62 



National Resources Planrnnrj Hoard 



locomotive tractive power, hniiiin<r caj)a<-ity, and boiler 

 capacity. Tliesc tables became tlio IcxtbooU for 

 locomotive design and locomotive rating for many j'ears. 

 Tlie company lias built 20 experimental locomotives 

 for the most part in cooperation with railroads interested 

 in developing better motive power units. Through 

 plant research the company has jiroduced high grade 

 forgings for locomotive parts and high grade iron cast- 

 ings for general use. It lias developed and built the 

 only welded locomotive boiler, and is now devoting 

 considerable attention to fusion welding, both in its 

 application to locomotive construction and in general 

 fabrication work. 



Armour and Company 



The meat-i)acking industry was an old one before 

 research came to play any part in it. Phillip Danforth 

 Armour, the founder of Armour & Company, admittctl 

 freely that he knew nothing of scientific theory or 

 chemical processes, but he nevertheless encouraged the 

 eflForts of his staff to improve operations by scientific 

 methods. A loosely bound organization of scientifically 

 minded men contributed new ideas to the industry 

 long before even a trained chemist was added to the 

 staff. 



Previous to 1875, slaughtering operations were con- 

 ducted only in winter, and the main carcass, which 

 could be sold fresh in winter or barreled in brine or salt 

 for summer use, was the only part of the animal con- 

 sidered worth saving. In spite of ridicule from his 

 contemporaries and associates. Armour, in 187G, had 

 Joseph Nicholson, an early packing house arcliitect, 

 build the first refrigerated meat warehouse in the world. 



Before ;'hemistry came to play a part in the meat- 

 packing industry, individuals outside the industry had 

 begun to prosper by salvaging parts of the carcass that 

 had always been discarded as waste. Blood and tank- 

 age were among the first waste products to be utilized. 

 For years they had been discarded in the south branch 

 of the Chicago River which, because of the evolution of 

 the gases of fermentation and decomposition, came 

 to be known as "Bubbly Creek." In 1880 animal fats 

 were used to produce oleomargarine commercially, and 

 2 years later the shin and thigh bones of cattle were 

 dried and used for such articles as buttons and combs. 

 Extract of beef was first produced in 1885. 



Armour, observing the marked success of the con- 

 cerns which bought up the packers' waste products or 

 hauled them for the taking from the dumps, decided 

 to expand his business to include the salvaging of 

 waste. In 1884, his purchase of the glue works of 

 Wahl Brothers formed the nucleus of the present auxil- 

 iary plant for utilizing byproducts. A year later Armour 

 entered the pharmaceutical business, making at first 

 only pepsin and pancreatin. Another important step 



was taken when the waste waters from cooking and 

 other operations were saved and evaporated to recover 

 the valuable protein matter used at that time as 

 fertilizer. 



Armour's realization that byproducts might hold 

 liidden treasures led to the application of science to the 

 meat-i)acking industry. Tlie marvels of chemical 

 research at the World's Columbian Exposition at 

 Chicago in 189.3 made a deep impression upon Armour 

 and members of his staff, and that year he hired his first 

 chemist, Dr. A. G. Manns, to give assistance on ceitain 

 phannaceutical and refining problems. His work was 

 so satisfactory that .Vrmour commissioned him to equip 

 adequate laboratories and hire the necessary staff. 

 The work of the laboratory increased rapidly. Chem- 

 ists were added to all departments of th(> comj)anv and 

 kept busy upon immediate i)rol)lcms of control and 

 trouble shooting. 



About the same time C. H. MacDowcll coiiviiiced 

 Armour that profits lay in the direction of better 

 utilization of byproducts as fertilizer and was com- 

 missioned to start the venture which became the Armour 

 Fertilizer Works. 



In 1907 Paul Rudinick, who succeeded .Manns in 

 charge of the chemical lal)oratories, created a separate 

 department undc" Dr. Frederick Fenger foi- pharma- 

 ceutical research, and one for research in fertilizers 

 under H. C. Moore. Not until 1928, liowcver, was an 

 attempt made to form a separate research organiza- 

 tion. At that time W. P. Hemphill, an executive 

 officer of the company, brought research under his 

 jurisdiction, with J. J. ^'ollertsen, chief control chemist, 

 in immediate charge. The physical equipment for 

 research remained decentralized until E. L. Lalumier, 

 Hemphill's successor, obtained the first a[)propriation 

 for a separate research laboratory. From 19.10 to 1939 

 both research and develoi)ment work were handled by 

 the research department under the direction of V. 

 Conquest. In the latter year the development work 

 was placed under a separate head, and the research 

 program expanded. 



Swift and Company 



In 1871 G. H. Hammond, a Detroit paikcr, 

 built a partially successful refrigerator car. Five 

 or six j-ears later Gustavus Finnklin Swift, by de- 

 veloping a completeh' successful one, made possible 

 the erection of centralized meat packing plants near 

 livestock markets such as Chicago. By 1877 Swift 

 and Company was shipping dressed beef to a country- 

 wide trade. With its market greatly expanded, the 

 company's operations increased, and steadily mounting 

 tonnages of blood, grease, and bones were discarded as 

 waste or utilized in a haphazard way to make feeds, 

 fertilizers, soaps, and other finished products. Little 



