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THE INDIA RUBBER WORLD 



The Allocation of Sulphur. 



PRIOR to the taking over ot sulphur by the United 

 States Government, William G. Woolfolk, Commodity 

 Chief, War Industries Board, asked The Chemical Al- 

 liance, Inc., a body representing the entire chemical industry, 

 to furnish a concrete plan covering the allocation of brim- 

 stone, pyrites and coal brasses. 



At a special meeting the directors of The Chemical Alliance, 

 Inc., affirmed their desire to handle the allocation of sulphur 

 materials and appointed a Committee on Production, Dis- 

 tribution and Control of Sulphur Materials to work out the 

 details of the plan to serve Mr. Woolfolk in an advisory 

 capacity in carrying out the authority conferred upon him by 

 the War Industries Board. The committee consists of three 

 directors of the Alliance, as follows: A. D. Ledoux, chair- 

 man; W. D. Huntington, and C. G. Wilson. 



In order that the trade may be advised of the proper 

 method of procedure to get sulpliur-bearing materials, the 

 following statement has been issued by The Chemical Alli- 

 ance, Inc.: 



Because of the shortage of pyrites, due to the curtailment of 

 Spanish ore, made necessary for the conservation of shipping, the 

 War Industries Board has for months past been giving serious 

 consideration to the question as to the best method of dealing 

 with the important subject of sulphur materials. 



The Chemical Alliance, Inc., being a body representmg the en- 

 tire fertilizer and chemical industries, and very closely associated 

 in an advisory capacity with all government departments inter- 

 ested in the promotion of chemical manufacture and agriculture, 

 was asked by the War Industries Board to furnish a concrete 

 plan for handling sulphur materials. 



It will be noted that the War Industries Board has taken full 

 control of all sulphur materials by the following resolution :— 

 Due to the increased demand by the Government for sul- 

 phur, in the manufacture of explosives and for other pur- 

 poses, and to the increasing burdens on the rail and water 

 transportation systems, control of the production and dis- 

 tribution of sulphur materials has become necessary to insure, 

 as far as possible, an adequate supply to the Government and 

 an equitable distribution of the surplus to other users ; 

 therefore be it 



Resolved, That the War Industries Board will assume 

 control of sulphur materials, and hereby authorizes Mr. 

 William G. Woolfolk, commodity chief in charge of pyrites 

 and sulphur, to act for the board in controlling the produc- 

 tion and distribution of sulphur materials, availing of such 

 voluntary assistance as he may see fit of individuals or com- 

 mittees representing the producers and users of sulphur 

 materials, and, in case any producer or consumer declines 

 to abide by the decision of the War Industries Board, com- 

 mandeering orders will be issued where necessary. 

 It is the duty of the committee to obtain from proaucers and 

 consumers such information as thought necessary to enable satis- 

 factory control, which extends to all imported as well as domestic 

 sulphur materials. The committee's work will be materially 

 lightened if all producers and consumers will furnish the informa- 

 tion which may be asked for without loss of time, and meet the 

 situation in the same patriotic manner as they are now doing in 

 other matters. 



Inquiries, including the matter of sale or purchase of sulphur 

 materials, should be addressed to the Committee*on Production, 

 Distribution and Control of Sulphur Materials of The Chemical 

 Alliance, Inc., at either room 135, Interior Building, Washington, 

 District of Columbia, or IS William street, New York City. 



The work of this committee is now well under way. De- 

 tailed information is being acquired regarding the production 

 or consumption of all firms concerned, stocks on hand, amounts 

 needed, transportation facilities and increased production prob- 

 lems, and the committee is rapidly placing itself in a position 

 to allocate material and assist industries using sulphur 

 materials while still making certain that the government 

 war program shall not sufifer. Allocation will be by agree- 

 ment as nearly as possible, since it is the desire to depend 



largely on tlic cooperation and patriotic spirit oi those con- 

 cerned. It is only when an improper spirit is shown that 

 drastic action may be necessary. 



The chairman, A. D. Ledoux, states that such alarming 

 articles as have recently appeared in the daily press regard- 

 ing an alleged sulphur shortage are misleading and unfor- 

 tunate. There is no shortage in the sense that the material 

 is giving out, but it is difficult to obtain under present con- 

 ditions of transportation and labor. We have hardly begun 

 on the great brimstone deposits of Louisiana and Texas; 

 numerous producers of pyrites east of the Mississippi will 

 furnish a large supply in the aggregate, and there are heavy 

 deposits of pyrrhotite to be resorted to if necessary. The 

 problem is largely a matter of allocation of our supplies and 

 transportation, essential uses naturally being given first con- 

 sideration. Very large stocks of sulphur, Mr. Ledoux asserts, 

 are already mined, and from the present outlook the rubber 

 trade need have no uneasiness in regard to its supplies. 



.•Ml users of sulphur, however, should realize that while 

 the present outlook shows a sufficient supply for our essen- 

 tials, it should not be wasted, and an earnest effort should 

 be made to conserve its use to the greatest possible extent. 

 .Vs in the case of crude rubber, steel, sugar, and all basic 

 materials, we are expected to do our utmost to produce, 

 utilize and conserve the materials which are nearest available 

 and so assist the transportation problem by rail and water, 

 which after all is the real difficulty, and thereby facilitate 

 increasing the flow qf troops and supplies to France. It is 

 not logical to haul material a thousand miles where there 

 is other material close by the manufacturer's plant. It is 

 not right that one firm should pile up heavy stocks to last 

 for many months while another firm not far off is suffering 

 because of inadequate stocks. In such an instance, a pro- 

 ducer would be expected to ship his material to the one who 

 needed it, and the manufacturer having the large stocks 

 would be expected to stop receiving more until matters were 

 evened up. It is along these general lines that the committee 

 intends to work, and both Mr. Ledoux and Mr. Woolfolk 

 are the sort of men who can be relied on to exercise their 

 authority fairly and wisely in keeping industries running. 



UNDEVELOPED SULPHUR DEPOSITS. 



In response to the editorial and article on the sulphur 

 situation in The India Rubber World of August 1. 1918. the 

 following letter has been received : 



As the writer is in touch with the owners of certain sulphur 

 deposits, would it be possible for you to give me the names of 

 corporations seeking independent sulphur supplies for their own 

 needs, as referred to in the last paragraph of your editorial? Or, 

 any other means you might suggest whereby we could place the 

 sulphur deposits to the benefit of the industry. 



SULPHUR CAN BE SAVED IN RECLAIMING SCRAP RUBBER. 



In a recent letter to the Editor, a prominent chemist of the 

 Middle West expresses himself as follows : 



In the August issue of your valuable paper you refer to the 

 restriction on the use of sulphur and seem to make light of it, as 

 research and science have proved that it can be replaced. It is 

 all right to keep on smiling, even if you hear some unpleasant 

 news. But the fact will not be changed that the place of sulphur 

 will not be taken by any other substance — at least for the dura- 

 tion of this war. All that we can do is to save sulphur, use it 

 more economically and not waste it. 



In giving out the slogan, "Don't waste sulphur," I am think- 

 ing of the enormous amounts of sulphur in scrap rubber which 

 are destroyed by the reclaiming process. This sulphur can be 

 saved in numerous cases and a very high-grade reclaimed is ob- 

 tained. You were referring to this process in The India Rubber 

 World about eight months ago. 



