The group attending the Wilder D . Bancroft Colloid Symposium in front of the Baker Laboratory of Chemistry at Cornell
Wilder
D. Bancroft Colloid
THE National Colloid Symposium, held annually under the auspices of the Division of Colloid Chemistry, AMERICAN CHEMICAL SOCIETY, and the Committee
on Colloid Science of the National Re search Council, was held at Cornell Uni versity, Ithaca, Ν. Υ., June 19, 20, and 21. This, the eighteenth meeting, was designated as the Wilder D. Bancroft Colloid Symposium in recognition of the contributions of Professor Bancroft in the field of colloid science. The total regis tration was something over 150. The meeting was opened in the lecture room of Baker Laboratory with an ad dress of welcome by Peter Debye, chair man of the Cornell University Chemistry Department. The first paper on the pro gram was given by Professor Bancroft who attempted to review in approximately 30 minutes the important developments in colloid chemistry of the past 30 years with particular emphasis on those phases which had engaged the attention of him self and his associates. He defined colloid chemistry as "the chemistry of life and inheritance and of bubbles, drops, grains, filaments, and films". Darwin and Pasteur were described as the two greatest colloid chemists of all time, in spite of the fact that neither suspected himself of being a colloid chemist. He predicted that medicine will come to be recognized as a branch of colloid chemistry and out lined some particular applications in which he had been interested. The banquet, held in the Ithaca Hotel, featured reminiscences by F. K. Cameron, S. E. Sheppard, J. W. Ackerman, and Η. Β. Weiser an their associations with Professor Bancroft at different periods of his career. Twenty-three research papers were pre sented. Of these, four were devoted to Advances in surface chemistry, nine ou
Symposium
inorganic colloids, six on organocolloids, and four on protein chemistry. E. A. Hauser and D. R. Dewey presented an ex cellent motion picture illustrating stream ing double refraction produced by liquid flow. H. B. Weiser, as chairman, ran the meeting on schedule and, as usual, a very delightful feature of the program included ample time for freedom of discussion on each paper presented. The accompanying ladies were treated to a full program, including a tea and tours of the campus and nearby scenic spots in the Finger Lakes Region. Another enter tainment feature enjoyed by all was the picnic held at the Taughannock Falls State Park on the shores of Cayuga Lake. The local committees, headed by Pro fessor and Mrs. Richard Bradfield and assisted by members of the university staff and their wives, can be credited with much of the success of the meeting. The University of Colorado at Boulder was selected as the meeting place of the symposium in 1942. Q&®
Aluminum Conserved by Westinghouse Plant ENOUGH aluminum to build 130 twoengine army bombing planes has been released by use of plastics, steel, and other materials in the Mansfield, Ohio, plant of the Westinghouse Electric & Manufacturing Co. More than 1,500,000 pounds of alu minum have been withdrawn from 1941 re quirements for electric refrigerators, ranges, and other appliances. Other vital defense materials conserved by use of alternate materials at the Mansfield plant include more than 150,000 pounds of nickel and approximately 100,000 pounds of zinc.
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Philadelphia Quartz Co. Cele brates 110th Birthday WHEN Joseph Elkinton closed his Philadelphia shop on July 20, 1831, at the end of his first day in the soap and candle business, he probably had no thought that his descendants would be operating 110 years later as the Phila delphia Quartz Co. The soap kettles in the rear of his dwelling supplied the bars of soap for the store in front for retail trade, but the bars of "Family Soap" were to be known and distributed more widely, finding their way to the South, West, North, and along the coast to foreign lands by packet and brig. After his sons Joseph S. and Thomas had finished their schooling they took an active interest in the soap factory. It was Thomas who investigated soluble glass. Early in 1858 equipment was bought for experimenting with silicate of soda. In the '60s, the war between the States caused curtailment in rosin supplies from the South. Other soap materials also soared in price. Soluble glass was mixed with the soap as a substitute for the rosin and was found successful. Thus Joseph Elkinton and his sons had developed at just the right time a detergent which could be offered at a reasonable price to replace other ingredients then unattainable. Then began a company tradition which at that time was unusual—giving infor mation and assistance to the user which enabled him to obtain maximum benefits from the products. The forerunner of a series of comprehensive educational bulle tins was published shortly after 1864. The adhesive value of silicate of soda was early discovered, but it was not until the introduction of the corrugated shipping box in the '90s that there was a larger de mand for silicate as an adhesive. Research of the company over a long period has de veloped a series of chemicals made by
varying the proportions of the ingredients of silicate of soda. Now, from the one solution originally produced, the com pany's catalog includes over 33 different silicates. Joseph S. Elkinton's diary records that in the first month of 1862 the father with drew his name from the firm and left the conduct of the business to his sons under the name of Joseph S. & Thomas Elkinton. The present name, Philadelphia Quartz Co., was used in 1864 when a partnership was formed to manufacture the new chemi cal, silicate of soda. Soap manufacture was discontinued in 1904 when the Phila delphia Quartz Co. was incorporated. About the time of the celebration of the company's beginning of another century in business came the announcement of two new alkalies, previously not com mercially obtainable. These chemicals, sodium metasilicate and sodium sesquisilicate, made available to industries al kaline cleaners which had active alkali qualities but were controlled by silica con tent. The company reached the threshold of a second century under the direction of only the third generation of the family of the founder. William T. Elkinton, son of Joseph S. Elkinton, continued to head the enterprise until his death in October 1933. He had devoted more than 50 years to the building of the business and several years prior to his passing planned a grad ual retirement that others might learn to carry on. His son, Thomas W. Elkinton, is now president of the company. The Philadelphia Quartz Co., with general offices in Philadelphia, today has nine plants, located at Chester, Penna., Anderson, Ind., Baltimore, Md., Buffalo, N. Y., Kansas City, Kans., Rahway, N. J., St. Louis, Mo., Utica, Ill., and Jeffersonville, Ind., and is affiliated with Phila delphia Quartz Co. of California, Ltd., which operates plants at Berkeley and Los Angeles.
Deferment of Instructors of M e n in Preparation and Training
G director, Selective Service System, has ENERAL LEWIS B.
HERSHEY, deputy
issued a memorandum to all state directors which reads in par as follows: Under the provisions of paragraphs 350 to 353 of the Regulations, serious consid eration should be given to the Class II de ferment of individuals found to be neces sary to the instruction of students who are in preparation and training for neces sary activities, especially in the National Defense Program.
formerly with the Wichita Laboratory, has been promoted to the district managership of t h e Houston, Tex., area with head quarters at 726 Electric Bldg., Hous ton. C. E. Erb has been promoted to the district managership of the Wichita, Kans. division and will be in charge of the new and improved Wichita Laboratory.
Akron Rubber Group Outing
Haering Continues to Expand CELEBRATING their tenth anniversary and 10 years of continuous expansion, D. W. Haering & Co., Inc., water consult ants of Chicago, announce that the sales for the first six months of 1941 have ex ceeded the total annual sales of 1940. In order to accommodate the increased staff necessitated by this continued develop ment, the company on July 1 transferred its general offices to the eighteenth floor of the Engineering Building, 205 Wacker Drive, Chicago, Ill. The offices at the main plant at 2308 South Winchester Ave., Chicago, will be turned over to an enlarged technical staff to provide im proved facilities for handling the com pany's rapidly growing customer labora tory service and for conducting further research into water and corrosion prob lems. The Wichita Laboratory has been transferred to substantially larger quarters at 323 West Murdock St., Wichita, Kans. The enlarged quarters for the Chicago and Wichita technical staffs will provide ex tensive facilities and additional equipment for pioneering research in water chemistry. George E. Thompson, formerly of the New York City office, has been transferred to Chicago to take charge of the plant and laboratory at that point. Ε. Η. Snyder,
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Ticket desk, Akron Rubber Group outing TΗΕ Akron Rubber Group of the Division of Rubber Chemistry, AMERICAN CHEMICAL SOCIETY, held its annual sum mer outing at Silver Lake Country Club, Akrora., Ohio, on June 20. It was the big gest and best outing ever held by the group. The weather was perfect and could not have been better even if ordered by the most Emperamental golfers. One hundred twenty of the "pasture pool" devotees indulged during the afternoon. In the evening 474 members and guests were served at dinner, after which 148 excellent prizes, were distributed. The lucky holders of the tickets drawn were the envy of all. The generosity of the various companies donating these prizes is deeply appreciated by t h e Akron Rubber Group since this annual prize drawing is one of the biggest factors in making the outings so popular and successful.
