PRODUCTION 



6349 



PROFITEERING 



a gas-cooling tower, to which it 

 afterwards returns. A further 

 transfer takes place at regenera- 

 tors near the furnaces, where the 

 air passes through tubes exposed 

 externally to the hot gas coming 

 off from the fuel. The air, mixed 

 with sufficient steam to keep the 

 working temperature low, is blown 

 through the generator. The gases, 

 on leaving the furnace, traverse 

 air-heating regenerators and then 

 enter a washer, wherein dust and 

 tar are removed. The next process 

 ammonia recovery takes place 

 in a chamber in which the gas is 

 subjected to a spray of dilute sul- 

 phuric acid, with which the free 

 ammonia combines. The liquid is 

 drawn off at intervals and evap- 

 orated till crystals of sulphate of 

 ammonita form. The producer-gas 

 is cooled in towers filled with a 

 chequer-work of bricks and tiles, 

 down which water trickles, and is 

 finally cleaned in a mechanical 

 scrubber, if intended for use in 

 gas-enpines. See Water-gas. 



Production (Lat. producer e, to 

 bring forth). Term used, especially 

 in connexion with economics, for 

 the creation of wealth. It is one 

 of the main processes in econo- 

 mics, the others being distribution 

 and consumption. See Capital ; 

 Labour: Wages; Wealth. 



Proetus. In Greek legend, the 

 twin brother of Acrisius (g.v. ). 

 After a struggle he secured part of 

 his kingdom of Argolis. His three 

 daughters were driven mad by 

 Dionysus or Hera, who according to 

 one story imagined themselves to 

 be cows, and were chased through 

 the country, one dying and the 

 others being cured. Perseus, to 

 avenge Acrisius, turned Proetus 

 into stone. See Bellerophon ; 

 Perseus. Pron. Preetus. 



Profanity (Lat. prof anus, out- 

 side the temple, unholy). Term 

 used for blasphemous or irrev- 

 erent language. See Blasphemy. 



Professionalism. Term ap- 

 plied to the system under which 

 exponents of games employ their 

 skill as a means of livelihood. It is 

 thus sharply opposed to that dis- 

 played by the true amateur, who 

 plays for sheer love of the game or 

 sport without thought of material 

 recompense. Professionalism is no 

 new phenomenon. The Roman 

 gladiator risked his life in the 

 arena as a professional fighter, to 

 whom success brought money as 

 well as reputation ; and the Greek 

 culture of the body did not wholly 

 exclude the element of professional- 

 ism. Indeed, there have been few 

 civilizations or countries in which 

 prowess at arms or in some form 

 of sport could not claim substan- 

 tial reward. 



In modern times, however, the 

 term professionalism has acquired 

 a fairly definite meaning, though 

 in some cases the distinction be- 

 tween a professional and an ama- 

 teur may seem to be rather finely 

 drawn. The latter half of the 18th 

 century in England marked the 

 growth of rivalry and popular in- 

 terest in sport and games, which 

 has since developed to an amazing 

 and almost disconcerting degree. 

 Professional pugilists fought with 

 bare knuckles hi contests of en- 

 durance under the critical gaze of 

 sportsmen who were their pupils 

 in the noble art, and the loser did 

 not, as in recent years, receive a 

 handsome douceur after recover- 

 ing from the knock-out blow. 



Cricket was then on the road to 

 becoming the national game, but, as 

 in football, the amateurs showed 

 the way, and professional players 

 were a later development. To-day 

 the Rugby game is still largely 

 confined to amateurs, while in 

 first-class Association football 

 amateurs and professionals rarely 

 meet. In cricket amateurs hold 

 their own, though many county 

 teams contain a majority of pro- 

 fessionals. The universities, fed by 

 the public schools, are the homes 

 of amateur sport, and the 'Varsity 

 boat race still affords an instance 

 of the amateur spirit at its best. 

 But whether professionalism on 

 the whole has a good or bad in- 

 fluence upon sport, it has come to 

 stay, and must be reckoned with. 

 The best professionals " play the 

 game " as well as any amateur, 

 and are rightly honoured for their 

 achievements. But professionalism 

 in some aspects leaves a good deal 

 to be desired, and for this the 

 public is more or less responsible. 

 See Amateur; Football. 



Professor. Term used for a 

 teacher in universities and institu- 

 tions for higher education. The 

 word came into use in the uni- 

 versities of the Middle Ages, and 

 is now the general term for 

 those who fill the chief positions 

 therein. Nearly all professorships 

 are endowed, and the office is often 

 spoken of as the chair. At Oxford 

 and Cambridge many professor- 

 ships are held in conjunction with 

 college fellowships. Most profes- 

 sors are appointed by the univer- 

 sity authorities, but the regius 

 professors at the older universities 

 are appointed by the crown. About 

 1500 the first professorship was 

 endowed at Oxford, and later 

 Henry VIII endowed several regius 

 professorships at both Oxford and 

 Cambridge. Every university and 

 college has now a staff of profes- 

 sors. The title is also assumed by 

 teachers of dancing and other 



arts, some being without academic 

 qualification. A professor emeri- 

 tus is one who has resigned after 

 long service or through age or ill- 

 health. See University. 



Professor at the Breakfast 

 Table, THE. Second series of 

 Oliver Wendell Holmes's philoso- 

 phical and humorous talks over 

 the Breakfast Table. After ap- 

 pearing in The Atlantic Monthly 

 it appeared in book form in I860. 



Professor's Love Story, THE. 

 Modern sentimental comedy by 

 J. M. Barrie. It was produced, 

 June 25, 1894, at the Comedy 

 Theatre, London, where it attained 

 a run of 144 performances. The 

 story is concerned with Professor 

 Goodwillie, a middle-aged savant, 

 who to his own bewilderment falls 

 in love with his typist. E. S. Wil- 

 lard scored one of his greatest suc- 

 cesses as the Professor. 



Profit a prendre (Fr., profit to 

 be taken). Old English law term. 

 Dating from the time when the 

 official language of the English 

 courts was Norman-French, it 

 denotes the right to enter on the 

 land of another and take some- 

 thing therefrom, e.g. to cut turfs 

 for one's own use, or to fish in 

 another's pond. A profit a prendre 

 may either be personal or an- 

 nexed to an estate. 



Profiteering. Term which 

 came into use during the Great 

 War to describe the undue raising 

 of prices, resulting in exorbitant 

 profits to persons engaged in the 

 manufacture, distribution, and 

 sale of commodities. Broadly 

 speaking, a profiteer is one who 

 takes advantage of a national crisis 

 to enrich himself at the expense of 

 the country, i.e. the taxpayer, or 

 the individual consumer. 



During the Great War, when 

 the demands of the fighting forces 

 had to be satisfied at any cost, 

 profiteering, deliberate and in- 

 voluntary, was tolerated, and it 

 was not until Aug., 1919, that the 

 Government introduced a bill to 

 check profiteering. This em- 

 powered the board of trade to in- 

 vestigate complaints of " un- 

 reasonable " prices, and, if neces- 

 sary, take proceedings against the 

 seller before a court of summary 

 jurisdiction, the offender being 

 liable on conviction to a fine not 

 exceeding 200, or to imprison- 

 ment for a term not exceeding six 

 months. The bill also authorised 

 the establishment of local com- 

 mittees and appeal tribunals. 

 Action was limited to articles 

 mentioned in schedules issued 

 from time to time. 



Under the Profiteering Act, 

 1919, and subsequent Acts, the 

 local committees in Great Britain 



