Chemistry Magic 157 



won which would compete with those of the coal-tar 

 industry. In a word, the history of petroleum would be 

 repeated." 



An Exploit of the Century 



Dr. Charles M. A. Stine, vice-president of E. I. du Pont de 

 Nemours and Company, promises that "the newest and most 

 versatile of plastics will be available after this war on a scale 

 beyond all previous conceptions. The high-pressure synthesis 

 of ammonia, one of the major chemical exploits of the cen- 

 tury," he asserted, "will have taken on an industrial status 

 that, in terms of new producing capacity, may be comparable 

 to the discovery of a sixth continent. 



"The amount of fertilizer chemicals that this new capacity 

 will be able to supply farmers will be so large that the trends 

 of agriculture might be changed. 



"And these are," he continued, "but one group of a hun- 

 dred or more products stemming from this high-pressure 

 synthesis, which utilizes air, coal and water as its building 

 blocks. We will have glass that is unbreakable and glass that 

 will float, wood that won't burn and laminations of plastics 

 and wood that will compete with structural metals. 



"Hosiery derived from air, water and coal, a wonder of 

 prewar days, is but the forerunner of many innovations from 

 the same source, ranging from shoes that contain no leather 

 and window screens that contain no wire to machinery bear- 

 ings that contain no metal. 



"Today we produce to destroy, but tomorrow we will pro- 

 duce to build. Give us a victorious peace and the freedom of 

 enterprise it should guarantee, and our progress will be un- 

 precedented. Let our swords be mighty and mighty indeed 

 will be our plowshares," he concluded. 



