14 



Chemical Treasure Trove 



BY PRECEPT and example Doctor A. P. Beutel fur- 

 nishes one perfect answer to that question of Southern 

 chemical raw materials processed in the South. He was 

 born in Ohio. In Michigan, starting at a draftsman's 

 desk, he climbed up the ladder to general manager. 

 But during the past five years he has become as Texan 

 as a barbecued pig. 



"Dutch" Beutel almost nobody calls him "Doctor 

 Beutel" and even good friends do not know what his 

 initials "A. P." stand for-is in charge of the $90,000,000 

 colony of the Dow Chemical Company at the mouth 

 of the Brazos River. Here magnesium, the lightest of 

 structural metals, is extracted from sea water, and 

 styrene is turned out in vast quantity for synthetic rub- 

 ber and plastics. In a third new plant a number of 

 Dow's other chemicals are made from Texas salt, sulfur, 

 and petroleum. The general manager of this, the biggest 

 chemical operation in all the South, is a plain, honest, 

 outspoken engineer. "Dutch'' is as forthright as a sledge- 

 hammer. He is also a shining example. 



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