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Show Promise of Chemical Progress It is true what they say in the chemical industry that the world of chemicals is all around us. From the clothes we wear to the houses we live in, chemicals contribute con-tribute to our happiness, well-being and comfort. For these very personal reasons, if for no other, we join those celebrating the week of April 9-13 as "Chemical Progress Prog-ress week." Beyond the immediate personal benefits we enjoy daily because of the chemical industry, we can participate in this salute to the industry with a broader outlook. We can pause to find out what this ubiquitous "chemical world" promises for tomorrow. The chemical industry had total sales last year in excess of $29 billion. Out of the money it receives the chemical industry spends more than any other industry (some $800 million a year) on research and development. This goes a long way toward assuring Americans of an even better, more health! ul, more convenient liwe in the future. In terms of the future, the outlook for this still-growing still-growing industry has never been brighter. By 1970, sales are expected to total $54 billion with many of the products prod-ucts making up that total not yet out of the research centers. This will mean not only new uses for existing chemical combinations, but also an influx of new products prod-ucts into such existing industries as home-building, cars and appliance manufacturing. While the products of this industry are making life more enjoyable on this planet, chemicals are playing a major role in America's race to the stars. The rockets of lunar spacecraft will utilize new and powerful chemical propellants. The air the crew breathes will be recycled and purified by chemical process. The men, instruments, and life-support equipment on board will make use of electric power collected or generated and stored by fuel cells and other chemical means. The astronauts astro-nauts themselves will be protected from the intense heat of atmosphric flight by the plastics and other materials produced by this industry from chemicals. Thus it is that this industry, which is older than America itself, celebrates its 327th birthday this year as one of the stalwarts of our economic stability and our secure national defense. 1 |