an even temperature by the use of wa- ter, vacuum or steam in an out- side jacket. At this stage the color is added. Here catalin has the consistency of molasses, and is poured into lead molds to form the shapes re- quired by the fabricators. Two or three color combinations may be cast at a single pouring, the mold leading the different colors into their proper places. Catalin is also poured into pans and when semi- cured (heated until it becomes gelatinous) is sliced into required thicknesses. Magnificent Future Seen, In the curing ovens, the even, moderate temperature of which would permit a man's walking around in them, catalin is complet- ed by curing for about 50 hours. It is then ready for delivery to the fabricator, who cuts it, lathes it, buffs it and otherwise works it into the finished product which he sells. So great has been the public cu- riosity about plastics, especially since the national resources com- mittee’s report, that one of the lead- ing moving picture producers in Hollywood has filmed the manufac- ture of multi-colored catalin in full colors. The picture was scheduled for release in 8,000 theaters in Oc- tober, What of the future? The almost utter lack of limitations in the field for cast resins defies description. Because of its beauty, its low cost, its extreme “‘workability,” and its many peculiar characteristics it is the stuff for pioneers in almost ev- ery branch of industry. Country newspaper editor John Wesley Hyatt really started some- thing when he began dabbling out side his chosen field 65 years ago. @® Western Newspaper Union, CENTRE HALL, PA. Ask Me Another A Quiz With Answers Offering Information on Various Subjects 1. How much wood will a giant Sequoia tree yield? 2. How many persons out of a million will live to be one hun- dred years old? 3. Who was the first American to receive the Nobel prize for peace? 4. How counted? 5. Where is the oldest painting of the Virgin and Child in exist- ence? 6. Does it cost more to educate a child in a city school than in a rural school? 7. When gold is hammered into the thinnest gold leaf possible, what color is it? 8. What is the definition of a split infinitive? fast can currency Answers LL. A giant Sequo a tree yielded 650,000 shingles and 100 cords of firewoo The upper branches of the huge tree w used. 2. It is estimated abou in a million will live tc vanced age. one 3. Theodore Roosevelt, for his efforts in bringing about the treaty of peace between Japan and Rus sia in 1905. It was awarded him in 1906. 4. The expert counters of the Department of the Treasury have counted approximately as many as 40,000 new notes a day, and 25,000 old ones. 5. The oldest painting of the Virgin and Child in existence, done about 150 A. D., is on a wall in Rome. 6. The average cost to educate a child in a rural school in United States is $53.31 a year, . { about $06.18. 7. In this condition it green by trans appears 144 bi y mitted light. one in introduced be- ‘t0,"” and the largely de- 8s used not to : be it 1s an tive and arate separated sed as a prepos integral part of the in | hence should not be | from the verb form. Achievement of Peace you may either win your peace or buy it; win it, by resis 1; buy it, by compromise with evil You may buy peace Hie enced consciend es; buy it it with 13 base tance to evi with may buy buy it with buy it with lain, and the s over hemi while you at your serene hearths, muttering continually to yourselves, ‘Peace, peace,” peace; but death for your you broken vow IV 5 there is caplvity when no ' only and you. We Humans hrouga life we often be- tunes. but seldom blessings: the ill- a day, the bad debt to computed to a cent, the In going t wail our misfcr | dwell upon our ness is reckoned to sleepless spoken of with but we nany months » as a thing i worth mention- joyed hours of calm freshing sleep undisturbed ratios Crailion — Wamego pn —————_— le J 5 | x 1 (dcoLLecTING LIQUID 8] RUBBER ON FIRESTONE PLANTATIONS |X LIBERIA From these plantstions ECOMES an ever-in- creasing supply of the world's finest rubber. Mooney saved here and in manufacturing and distribution enable fi Firestone to sell first quality tires at | ower BE orices. THAT'S WHY YOUR MONEY | because Firestone passes savings economies — along to you in the reater these BLOWOUTS —ecight extra every 100 pounds of cord by the irestone patented Gum-Dipping saturated with liquid rubber. This counteracts dangerous of Gum-Dipped cords. 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Significant historical Pennsylvania newspapers