CHEMICAL TREASURE TROVE 



Port Arthur, and from Philip M. Dinkins of Cyanamid, 

 general manager of Jefferson, in New York, I learned 

 the sensible whys and wherefores of this combination 

 of skills and resources. 



Said the petroleum man, a veteran of the great refin- 

 ing community in the famous Sabine section, "We have 

 hesitated to employ the by-products of gasoline as 

 chemical raw materials, reaching out into a field where 

 the point of view, the scale of operation, and the selling 

 methods are somewhat foreign to our experience. By 

 joining forces with American Cyanamid we secure all 

 the benefits of their chemical philosophy and experi- 

 ence, while at the same time having a direct share in 

 working up our materials. A petroleum outfit that goes 

 into chemical manufacturing on its own is likely to be 

 first overenthusiastic at the prospect and then over- 

 pessimistic when the difficulties of the new technique, 

 the competitive troubles of breaking into a new sales 

 field, and the expenses, pile up/' 



The chemical man began by recalling that one sum- 

 mer evening fifteen years ago, he and I had cocked our 

 chairs against the porch railing and discussed the chem- 

 ical possibilities in oil and gas till the moon had set. 

 "So you see," said Phil Dinkins, "the thinking behind 

 the Jefferson plant goes back a long way. But however 

 tempting a new line of chemicals appears, technical 

 progress comes so swiftly and competition is so keen, 

 that you simply must get your raw materials right from 



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