SOAP 



5424 



SOCIAL DEMOCRATS 



SOAP, sohp. During the War of the Nations, 

 which had so marked an effect on the sup- 

 ply of innumerable raw materials, soap ad- 

 vanced in price and deteriorated in quality in 

 many localities, and in some sections in Europe 

 it could not be obtained at all. These condi- 

 tions were the result of a great scarcity of fats, 

 for fats are the basic materials in soap manu- 

 facture. Those generally employed in making 

 this important aid to cleanliness include tallow, 

 lard oil, palm oil, olive oil, cottonseed oil, co- 

 coanut oil, com oil, stearin and crude oleic 

 acid. 



How Manufactured. Rosin, or laundry, soaps 

 are made from tallow, which may be mixed 

 with grease or oil. In the course of the manu- 

 facturing process rosin is added to give the soap 

 its characteristic yellow color. The fatty ma- 

 terial, known technically as stock, is poured in 

 a liquid state into a sheet-iron kettle heated 

 by steam coils. During the heating process lye 

 is added to the mixture from time to time, and 

 when the contents have the appearance of a 

 thick gum, saturated salt solution is added un- 

 til the soap floats on the surface. The mixture 

 is then cooled, and in this process the brine 

 sinks to the bottom of the kettle. The brine is 

 then drawn off 'and worked for glycerine and 

 salt, while to the soapy layer fresh, strong lye 

 and rosin are added. The resulting mixture is 

 heated until the rosin is thoroughly united with 

 the soap. Then a salt solution is added as be- 

 fore, the lye is drawn off, fresh, strong lye added 

 and the mass boiled again. After further cool- 

 ing, settling and reheating, and the addition of 

 cold water, the contents of the kettle are al- 

 lowed to cool off slowly to a temperature of 

 about 65 C. 



The soap is next run into a horizontal re- 

 volving cylinder known as the crutcher, in 

 which it is stirred until the mixture is of a 

 uniform color and texture. Various chemicals, 

 such as carbonate of soda, are added to im- 

 prove the quality. Finally the mixture is run 

 into molds where it is allowed to harden into 

 huge cakes. These are cut into bars of market 

 size by steel wires. 



Toilet soaps require several other processes, 

 but the crutching operation is omitted. .These 

 soaps are usually scented with various ingre- 

 dients, and they also have different coloring 

 matters added. Cheap, highly scented soaps 

 should be avoided, as the perfume is often 

 added to disguise the presence of offensive fats. 

 As a general rule, a healthy skin is best served 

 by the use of a soap made from pure oil and 



good soda. Many medicated soaps advertised 

 in the markets are frauds, and the advice of a 

 reliable physician should be sought if one is 

 tempted to try a soap for a skin disorder. 

 Transparent soaps contain alcohol and glycer- 

 ine, and floating soaps are usually a mixture of 

 tallow and cocoanut oil, potash and soda. Sail- 

 ors use what is known as salt-water soap, made 

 from cocoanut oil, potash, soda lye and salt. 

 The popular Castile soap is made from olive 

 oil and soda or mixed potash. The so-called 

 naphtha soaps usually contain kerosene. O.B. 



Consult Deite's Manual of Soap Making; Car- 

 penter's Treatise on the Manufacture of Soaps and 

 Candles, Lubricants and Glycerine. 



SOAP 'STONE. See STEATITE. 



SOCIAL DEMOCRATS, so'shal dem'okrats. 

 In its widest sense this name is applied to the 

 Socialists of every country whose appeal is in- 

 ternational in its scope. Politically, the term 

 applies to the Socialist party of Germany, 

 which was established by Lassalle in 1863 with 

 a very simple program the demand for uni- 

 versal male suffrage. At the time of Lassalle's 

 death in 1864 the Social Democrats numbered 

 4,610. The International Union of Working- 

 men, founded by Marx and Engel in 1864, 

 united with the followers of Lassalle in 1875 

 to form anew the Social Democratic party as 

 it exists to-day. 



So rapid was the spread of the Socialist doc- 

 trines that the vote at the first election was 

 nearly half a million and resulted in very se- 

 vere anti-Socialist legislation under the Bis- 

 marck government. In spite of this the vote 

 had increased by 1890 to 1,427,000, by 1903 to 

 3,008,000, and by 1914 to 4,500,000. The So- 

 cialists of Germany now command over a hun- 

 dred seats in the governing body of Germany, 

 and hold the balance of power. With the open- 

 ing of the War of the Nations the Social Demo- 

 crats were split into two factions, those who 

 supported the government in declaring war, and 

 those who repudiated its action. The leader 

 of the antiwar Socialists, Karl Liebknecht, was 

 banished from the Reichstag and silenced for 

 the duration of the conflict. 



The Social Democratic Workingmen's party 

 was founded in the United States in 1869. It 

 soon changed its name to the Socialist Labor 

 party, and an offshoot of it became known as 

 the Social Democratic party. The term is lit- 

 tle used, however, the Socialist party of America 

 being the popular designation. 



See article SOCIALISM, and its list of related 

 topics. 



