Evening journal. [volume] (Wilmington, Del.) 1888-1932, 1888-08-02
W0OLWICH ARSENAL.
VISIT TO THE FACTORY WHERE
BIG GUNS ARE MADE.


Range Cannon-wooIwichs Famous
"Infants''-The Bullet Machino-cap
and Cartridge Making shops--The Output.
As it is mainly TO Woolwich that the coun-
try must look for formidable weapons and
improved war material, went down to the
arsenal few days ago to see what was to be
seen. Having satisfactorily established our
Identity We were furnished with a capable
guide from among the skilled worllmen, and
at once started upon our tour of observation
and inquiry. The huge chimneys lone Of
them several feet higher than the monu-
menO, tho enormous blast furnaces belching
forth sheets Of savage flame, the din Of the
steam hammers, the rattle Of gear and
wheels all about us, and the coaly sooty
aspect OF the place generally, were very much
more suggestive Of Lancashire or a bit of the
Black country than Of peaceful, pastoral
Kent.
Today the boundary walls embrace an area
Of 1888 acres, not including the proof marshes
and torpedo creeks, and the number Of men
and lads IN daily employ reaches often TO
14,0C0 even in these piping times Of peace.n
The weekly wage sheet must average sonc-
thing like 100000 The men are divided
into two shifts, and they take day and night
turns in alternate weeks, 50 that the ma
chinery Of the arsenal may be said never to
rest
MECHANICAL APPLIANCES.
The mechanical appliances in use at Wool
wich for the manipulation of the misses Of
molten steel and hammered metal used in
gun making are perfect specimens Of rare
constructive skill. They have, indeed, been
pronounced by experts to be the best exam
pies of operative ingenuity in use anywhere
at the present time. We were amused, and
at the same time astonished, for instance, at
the absurdly easy manner in which the huge
travelling cranes moved hither and thither in
the rolling and boring shops, picking up and
carrying about tons Of metal just as easily
as a child carries about ball. Both these
departments, where the metal is prepared
for tho gun factory proper, were working at
high pressure. In tho shell turnery, shrap-
mel, Palliser and other projectiles of divers
weight and pattern were shown US in vast
quantities.
Passing on to the gun factory proper, which
is the great center Of attraction Just now to
oil visitors, whether military or civilian, we
find ourselves surrounded by huge masses Of
glowing metal in process Of forging, welding
and shrinking or undergoing a curious
process Of disemboweling by means Of a pow
erfuly constructed borer. Gangs Of work
men were busily engaged in heating, saving
and planning sections OF guns of all sizes and
shapes, which ore intended for the navy, the
field as occasion may require, and harbor
and homo defense. The great object in view
here at the present time is to provide as soon
as possible for the needs Of the coaling sta
tions, upon the security Of which so much
would depend in time of war. Tho guns are
shipped or from the arsenal pier as they are
turned out, but the work OF constructing a
"Woolwich infant is by no means as expe-
ditious as could be desired. This new form
Of weapon is not made out Of ono solid cast
| ing, but Of several distinct hoops or rings Of
solid and carefully prepared steel The base
! Of the gun is upended, and one ring after an
! other is fitted upon it while the metal is ia a
] red hot state, each hoop slightly overlapping
| she other and shrinking rs it cools. The
careful preparation of the metal and the con-
struction Of the splendid machinery for the
adjustment Of the rings Of which che gun Is
built up are matters about which the arsenal
authorities are wisely reticent. In fact, next
- no information is given in these depart
taents to visitors, and it is scarcely TO be ex-
peoted in these days OF international co1npe-
which can be made at any cost.
wooLvIcH's. FAMOUS 'INFANTs.n
The speciality Of Woolwich is its big guns,
its now famous and historic "infanfsr This
particular class Of gun is made nowhere else,
and, fact, is a local production altogether
Of the brains and sinews Of the arsenal hands
themselves the inventor of tho most import
ant process connected with its manufacture
I,of,, !
ing of these huge monsters Of destruction,
which will carry a bail Of a ton weight over
a distance Of seven and half miles, the lar
gest steam hammer in the world, with a
striking force Of thousand tons, is EN-
ployed.
The bullet machine Is always an attraction
to visitors. 1t is worked in the simplest way
by lad, who, by turning a handle, hour
after hour produces an unending stream of
these glittering messengers Of DEATH which
drop from the lips Of the clover continuance
without cessation from morning till night. I
heard n curious fact in connection with our
English bullets-namely, that one only in
every hundred and seventy-four "iinds its
billet in the body Of the unfortunate enemy.
The German average is even lower 1t is
somewhat comforting, therefore, to think, as
one gazes on the silver death shower, raining
from the lips Of the hundreds Of bullet ma
chimes in the arsenal, that after all, every
bullet NO saw cleaning so viciously in the
heaps before us did not represent the life Of a
human being, be he German, Turk or Kaffir.
tits striking sight to watch the manipula-
tion Of the tiny bits Of metal by the iron
fingers and supple hands OF tho deaf ma
ohinery in the cap and cartridge making
shops Each Of these delicately constructed
tools will turn out, it issaid, 1000 900 caps per
week. The minutest portion Of each cap and
cartridge is carefully examined las indeed, is
every detail Of the output Of the arsenal) to
SEQ that nothing imperfect finds its way into
tho pouches or hands Of our brave soldiers in
the moment OF danger when face to face with
the enemy Sin the deadly breachn OF on the
field Of battle. The cartridges which jammed
and the bayonets which bent in those terrible
struggles in the Soudan were supplied BY
contractors and not BY the arsenal.-Pall
Mall Budget.
little Olive OIL Imported.
| r. sc oIr,rrf rofa - e,.- st.,4 A.. =. -