Evening journal., 1895-10-05
THE HIGH EXPLOSIVE.
Millions of Pounds Being
Manufactured Near Here.
vAsTNEss OF ITS PBET-UP FoRoB


Neiebborhood to Rend the Earth Into
Fragments ~ Properly Piacsd 90 At
Least That Is the Declaration of a
Powder Mau who Admits That the
Declaration May BE an ExaKgeration.
Explosives are playing a stupendous
part In the daily doings Of the world IL
wss a powder manufacturer who spoke
aud the person addressed was an EVEN
mo JOURNAL reporter
Have you ever considered that within
radius of one hundred miles OF your
beautiful little city explo Ives are manu-
tactured in quantities which, II properly
placed, are almost sufficient to blow the
earth from the frmamentf'
The newspaper man intimAted that he
had never locked at the matter In exactly
that light and said that be would not
was tried
well, perhaps / axaggerate little,
said the powder man. "but millions OF
pounds OF the most powerful explosives
known are being manufactured at your
very doors.
"When l say that they are doing a
stupendous work l have no reference
TO their use In war mean that they
are aiding man TO overcome apparently
insnrmountsble obstacles encountered
by him in the no manifold paths Of human
enterprise. They are accomplishing, in
the twlnkling Of an eye. what 1t would
require other agencies months TO
perform
When pressed TO 90 into details regard
l.. .t.1 II.
he said:
"Thsy blast out the rocks aud permit
trains to pass through mountRins; nearly
all Of the difficult grading is now done by
means Of blasting: the precious and
useful metals are blown from their beds.
aud, In Winter, the masses Of frozsn ore
are shattered and made portable
Blasting powder is the quarrymRn's best
friend, and even brickmRkers hnd IL
useful in getting out the large quantities
of clay which they need In the mauufact-
ure OF their product. The high explosive
Is one Of the mariner 8 chisfest safeguards,
for its gigantic work In the nature Of
sub marine blasting, removing wrecks
and blowing up derelicts has rendered
navigation much easier and less perilous
than 1t was before this powerful sgency
was invoked
by the blowing up OF Ice gorges
millions Of dollars worth OF property is
saved every year and the danger 20
human life. as the result Of the backing
Of the waters Of the rivers, Is reduced TO
minimum. Log Jams and roll ways
are broken in the same way. much to
the advantage and profit Of the lumber
men.
"The farmer. who formerly spent half
a day In digging up a big stump or
removing g boulder, now does IL in a
few minutes bF replacing thu spade, pick
and axe with few pounds OF explosive
Even the landscape gardener blasts holes
for the transplznting OF trees, and q
magnificent monarch OF the forest may
bs blown clean out OF the ground by the
iudicious insertion of a few cartridges
among It's roots
docs not great dsnger attend the
use Of high explosives2" asked the re-
porter
mo; Il has been reduced to almost
nothing Millions OF pounds OF all kinds
Of explosives are shipped every year aud
few If any explosions take place in transit
even when collisions occur on the rail-
roads. have known instances where
the cars containing powerful explosives
we're wrecked, the boxes burst open aud
the cartridges sent in every direction,
but no explosion followed a good com
mel cial explosive will Withstand both
heavy shocks and rough handling"
What do you term high explosiveY'
"Any composition which has nitro
glycerlne for its active principle. The
absorbant Is called a dope which by
chemical process, mimimlz IS the pro.
duction OF nOxious gases, or, In ether
words, does away with the fumes"
What Is the effect Of heat and cold
upon the active principle
MY observation has been that it will
explode when exposed to q heat OF 360
degrees Fahrenheit, and freszs at 40
degrees. IL burns without exploding
when in the open air, but you want to
keep fire away from II when 1t is
confined.
Have you ever seen Ice blastsd2
MANY a time, and IL Is an interesting
spectacle There are several methods
employed, because OF the different kinds
OF work Suppose a river is so frozen
that navigation is closed. 1t is necessary
to open the channel The process Is very
simple Holes are cut in the ice and
charges varying from half pound to
Eve pounds in weight are passed
through them aud suspended by w're or
cord at distance Of from eight inches
to Eve or six feet beneath the neither side
Of the ice. The deeper the charge is
hung the wider its sphere Of influence,
for there is lass force spent In throwing
into the air the ice and water displaced. A
charge suspended fve feet under fresh
water ice 3s inches thick will break circle
Of nearly two hundred feet ia circumfer
ence. Salt water Ice, which Is nearly
always rotten. can be broken In sixty-
foot circles with from 3 half to three
quarters Of pound Of the explosive II
is quick work. and a few men can &C
complish a great deal in one day Float
ing Ice is broken by throwing the charge
to the middle of the cake.
when It comes to an Ice gorge the
charge has 10 be increased. sometimes
| going up as high as twenty Eve pounds.
The weakest points in the gorge are
selected for the placing Of the charge
The battery Is usually employed to set
them of, II being safer than the fuse BY
reason Of the uneven surface over which
the workmen have tn beat their retreat
after placing the explosives In position
Il a slip a fall and a Burning fuse might