The Bourbon news. [volume] (Paris, Ky.) 1895-19??, 1899-09-12
POWDER MILLS.
The Work on the Government Plant
Near Indian Head Being Pushed.
Altogether the Group of Buildings Will
Number "a or 20 With Capacity
of 1900 Pounds Daily-The Plant
Covers Wide Area.

WASHINGTON, Sept. 1.-THE navy
department expects to begin the man
! ufacture of smokeless powder at its
powder mills, a few miles back from
the Potomac river, near Indian Head,
within the next two or three m nths.
Work on the mills has been pushed
theoretically, and at present about
1, 200 men are employed. Adm. O'Neil,
chief of bureau of ordnance, accom-
panied by Lieut.. Seymour, of the bu-
reau, inspected the work during the
last week, and was much pleased at the
progress made. Already about a dozen
buildings are completed, the electric
light plant, said to be one of the finest
in the world, is installed, and the stand
pipe, 100 feet high, is up. There are
ten or twelve other buildings we'll
along toward completion. Altogether
the group of buildings will number "a
or %. with capacity of 1000 pounds
of smobeless powder daily. This daily
output seems large at first thought,
but one of the big 13-inch guns of the
Indiana uses 1000 pounds of powder at
single shot.
The various buildings of the powder
plant cover wide area about four
miles back from the river. The gen.
eral purpose has been to keep the
buildings as far apart as the require
fc 0f -
in order to avoid the dangers of explo-
sions., For that reason there is no
large central building but many small
ones, each having a distinct branch of
the powder making. They are ar
arranged, also, with view to the pre-
vailing winds, so that the-risk of hav-
ing the fumes of acid borne by the
wind is reduced to minimum.
One building is us, exclusively for
the picking process; another for the
mixing; another for the acids. In this
way each stage of manufacture is de-
tached from all the others, not only re-
ducing the chances of accident, but
also giving some security against wide
spread damage in case of explo-
sion in any one stage of
the process. Another precautionary
measure has been the building of light
'tpaper" walls at the ends of the build
ings These readily give to the pres
sure of an explosion, leaving the main
walls of the structure standing, and
materially reducing the loss which oc-
ours when an explosion is closely con-
fined.
In order to connect the many build
ings and permit the powder process to
be carried on expeditiously, a COM
plete trolley car service is to be in OBJ
Grafton. This will keep the material
in its various stages moving forward
from building to building until COM
pleted. The electric light plant serves
the three fold purpose of running the
machinery, running the trolley car
service from mill to mill, and supply
ing light for the plant.
The opening of the mills will mark
distinct departure by the govern
ment. Heretofore all the supplies Of
powder have been drawn from private
sources. The first appropriation made
by congress for a powder factory was
about $500, 600, but in the last naval
appropriation bill 81 900, 600 was given
for the purchase ''or manufacture" of
powder. This permits a part of the
last appropriation to be used for the
mills now in course of construction.