Federal Largesse No Bar to Private Giving Private support of education, welfare breeds new ideas, action Private philanthropic institutions ought not to be sustained merely as "symbolic reminders" of an earlier day, in the opinion of Henry T. Heald, who retired from the presidency of the Ford Foundation last week. In spite of growing federal support for education and social welfare, private institutions "must serve society . . . as productive centers of ideas and action," he said in the foundation's 1965 annual report. Mr. Heald, who has been succeeded as president of the foundation by McGeorge Bundy, former special assistant to President Johnson, cites studies showing that, as early as 1929, government philanthropy outstripped private philanthropy. The size of foundation funds (which make up less than 10% of private philanthropy) long ago stopped being a true measure of foundations' contributions to society. The great advantages of such organizations are flexibility (including the ability to persist in an objective as well as to shift priorities), experience, independence, and the freedom to innovate, experiment, and concentrate on selective efforts, he points out.
PVC's '66 Sales Could Pass 2 Billion Pounds The future of polyvinyl chloride is bright, in the opinion of Thomas B. Nantz, president of B. F. Goodrich Chemical. In his annual progress report for the Cleveland company, he forecasts that, in 1966, sales of PVC will pass 2 billion pounds for the first time. The prediction is based on the premise that the U.S. economy will continue at a high level (see page 19). The 2 billion pound figure would represent a 12% increase over 1965 sales. Last year BFG Chemical predicted an 8% gain in sales for 1965. Indications are that the gain was actually somewhat better; preliminary figures suggest a 10% increase in PVC sales over 1964. Optimism for PVC is widely held. Planned and nearly completed expansions in vinyl chloride capacity (PVC 18
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In an era of enlarged federal largesse, private institutions "can do much to assure that the American version of the welfare state remains free of the bleak connotations of that term—a supine citizenry, an overweening bureaucracy, and an erosion of individual initiative," Mr. Heald continues. "Many new government programs work through a range of private institutions, from neighborhood settlement houses to independent colleges and universities." Mr. Heald cautions that American government ("the remarkable institution"), no matter how benevolent and democratic, "could, if diversity disappears . . . , stifle the personal search for fulfillment—the very reason for representative government's being. The path to preservation of pluralism—and the originality and energy it fosters— lies not so much in rolling back government as in the maintenance and strengthening of independent, private institutions." During the year ending Sept. 30, 1965, the Ford Foundation made new commitments totaling $352 million including: education and special programs, $118 million; science and engineering, $16 million; humanities and arts, $90 million; international training and research, $47 million; population control, $26 million; and overseas development (in science, engineering, and education), $24 million.
is the monomer's only outlet) will bring U.S. capacity to 4 billion pounds a year by 1968, less obsolete plants that may be closed by then (C&EN, Sept. 27, 1965, page 28). Production of the monomer will be about 2 billion pounds this year. American Chemical, Ethyl Corp., Wyandotte, Stauffer/Continental Oil and Pittsburgh Plate Glass have vinyl chloride plants in the works. Mr. Nantz foresees a good year ahead for other plastics as well. He expects acrylonitrile-butadienestyrene sales to climb 22% over 1965, to 190 million pounds. The materials will find increased use in automobiles, appliances, and plated products. Thermoplastic polyurethane likewise will advance in sales during 1966. Mr. Nantz's prediction for nitrile rubber is slightly less optimistic. Although production rose 9.2% (to 56,200 long tons) in 1965, he expects only a 4% increase for 1966.
Centrifugation Speeds Column Chromatography The use of centrifugation in column chromatography can give fast chromatogram development, good resolution, and high adsorbent capacity, according to Dr. Elmar V. Piel of Norwich University, Northfield, Vt. Use of microparticulate beds (adsorbent particles less than 1.5 microns in diameter) with centrifugal column chromatography gives sharp, rapid separations on both micro and macro scales, Dr. Piel finds. Centrifugation has been used to speed chromatogram development in paper and thin-layer chromatography. Dr. Hugh J. McDonald and his coworkers at Loyola University (Chicago, 111.) were among the developers of techniques for this application. Dr. Piel finds that centrifugation also greatly eases separations by column chromatography if the column material is ground to the required microparticulate state. Working with a mixture of Butter Yellow, Sudan Red, and Indophenol Blue, the Norwich chemist obtained five blue zones, two pink zones, a red zone, and a yellow zone with the centrifugal column chromatographic technique. He accomplished the separation in four minutes with a centrifugal field varying from about 900 to 1800 times gravity. The adsorbent was alumina with an average particle diameter of less than 1 micron. The developing solvent was 10 parts (by volume) chloroform, 20 parts heptane, and 70 parts toluene. Dr. Piel has separated the same dye mixture using a precipitated silica gel with an ultimate particle size of 0.012 micron as adsorbent and the same developing solvent. The adsorbent was in the form of a nearly transparent, thixotropic gel. A number of other adsorbents can be used in centrifugal column chromatography, Dr. Piel finds. Among them are Purecal SC (precipitated calcium carbonate coated with a fatty acid), Cabosil pyrogenic silica in thixotropic gel form, and a high surface area carbon black. Apparatus requirements for centrifugal column chromatography are very simple, Dr. Piel says. A fairly high speed centrifuge equipped with a swinging horizontal head (such as a clinical centrifuge) or even with a fixed horizontal head (such as in a hematocrit) can be used.
