New Ulm review. (New Ulm, Brown County, Minn.) 1892-1961, 1910-10-12
TKRUPP BACK BONE
| OF GERMAN ARMY
Monster Works Marvel and
Fear Of World.
OUTGROVITH OF VILLAGE FORGE

ton of S45,o 900, With Plants All
Over kaiser's Empire - Old Fritz,
Largest Of Giant Triphammers, Still
Used at Essen.
In these days, when half the world is
watching Germany and wondering
what she will do next i'll the way of
Krupp works constitute the hinge and
pivot on which Germany's military
strength turns. They are a constant
menace to her foes. It is here that
militant Germany's inventive genius
and productive power are concentrate
ed, and here is the. birthplace of myr-
lads Of engines destined to deal out
death and destruction to those who
venture to thwart the Teuton will.
The Krupp works dominate the
whole Of Essen, a town of about 30O,-
600 Inhabitants. Situated in the cen
ter, close to the railway, they, together
with their attendant institutions, COW
er an area of 500 acres
Two thousand trucks and fifty loco
motives rush along these tracks daily,
. conveying Germany's guns, armor
plates, ammunition and shells to Ger
man garrisons, forts, ports and harbors
Six thousand tons of coal, coke and
briquets are poured daily into the
huge creatures rapaciOus jaws. One
and quarter million tons Of fuel are
required annually to appease it's in.
satiable appetite.
Passes Hard to Get.
1t will be plain to the most casual
observer that in such circumstances,
where Germany's future, prestige and
fate are concerned, it is almost impos-
sible for the foreigner to gain access
to the works. Argus eyed janitors,
semimilitary guards and trusty agents
have to be passed and perhaps outwit-
ted before the stranger can approach
the precincts of Krupp's.
To great many persons the name of
Krupp implies only the vast gun and
armor plate factory at Essen. This
conception does not correspond to facts.
The firm comprises, in addition to the
! Essen factory. huge shipbuilding yard
the Germania-at Kiel, three coal
mines employing 10000 men, iron ore
mines in Germany and Spain, three
| huge smelling works at Fingers, Neu,
wied and Sayn, the Gruson armor plate
works near Magdeburg, the Amen
| steel works at Amen, the "Friedrich
Alfred" smelling works at Rheinhau-
| sen-Friemersheim and shipping
wharf, with ocean going steamships, at
| Rotterdam. Feb. / last there was a
total of 1852 men employed at these
establishments, including 6,779 officials.
AS striking instance of German en-.
ergy, tenacity of purpose and thor
oughness it is interesting to go back to
| the humble origin of the mighty con-
Germ.
Starting in 1910 in the small cottage
factory with six workmen, Friedrich
Krupp began operations with the dog
ged purpose of achieving fame. Sac.
| rifcing both resources and health tc
the object in view, he bequeathed at
his death in 1926 nothing but small
forge and his secret of making cruel
BILE steel to his son Alfred, then four
teen years of age. How this lad, i'm
bued by similar spirit, converted as
If by magician's wand the little forge
into the huge works Of the present
day, works that have made his name
renowned in every quarter of the
| globe, is a matter of common knowl
edge
Alfred Krupp died, and his son
Friedrich Alfred Krupp, the friend OF
the kaiser, reigned in his stead, con
tinuing the same victorious path unit
Nov. %, 1902, when he followed his
fathers. After his death the works
passed into the hands Of the eldest
daughter, Fraulein Bertha Krupp, the
richest woman in Europe, and were
converted into company with a cap
ital of $45.Ooo,0oo on July 1, 1903.
Works Contain Many Wonders.
1t is impossible for the unintiatel
visitor to gather anything but a feet
ing impression of the multifarious ma
ture Of the work carried on in the vast
establishment, and it would take weeks
to visit the sixty-five different depart
ments that exist at Essen alone
The famous steam hammer Fritz, thu
giant of the 100 steam hammers. il
still at work In the ssestabl ishment
Fritz was constructed in 1860 by AL
fred Krupp at a cost OF $5OO,OOO.. Al
| that time Krupp's competitors regard
ed his intention to set up the giant
hammer, which possesses falling
weight Of fifty tons, as sign of in
c1pient madness. Undeterred, Krupl
continued, and today, after Fritz has
been at work for fifty years, he is al
useful as ever.
In the armor plate department arr
seen huge hydraulic presses, Of which
II fhoFc or n ~, (.