Strictly Confidential
by PIIINEAS J. BIRON
- Close Up of E. B. Chain
-Prof. Ernest B. Chain, co-
discoverer of penicillin, one
of the great Nobel Prize win-
ners, spent a few days in the
United • States . . . The purpose
of his visit was connected with
the launching of Syncillin, a
new drug which is said to be
the first synthetic penicillin
for medical use . Dr. Chain
had come to the United States
as - a consultant to Bristol Lab-
oratories in Syracuse, the out-
fit which is going to Manufac-
ture the new drug • . . We were
fortunate to get a hold of Chain
during his one-day-stay in New
York on his way back to Europe
. . . Thus we had the satisfac:
tion of getting an exclusive
interview with the man who is
now acknowledged the greatest
expert on penicillin . . .
Chain is still a young man,
hardly 50 . . . He was born in
Berlin, Germany, the son of a
physician . . During his youth
he dreamed of becoming a con-
cert pianist and studied for it
but soon discovered that his
vocation was scientific research
. . . At the age of 39 he elec-
trified the scientific world by
completing Dr. Fleming's peni
cillin project which the Cana-
dian scientist had abandoned
. . . Today he is the pride of
the Instuto Superiors di Sanita
of Rome, Italy, and immersed
in biological research ... These
are the principal vital statistics
of Chain which however give
no idea of his fascinating per-
sonality . . . Chain reminds one
of a young Einstein . . . The
same facial contours dominated
by a naive, eternally young
enthusiasm . . . It was early
morning, about 8 o'clock, when
we had breakfast in his room
at the Waldorf Astoria .. Was
he happy about the new devel-
opment of penicillin which
would make it available to so
many more people, we asked
him . . . Yes, he was very very
pleased . . . He had always had
confidence that penicillin or
rather the use of it could be ex-
panded and moreover that the
persons allergic to penicillin
might some day be able to use
it without ill effects . . . That
was now the case, he said . . .
He spoke about this develop-
ment but frankly, we were un-
able to follow him when he
launched into technical aspects
of this revolutionary advance.
Chain is also very happy
about the N o b-e 1 Prize in
physics and in medicine which
has gone this year to two Jew-
ish scientists, Dr. Emilio Segre
and Dr. Arthur Kornberg . . .
Strange, he said, that Jews are
doing exceptionally well, much
beyond their population per-
centage, when in comes to
basic scientific research . . .
"Why this is so I• cannot an-
swer . . . Perhaps the unknown
or. rather speculation about the
unknown is a national trait of
the Jew . . . Segre and Korn-
berg will be heard from more
and more . . . they have con-
tributed something new in their
fields."
Here are a few of Chain's
views on life in general: He is
not interested in money as long
as he has enough to live . .
Scientists should never become
involved in commercial proj-
ects unless they want to give up
science . . . If a scientist dis-
covers something in the realm
of pure research it is better for
him not to get entangled in
the applied ramifications of his
di-scovery . .. Let others do it
and he, the original discoverer,
should turn his talents to some-
thing new . . . He is a passion-
ate lover of Israel and needs
to return there at least once a
year to renew- himself . . . "In
Israel, my mind functions best,"
. . . The hardest thing in life
is to avoid coMplications and
those who have developed a
method of keeping away from
deviations and activities that
are preventing them from do-
ing what they should do, - these
resisters, these no-sayers will
achieve most and live longest,
Chain explained . . . But Chain
himself is too full of life to
do what he preaches.
Maurice Enggass to Celebrate His 70th Birthday
Maurice A. Enggass, one of
Detroit's most distinguished
civic leaders, will receive the
encomia of many scores of
associates in the large number
of movements to which he has
given a life time of service, on
the occasion of his '70th birth-,
day, Nov. 14. '
The term "scores of associ-
ates" is no exaggeration. An
indication of how many Eng-
gass has may perhaps be ob-
tained from the following list
of official positions he holds or
has held. He is:
Past president and present
-director of the Detroit Retail
Merchants Ass'n; past presi-
dent and director of the De-
troit Better Business Bureau;
former director of the Michi-
gan Retail Ass'n; former direc-
tor of the Detroit Board of
Commerce; vice president of
the Palmer Woods Ass'n; for-
mer vice-president, Municipal
Parking Atuhority; former .di-
rector, Jewish Welfare' Ass'n;
former chairman, Budget Com-
mittee, Health and Welfare
Division; director of the He-
brew Loan Ass'n; member, Na-
O
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a•
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MAURICE A. ENGGASS
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German High Court
Asked to Rule on
Controversial Record
FRANKFURT, (JTA) — A
pledge to seek a reversal of
a new court decision holding
that a record of Nazi addresses
and songs was not harmful was
made by the Frankfurt state
prosecutor. -
A lower court decision last
May had ordered a ban on the
American-made recording,
called "Speeches and Songs of -
Nazi Germany," which had en-
joyeda brisk sale. The records
were, confiscated._.
. .
However, the Frankfurt High
Court last • week held that the
record had no anti-Semitic ten-
dencies and rejected a request
of the prosecutor to make the
la
tional Panel of Arbitrators,
American Arbitration Ass'n,
and director, Boys Clubs of
Detroit.
Among the clubs • of which
Enggass is a member are:
Franklin Hills, University of
Michigan Club of Detroit, Great
Lakes Club, Town Club of Ann
Arbor, Circumnavigators Club,
Hundred Club, Economic Club,
and the Detroit Historical So-
ciety.
A member of Temple Beth
El for 50 years, Enggass is a
native Detroiter. He has a
son, Peter, and a daughter,
Mrs. Barb-ata Piker, of Cincin-
nati. He also has four grand- -
sons.
›, ,..,
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