Harrisburg telegraph. [volume] (Harrisburg, Pa.) 1879-1948, 1915-11-12
would enable it to overtalSe most bat

would enable it to overtalle most bat
tleships, but not battle cruisers.
A small submarine suitable for coast
defense work costs in the neighbor-
hood of & half million and a sea-going
submarine between a million and a
million and a half.
It is in the small arms and ammuni-
tion industry that the great expansion
has taken place in Bridgeport. The
Remington and Union Metallic Com
panies have made this within the last
year one of the worlds great centers,
for the making of rifles and cart
ridges.
The cartridge company had one fac
tory here. 1t now has nine and its
capacity has been multiplied by at
least that number. The Remington
Arms Company was not represented
here a year ago at all, it's original fac
tory being at Ilion, New York. Ground
was broken last December for what
is now one of the greatest rifle and
bayonet shops. 1t is almost complete
and in partial operation. At present
there are about 5000 employees and
this number is to be increased at the
rate of 1000 a month until there are
$4,000. Meanwhile the company has
purchased a large tract of land where
X is building a whole village of model
u6ldCntu IlouSeS LOT llS prospective
employees. These will be rented at a
nominal sum, or may be purchased at
cost on easy terms. They bear no
resemblance to the tinder and paper
shacks of other war-boom towns
They are brick houses with porches
and garden.
The man who conducted the well
fare work for the employees of the
Canal Commission on the Isthmus of
d.. h I..A L
he does not like to have his name
mentioned in newspapers is in charge
of the welfare work here. He has
organized bowling and rifle clubs, a
foremen'S club, provided the en-
ployes with tennis courts, conducts a
mutual benefit organization for them
takes care of them when they are
sick. and listens to all their grievances.
He has a system of justice by which
any man discharged by a foreman
may appeal to him and be reinstated
if the circumstances warrant it.
AS all of these things indicate, there
is nothing temporary about Bridge
ports new arms factory. Officers Of
the company state that 1t will con-
tinue to do a large business after the
war is over, despite the fact that the
greater part of its present business,
and in fact it's very existence are due
The confidence of these men In the
future of the industry is based upon
the belief that America is to displace
Germany as the armorer of the world.
Almost all of the nations bought arms
from Germany before the war. But
after the present struggle, the mem
bers of the entente, who have been
her best customers are not going to
buy anything from Germany that
they can get elsewhere. Then there
are all the other countries that need
rifles-South America, for example,
and China, whose army Is said to have
ten different kinds of rifles. so that
when a Chinese soldier wants to load
his gun he sometimes has to try sew
eral cartridges before finding one that
will fit.
So, with German exports cut off,
and half the world against her, the
American gun makers see an oppor-
tunity beyond the immediate one, and
are prepared accordings~.
All of these factories are guarded
with military care. force of about
barracks. This is necessary not only
to guard against spies and cranks. but
to protect the public from explosions.
Cartridge factories are compelled to
keep on hand large quantities of
fulmenite for use In their primers
This dangerous material has to be
kept wet as it will often explode from
combustion when dry Tt
is stored in fimsy sheds, scattered
over the large property of the COM
pany. These structures fly to pieces
when the material explodes causing
much less conclusion than II 1t were