The Washington herald. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1906-1939, 1906-12-31
Great Force of Men in Ship
yards and Arsenal.
DEPENDS NOW ON NO NATION
Country Manufacturing Her Own
MeR-of-war, Equipment, and Tor
pedoes-Desns.e Heavy War Debt Is
Spending 1OO.OOO,OOO Yen on
Fleet of Thirry-six Vessels.

. en- route from TOKYO 10 LONDON, VINO TOT
the last three years has enjoyed peculiar
/. OPPORTUNITIES for observation, by virtue of
his business relations with the japanese
war Office. to-day gave TO your representa-
tive some facts concerning Japan's re-
serve war strength In terms Of arsenal
and shipyard production
Since the war. he said, the war Office
gin Tokyo has been as chary Of admitting
foreigners to the knowledge of what was
being done in the manufacture of war
material as it was during the struggle.
Other than possible information gathered
by the secret agents Of the European war
Offices, the world at large has no con
ception of the high-pressure work that is
going on in all the war factories OF Japan.
nor is anything known Of the facilities
these factories possess for scientific pro-
ductiOn OF Instruments of war.
$4,000 Day and Night in ArsenaIs.
Japan has two military arsenals, en-
ploying approximately 5000 workmen-
These arsenaIs have extra night shifts,
and at times they are run week in and
week out continuously. The empire oper-
stes four shipyards and naval arsenals
IN two of them battle ships have been
Quilt, and are now building. Aside from
these. there is a government steel works
for the production Of armor plate and
material for big guns, a government
powder factory, and two auxiliary private
shipysrds and dry docks, capable Of being
used for war purposes within twenty-four
hours
This, in the mass, is the potential war
Of To- r~-~tsr. -
the works there is at present not one
foreigner. neither teacher nor workman.
The gates are closed to every japanese
who is not in the employ OF the govern
ment
The navy yards at kure. on the inland
sea, are the largest and best equipped
in Japan. There are between s. 900 and
5000 maChinists, artisans. and laborers
living there. Admiral Yamaguchi is COM
mander Of the Kure naval station.
Can Make Entire Battle ships.
At Kure there are four dry docks cap
able of receiving a battle ship Of the first
class. a complete shipbuilding plant. and
= naval arsenal for the manufacture Of
Is guns
e dry docks are of the latest pat
It is here that several Of the cap
+ Russian ships which were raised
Port Arthur have been completely re-
Instructed and placed in commission.
The Kure shipbuilding plant is fitted
almost entirely with English machinery
SThe keel of a battle ship can be laid
down at Kure and the whole vessel built
with no importation either OF machinery
4 Tor Of armament
Up to a recent time the Kure yards had
been supplied with armor plate from
English and American mills Recently.
with the erection of the imperial steel
works, ten miles outside OF Moji, on the
west coast of the Island Of Kiushiu, and
OF an armOr plate plant at KuTe, the
japanese shipbuilders have not had to
rely on foreign made armor plate, but
import only the unfinished steel and make
their own fOrgings. Since the signing OF
the treaty with Great Britain the steel
for japanese battle ships has been
bought almost entirely in the English
sgnaTket
Produces All Kinds of Guns.
the present time a sister ship of the
le ship Satsuma, recently launched
he YOk0suka naval yards, which is
Ter than the Dreadnaught, is under
Vrse Of construction in the Kure ship
s2nament is being forged in the gun
factory adjacent. The Kure naval /
arsenal. employing over 5000 men, makes /
guns OF al sizes, from three to twelve (
lchss. The guns are Of the English pat /
i'm and the machinery for the produc- |
tel is English
tiorides big guns for the navy the Kure /
Reals will soon be ready to turn out 4
arse rifles and disappearing guns for /
baa fortiications. A special plant, in /
laned within the past year. has already \
stall at work on fertilization artillery /
hkmaller caliber. All the guns OF this /
already mounted on the Japanese /
cast batteries have been of English /
manufacture.
Independent of Other Nations.
Yokosuka naval yards, next in size, are /
situated on Yokohama Bay. about fifteen /
miles from the city of Yokohama. The /
Yokosuka yards comprise a shipbuilding
plant three drydocks, machine and re-
pairing shops, and a torpedo factory, the /
only one in Japan. The whole yards i
cover about $50 acres and about $500
men are employed in the various depart
ments.
The shipbuilding plant at Yokosuka
IS about as large as that at Kure. A bat
tie ship can be laid, constructed. and
launched ready for commission in these
yards.
In speaking Of naval construction in
Japan The Herald's informant was care
ful to explain that at the present time
the naval engineers at Tokyo are pre-
pairing, absolutely unaided. all the plans
and specifications for the forthcoming
home-built navy.
The torpedo factory connected with the /
fOkOSuka naval yard manufactures all /
the torpedoes used on the ships and by /
engineers for the protection OF harbors. /
The dirigible torpedo for use on tor 1
Pedo boats or battle ships is Of the Eng
hsh type, but charged according to a /
secret formula Of the japanese
Two smaller naval stations there are.
one at Maidzuru, on the west coast of 4
the main island Of Hondo. about fifty
miles above Shimonoseki, and the other
at Sasebo, on the west coast Of the lower
Island Of Kiushiu. above Nagasak
Biggest Arsenal at Tokyo.
The naval programme announced from
Tokyo recently purposes making Maid
zuru an arsenal second only to that Of
Kure- torpedo plant is being installed
there, and the manufacture of shells for
naval batteries will be undertaken as
soon as the extensive plant already or
dered can be put in operation.
The largest military arsenal in Japan Is
at Tokyo. Here there is a complete plant
for the manufacture of small arms. field
artillery, cavalry equipment. and cart
ridges