Personnel

Last week the following were news:

Frederic Ely Williamson was elected president of New York Central Rail-road Co. succeeding Patrick Edward Crowley. At the same time the office of chairman of the executive committee, until recently held by the late Albert Hall Harris, was abolished. Also abolished was Central's $1 quarterly dividend. Directors said any future payments would be semiannual, that their next consideration of the question would be in May.

William P. Kenney was elected president of Great Northern Railway Co., succeeding Ralph Budd, who became president of Chicago, Burlington & Quincy Railroad Co. after Frederic Ely William-son left to head New York Central. Great Northern, only U. S. railroad with no common stock outstanding, declared a semi-annual dividend of $1 on its preferred against $1.50 paid last half-year.

Harold Edwin Foreman, onetime board chairman of Foreman-State National Bank, Chicago, was "retained for special executive work" by the Insull group of utilities. Last summer Foreman-State merged in a hurry with First National (TIME, June 15). Its president, Walter William Head, who had been in office only 18 months when the crisis came, has moved on to be president of Morris Plan Corp. of America (TIME, Nov. 23).

Andrew Weir, Baron Inverforth, P. C., 66, was elected president of Thomas J. Lipton, Inc. succeeding the late great Sir Thomas Johnstone Lipton. Self-made like Sir Thomas, Lord Inverforth started his career when he left school at 15 to work in a bank. Five years later he fulfilled a deep-rooted ambition when he bought a sailing ship for the coastwise trade, ten years later went into steam. After the turn of the century he became prominent in both banking and shipping, lived quietly, reinvested his increasing fortune. He was raised to the peerage in 1919 after he became Minister of Munitions. During the War he was Surveyor General of Supplies, directed the expenditure of over $2,400,000,000. His close friendship with Sir Thomas began in 1927 when he became chairman of Marconi Co. and a director of Lloyd's Bank. In his will Sir Thomas appointed him one of six trustees of his estate, estimated at $3,910,000. Lord Inverforth is now chairman of the trustees.

P. G. Mitchell, general manager of Royal Mail Steam Packet Co., succeeded jailed Lord Kylsant as chairman. No spectacular figure is the new chairman. He entered the company as a junior clerk 39 years ago. His father was with Royal Mail 50 years before him.

Ernst Glaessel, 53, head of Roland Line before it was merged with North German Lloyd, was elected chairman of the board of management of N. G. L., succeeding the late Dr. Carl J. Stimming.

General Plutarco Elias Calles, 53, "Strong Man of Mexico," Secretary of War and onetime President, was elected head of Compania Hulera Mexicana, newly organized to make synthetic rubber. In January the company will have a factory ready to produce 400 motor tires and 5,000 rubber heels daily. The formula is the work of one Julio Tellez Giron, 46, research chemist who spent 17 years developing his theory that petroleum in its early stages closely resembles rubber. His process is to take crude petroleum, mix it with ground sugar cane. This compound is refined, fried in the sun, vulcanized with sulphur.* Compania Hulera Mexicana is capitalized at $115,000, has for directors sub-Secretary of War General Abelardo Rodriquez, Secretary of Industry Aron Saenz, Foreign Secretary Genaro Estrada.

*Raw materials for Duprene, the synthetic rubber lately announced by the duPont interests, are coal and limestone (carbonate), salt and water (TIME, Nov. 16).

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