Aftenposten
- Director General Aubert speaks to "Aftenposten".
- Argus. This winter's collection starts today.
- The dinner at the Palace on Monday.
This Aftenposten page combined industry, charity and court news. In an interview, Norsk Hydro's director general Axel Aubert said that a new experimental plant would need only a third of the power per unit of fixed nitrogen required by the old Birkeland-Eyde method. He said it would be finished during 1927 and would use Director Holmboe's electrolytic cell, that the essential part of the work could be done in Norway, giving many Norwegian workers employment, and he flatly denied rumours of cooperation with F. G. Farbenindustri (Badische). Three signatories opened the paper's annual Argus winter collection for the "shamefaced poor", warning that although living costs had fallen, unemployment had risen, and that people were being turned away from a closed Argus office. A short court notice listed the dignitaries invited to the King and Queen's gala dinner for the visiting Finnish president.
Translation
Director General Aubert speaks to "Aftenposten".
[?] – What particular advantage does the method have?
– It saves power. Under the new method only one third as much power per unit of fixed nitrogen will be needed as under the Birkeland-Eyde method.
– When is the experimental plant expected to be finished?
– Construction work has begun, and the new factory is expected to be finished in the course of 1927.
– What kind of electrolytic plant will be used?
– We have decided on Director Holmboe's design – the Holmboe cell. This design is used at De-No-Fa. We consider it the best that exists at present. It is gratifying that this work will be Norwegian and that the essential part of it can be done here at home. That will, of course, give many Norwegian workers employment. The work will for the most part be carried out on site, but partly also at De-No-Fa.
– There are persistent rumours of cooperation between Norsk Hydro and F. G. Farbenindustri (Badische)?
– There is absolutely nothing in that. I authorize you to deny these rumours categorically. [?]
Argus. This winter's collection starts today.
A / S Drammensruten. Argus. This winter's collection starts today. "Aftenposten" has declared itself willing this year too to carry out an Argus collection for the benefit of "Pauvres honteux". The cost of living has admittedly gone down somewhat, but unemployment has grown greater in return. Many firms and offices have had to cut their staff. And we have particularly noticed that for those who, for this reason or because of illness, have fallen out of work, it is harder than ever to find new work. There are no new chances of work. This has to no small degree increased Argus' already more than sufficient clientele of applicants. Strange as it may perhaps sound, we therefore believe we have already seen threatening signs that the coming winter, precisely for the class of needy people whom Argus looks after, will be at least as hard as ever. For a long time now the strange procession of bewildered and helpless people has made its way up to the door of the Argus office, only to find it closed. We have seen many go away in tears. Today, when "Aftenposten" is read and the Argus collection begins, hope will dawn in many hearts. It is therefore our earnest plea to Argus' friends that they not grow weary, but that this winter too, despite hard times and heavy taxes, they provide us with a good Argus collection.
R. Lexow Breck. Einar Diesen. Johs. Hygen. [?]
The dinner at the Palace on Monday.
[?] As already reported, the King and Queen are giving a gala dinner at the Palace on Monday on the occasion of the Finnish president's visit. Invited to the dinner are the President of the Storting, the members of the Council of State, the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court, the heads of the foreign legations here; the commanding general and admiral, the rectors of the University and the Agricultural College, the county governor of Oslo, the bishop, the mayor and the chief municipal officer (borgermester), the commandant of Akershus, and others.
Large farm fire at Jæren.
Context
Why Norsk Hydro was chasing a power-saving nitrogen process
Aubert's emphasis on saving power makes sense in light of Hydro's origins. The company was founded in 1905 to fix atmospheric nitrogen by the Birkeland–Eyde electric-arc process, which needed so much electricity that Hydro built its works beside waterfalls at Notodden and Rjukan. By the 1920s that arc technology could no longer compete with the Haber-Bosch ammonia process. Axel Aubert, the man interviewed here, had just taken over as the company's chief executive and led it from 1926 to 1941. His claim that the new method would need only one third of the power per unit of fixed nitrogen was the company's own figure, given to the newspaper. What the historical record does establish is the underlying pressure: Hydro's original process had become uncompetitive, and the company needed a new technology to remain competitive in fertilizer production.
The denied rumours of a deal with the German dye concern
At the end of the interview Aubert authorized Aftenposten to deny "categorically" the rumours of cooperation between Norsk Hydro and the German concern the paper calls "F. G. Farbenindustri (Badische)", evidently I.G. Farbenindustrie, usually known as IG Farben. The denial did not hold for long. In 1927 Hydro formed a partnership with IG Farben to gain access to the Haber-Bosch process, and by 1945 IG Farben had become a majority shareholder in Hydro. Whether talks were already under way when Aubert spoke cannot be settled from this page. But the assurance readers received in October 1926 was overtaken by events the following year. His stress on a Norwegian-designed cell and Norwegian jobs also reads differently once one knows how closely Hydro soon became tied to German capital and technology.
Electrolysis and the experimental plant promised for 1927
The "electrolytic plant" in the interview points to water electrolysis: using electricity to split water and obtain hydrogen, which ammonia production needs alongside nitrogen. The later history of Hydro's electrolysis business fits Aubert's timetable. According to Nel, the hydrogen company that traces its history to that business, the first small electrolyser installation at Norsk Hydro was set up at Notodden in 1927 to test pure hydrogen for fertilizer production. By 1940 Rjukan had the world's largest installation of water electrolysers, running on hydropower. The newspaper's more specific details, namely Director Holmboe's cell, its prior use at the De-No-Fa works and the division of the construction work, rest on Aubert's account in this interview.
What President Relander's visit to Norway was for
The Finnish president whom King Haakon VII and the Queen were to honour was Lauri Kristian Relander, president from 1925 to 1931. The list of state visits received by Haakon VII records a Finnish state visit by Relander on 4–6 October 1926, so the Monday gala dinner announced here fell on the first day of the visit. King Haakon paid a return state visit to Relander in Finland in June 1928. The trip belonged to Relander's effort to build ties with neighbouring states, including the other Nordic countries, at head-of-state level. It was valuable diplomatic work for a young republic that otherwise largely kept to a policy of isolation. His frequent journeys also drew criticism at home and earned him the nickname "Reissu-Lasse" (Travelling Lasse). The guest list printed here, running from the President of the Storting, the cabinet and the Chief Justice to foreign envoys, military chiefs, university rectors and Oslo's civic and church leaders, shows the full range of official Norway assembled to receive a fellow head of state.
Original
Generaldirektør Aubert uttaler sig til ”Aftenposten”.
[?] - Hvilken speciel fordel har metoden? - Den er kraftbesparende. Efter den nye metode vil det bare behøves en tredjedel saa meget kraft pr. enhet bundet kvælstof som efter Birkeland-Eydes metode. - Naar ventes forsøksanlægget at være færdig? - Anlægsarbeidet er paabegyndt og den nye fabrik ventes at være færdig i løpet av 1927. - Hvad slags elektrolytisk anlæg skal man anvende? - Vi har bestemt os for direktør Holmboes konstruktion - Holmboes celle. Denne konstruktion benyttes ved De-No-Fa. Vi anser den for den beste som for tiden eksisterer. Det er morsomt, at dette arbeide blir norsk og at den væsentlige del kan gjøres her hjemme. Derved vil jo mange norske arbeidere faa beskjeftigelse. Arbeidet vil bli utført for den væsentlige del paa stedet, men dels ogsaa ved De-No-Fa. - Der gaar stadig rykter om samarbeide mellem Norsk Hydro og F. G. Farbenindustri (Badische)? - Det er det absolut intet i. Jeg bemyndiger Dem til kategorisk at dementere disse rykter. [?]
Argus. Vinterens indsamling starter idag.
A / S Drammensruten. Argus. Vinterens indsamling starter idag.» Aftenposten «har erklært sig villig til ogsaa iaar at foreta en Argusindsamling til indtækt for» Pauvres honteux «. Vistnok er leveomkostningene gaat noget ned, men til gjengjæld er arbeidsledigheten blit større. Mange bedrifter og kontorer har maattet indskrænke sit personale. Og vi har specielt lagt merke til, at for dem som paa grund herav eller paa grund av sygdom er kommet ut av arbeide er det vanskeligere end nogensinde at finde nyt arbeide. Der er ingen nye arbeidschanser. Dette har i ikke liten grad øket Argus ' allerede for rikelig tilstrækkelige klientel av ansøkere. Saa underlig det end kanske kan høres, synes vi derfor allerede at ha set truende tegn til, at den kommende vinter netop for den klasse av nødlidende som Argus tar sig av vil bli minst like vanskelig som nogensinde. Allerede længe har det underlige tog av raadløse og hjælpeløse mennesker vandret op til Arguskontorets dør, men kun for at finde den stængt. Vi har set mange gaa graatende bort. Der vil idag, naar» Aftenposten «læses og Argusindsamlingen begynder, dæmre haab i mange sind. Det er da vor inderlige bøn til Argus ' venner, at de ikke maa gaa træt, men ogsaa denne vinter trods vanskelige tider og store skatter skaffe os en god Argusindsamling. R. Lexow Breck. Einar Diesen. Johs. Hygen. [?]
Middagen paa Slottet mandag.
[?] Kongen og Dronningen gir som nævnt mandag galamiddag paa Slottet i anledning av den finske præsidents besøk. Til middagen er indbudt Stortingets præsident, statsraadets medlemmer, Høiesterets justitiarius, herværende fremmede legationschefer; kommanderende general og admiral, Universitetets og Landbrukshøiskolens rektorer, Oslo fylkesmand, biskop, ordfører og borgermester, Akershus kommandant m. fl. Stor gaardsbrand paa Jæderen.