Kingsbury County independent. (DeSmet, Kingsbury County, S.D.) 1894-1929, 1910-07-01
We WILL BURN
fWG MILLIONS
Uncle Sam Intends TO Create a
Racket and Wont Begrudge
Small Change.
ROCKETS HARD TO MAKE
Novelties Are Constantly Being Intro
duced-H How Firecrackers and
Rockets Are Made on the
Fireworks Farm"

Chicago Tribune: 1t is reckqIIed that
1 1000, 900 worth of fireworks will be
transformed into flame and smoke on
the coming anniversary, and that an
| other million will undergo explosive
combustion in the shape OF tirecrack-
ers. or torpedoeS, something like 900
million will be set off. largely by little
girls whose prudent parents justly re-
gard his kind of miniature bomb as
least Objectionable. 1t must be said,
however, that some torpedoes, which
are as big as onions and contain dYna-
matte, are exceedingly dangerous and at
all hazards to be avoided.
There Is a new kind of ~firecraeker
called the mandarin" which comes In
huge packs OF 10000 to $4,000 all oon-
nected by a single fuse. Perhaps you
can imagine the racket made by such a
bunch when 1t goes off. or course,
these crackers come from China. We
manufacture great quantities of large
sized ones In this country, but all OF
the small crackers are imported irons
the FAowery kingdom, and the X
get only 30 cents for a box or forty
packs. That means nearly $500 hre-
crackers for the sum mentioned. or
eighty for a cent.
Philadelphia Spends Most,
Philadelphia uses more fireworks, than
any other city. New York comes next,
then Chicago and next st. Louis. The
greatest factory of rockets and py:o-
technic contrivances is on Staten ISL
and. and one section of it's plant is
given up TO the manufacture or tor
pedoes. The first step in making COM
mon torpedoes is to daub large sheets
of paper with ''gobs' of a paste COM
posed of an explosive mixture The
paper is then cut into small round
\ pieces, which are rolled up, with a car
and some fine gravel in each. Usually
there are several t~hicknesses Of tissue.
paper used. and the making of the
! more expensive grades of torpedoes inr
wolves processes comparatively elab-
crate.
The plant on Staten island is known.
as the Fireworks Farm" 1t covers q
square mile, Enclosed BY a, high board
fenee to keep u all intruders, and
scattered about the place are about
100 buildings of corrugated iron, hoored
with cement. If one of the buildings
blows up there is no danger or invoiy-
ing the others In q general disaster:
The really dangerous part of the work.
however. is done in small wooden
structures, each occupied by only one
man and a machine. No great amount
OF gunpowder is kept ON hand at any
time, so that whatever peril there may
be Is minimizeo.
How Pyrotechnics Are Made.
The processes used in the manufae-
ture Of fireworks are much more simple
than most people suppose. OF ma
terials the three that are chief and Inn
portant are a fine quality of straw
board. an explosive compound ~(co2nsist'
ing OF ~gunpowder. saltpeter and char
coaD, and tissue paper. The straw.
| board is used for making the tubes ant
cases, which are filled with b com
| pound and finally covered with the tbs
sue paper. In the construction of thu
so-calied set pieces" hundreds OF such
tubes are put together. being nailed Z
/ a frame and connected by a continuou.
fuse. Each Fourth of July demand
new designs In set pieces, and some o
them his yea cost as high ms 5000.
The beginning of a set piece is
drawing, which is handed over to
carpenter to be reproduced IN strips O
wood fastened together with glue am
nails. Thus is produced the frame OF
which the tubes containing "
plesiye compounds are fastened. Va
rious chemicals are employed TO civ,
different colors to the FIRE, and thes
4 are mostly salts of metals-copper 70
blue, barium for green, sodium for vel
low, calcium for red. and strontium 70
crimson. The rest Is only a matter o
adjusting the little parcels OF nre-Siuf
and connecting them suitably by fuses
Rockets Arc Hard to Make.
Rock cts require more skill in thei
manufacture h any other kind o
fireworks. The ~pasteboard case mus
be OF q certain diameter In proportion
to it's length. and the packing has 4
be performed With he utmost care Z
insure the proper ascent OF the con
trivance and the scattering OF Its starr
or whatnot AT the precise de
sired. In the cylindrical, part Is the ex'
psosivs compound which causes TIL
rocket to rise; the conical top Is sep
arate and contains the stars or what
necessary that the explosive compoun,
shall be burnett through just at n,