There is no more secretive publicly-owned corporation in the U. S. than Allied Chemical & Dye Corp. Stockholders are told that the corporation is prosperous; but they are never given enough facts to enable them to break down the earnings for a real study. Stockholders know that Allied has some $92,000,000 in investments; they have never been told what these investments are. Because Allied deals not with the public but with companies, some reason for its general aloofness is evident—yet no company's products are of greater importance to the public. Because its business is founded on secret formulas, and, more important, because its success depends upon having more efficient manufacturing processes than its competitors, many of whom are foreign, its secretive attitude is somewhat more understandable. But the heavy silence which shrouds Allied like some dark cloud is a matter of deeper policy than is explained by these facts. It is part and parcel of the company's very life.
Last week there was evidence of big events happening behind the dark cloud. Finally there emerged a terse announcement : Orlando Weber, president, has been granted a leave of absence. Weber. Orlando Franklin Weber is an impressive man. Six feet tall, massive, he has the poise of the physically strong and the alertness of the mentally agile. He likes to go to prizefights and he smokes big black cigars. Other businessmen fear him as sparring partners fear a champion. He is thought of as implacable—and fair. Mr. Weber's life has been as reticent as that of his company. He lives quietly, refuses to be photographed, has never made a public statement beyond that which the annual report of his company demands. In 1916 he left his position as executive vice president of sickly Maxwell Motors to enter the chemical field, in which his good friend Eugene Meyer had large investments. In 1920 he reluctantly assumed presidency of the new Allied Chemical & Dye Corp. He ran it with a harsh discipline. His phenomenal success in creating for the U. S. a chemical company greater than any to be found in Europe is one of the supremely important industrial achievements of the decade. Lately it has been known that he has thought of retiring. Why he was granted a leave of absence last week, for how long it will last, are questions which remain unanswered.