Windham County Observer

No Shortage Of Soap Looked For Because Of War

Demand For Glycerine In Making Explosives Likely To Stimulate Soap Production.-Women Are Asked Not To Make Soap.

Soap is one item that the country won't run short of on account of the war because of the military demand for explosives made from glycerine, according to an announcement issued by the Windham County Farmers' Association.

The announcement states that it has been informed by the War Production Board that there is no probability of a soap shortage. Housewives, who feel that home soap making is a patriotic duty, are advised against making soap at home because of the extraordinary demand for glycerine which is wasted when women make soap at home.

Full text of the War Production Board's announcement in this matter follows:

There is likely to be enough soap in 1942 to scrub this land and most of the things in it-because of the military demand for explosives made from glycerine.

Glycerine, one of the most vital products in war economy, will be produced to the greatest extent possible during the coming year to supply powder and nitro-glycerine plants with a principal ingredient. And soap manufacturers will work their plants to the limit of supplies to do this, and soap itself may be regarded as a by-product of this manufacturing.

Supplies of oil yielding fats and nuts have assumed great importance in the all-out effort to produce glycerine. The tallow and animal fats that normally provide the bulk of glycerine origination will have additional help from conservation measures.

A complication of the supply problem is the loss of the Philippine source of coconut oil, which bulked large in the world coconut oil production that previously accounted for manufacturing one-third of all our glycerine.

Stocks of copra from coconuts, babassu and palm kernel nuts are being marshalled so that with transportation from Latin America, the South Seas and Africa they can meet the needs of soap producers. If transportation and supply problems are solved, manufacturers plan to extract enough glycerine from these high yield nuts to skid the Axis.

Despite the prospect of a sufficiency of soap, however, it appears likely that the soap available will be a little less slippery. For almost all the glycerine, down to less than one per cent, will be extracted from every soap to make the millions of pounds of explosives that we need to win the war.

Though last year's glycerine production was the highest in history, projected requirements for the U. S. and Lend-Lease indicate increased demands.

Every housewife in the nation will soon have a chance to aid the glycerine production effort through a concerted effort in saving glycerine content garbage and not making her own soap. A salvage campaign to collect and extract the glycerine from food fats, grease, lubricants and table scraps is expected to add materially to supplies for U. S. and Lend-Lease requirements.

Experts estimate that at least ten per cent of the 38,000,000 pounds of grease used in the nation last year represents recoverable glycerine.

Many variable factors make estimates of future requirements difficult but government representatives feel that civilian curtailments in glycerine usage may enable us to meet requirements during 1942.

Additional needs of the allies will bring a possible (glycerine) shortage in 1943 more definitely and representatives of the War Production Board are already devising means of meeting requirements as they arise. They are meeting the problems of shipping, providing sufficient drums for containers, obtaining additional glycerine from fermentation, allocation of materials for plant operation, and obtaining additional glycerine yielding oils from whales.