The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1915-10-03
Worlds Biggest Small
Arms and Ammuni-
ton Plant Built to
Fill War Orders From
the Allies
y, .. HERBERT DuCk " ORTIZ.

r. SSEN. In Germany. the home
- Of the krupps. has a rival in
IL Bridgeport In Connecticut
With orders for munitions
Tor the Allies estimated to amount in
the aggregate to $4,000. 900. the
city Ia organizing itself into a tre-
mendous plant for turning out thou
I'M Of small naval and field guns.
millions OF rifles and shells and biz
lions Of cartridges.
The biggest factory ever built at
one time in n country in the world
- being rushed to completion for the
Remington-Union Metallic Cartridge
Company at Bridgeport, and when its
giant power house gels going and its
countless lathes m to tHrn,
ats output Of small arms. cartridges
n shells will exceed. il il said. that
OF the great Krupp works at Essen.
From a city engaged largely in
peaceful arts and industries. Bridge
port has become overnight a Jealous
inc energetic handservant of Mars.
Under the coaxing touch Of ten.
twenty and thirty million dollar or
ders that were showcred upon her
manufacturers by agents of the Al.
lies the place has been transformed.
An army os factory hsnds--men,
women and ~ch!idren-who u year ago
were quietly jogging along making
cOrsets. sewing machines. baby car
riages. monographs and typew riters.
are now occupied on rush orders for
shells and cartridge eases. MaXims.
quick firers, rifles and other small
arms.
Even the winter headquarters Of
Barnum and Bailey Circus and Buff
falo Bills Wild Wes; Show have
failed to Escape tn effects Of war.
English, French and Italian rcmount
officers. on the lookout for animals
20 drag cannon over the hattletields
Of Europe. have taken from those two
posing parade horses.
Block after block Of fram. houses
has been put up in the outskirts y!
the city to shelter the large influx Of
workmen. The Remington Arms
Company alone has erected some
1000 two family homes. at a cost Of
S. 200, 900. to house its 5000 en-
ployees and their families. h total
payroll of these 5000 workers.
those at present employed ut tho old
vorks--amounts to about Sl.95O,OO0
n month Before the end of the year
there will probably Ice 10000 en-
ployees at the old and 1900 at the
new plant.
At the employment bureau at. The
new plant they are already signing
an u.nrkayS Til, ,,,, vs',. nv, fnnl-
ing to Bridgeport from all parts ~
the country. be.ides having 10 produce
satisfactory references. are put
through a special examination in or
der to weed out Germans. Austrians
and HunGarians. Only neutral> and
pro-Allies are wanted.
Tha:G rea; Britain. at any rate. did
not expect a short war-and Lord
Kitchener said ct the outset that ii
might last three Ncars-wnuld seem
10 be proved by the new Union Me-
tallic Cartr.der plant. England de-
cided IL have this cnormGus structure
built-and this Is what It practically
amounts to-befure the war was two
months old. TN tho strength % huge
orders. which 1t il said will take three
years to Ill. The Remington Company
had plans drawa up for a new plant
m a scale never before attempted in
this country or abroad.
A strip of ground a mile long and
nearly a quarter of a mil. wide. ad-
joining the original works, which
cover half a mile of land. was cleared
in less than a month of houses and
trees and the foundations begun. Now