Richmond times-dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1914-current, 1915-10-31

Department heartily Endorsed the loca
! ton of the plant at that point.
LOCATION OFFERS
! FACILITIES FOR DEFENSE,
Seventy miles from the coast. with
the James River as means of COM
munication by water. the Du Ports
picked most favorable location. The
: james is protected by Fortress Monroe.
and the plant is less exposed to de-
struction by possible foreign foe than
the works ut Wilmington. Del. where
ihe original Du 1'ont plant is located.
With Inc improvements being made
by the Norfolk and Western Railway
on its City Point branch. he Hopcwell
plant will have satisfactory railroad
service with direct connection with the
West Virginia coal fields. from which
it will secure It's supply OF fuel. Other
railroads including the Atlantic Coast
Line and Chesapeake and Ohio. are re-
ported to have had their engineers
make preliminary Investigations of
possible routes. although neither has
taken a definite step toward competing
Du Pont traffic to and from Hope
well.
During the first six months in which
construction work on the Du Pont
plant was in progress there were COM
paratively little evidences that the
company had permanent ideas in view
The aim was to get the first units in
working order and much Of the work
was of temporary character. That
is. stumps of trees were used rs cor
ner supports for buildings OF one sto~y
1t was difficult to secure sufficient ma
terial to construct some OF the build
ngs with solid foundations. and the
construction engineers used what was
first available.
PERMANENT CONSTRUCTION
Is NOW THE RULE
For several months past the charac-
ter of the construction work has Un-
dcrgone 4 decided change. Concrtte
is being used in immense quantities for
bases upon which to place structural
steel supports. There are other indi-
cations that the company is now
building along more permanent lines.
These include the use OF brick aud con-
crete In the construction of buildings,
where frame work appeared to suffice
In the cartier days.
The inability OF the company to Sc
cure material i'm amounts required to
keep the construction forces busy has
hampered the completion of the plant
| to n great extent. Fabulous prices
have been paid for carload lots of sand
and gravel. which were ordered by in
dividuals for work in the town of Hope
well, and in several instances the Du
! Pont railroad yard masters have shifted
material cars TO the companys yards
without notifying tho consignees. OF
/ course. the real owner was reimbursed.
! and also paid for the Inconvenience and
delay.
FIFTY MILES OF TRACKS
| IN DI PONT ENCLOSURE:
| An idea of the extent OF the Du Pont
| operations may he had from the fact
| that there are ifty-two miles of rail
road side tracks within the plant in
closure Tracks have been extended to
1 the most important points for the pur-
pose OF receiving raw material to be
used in the plant. as we'll rs to afford
/ convenient loading facilities when the
product is ready for shipment.
! The Norfolk and Western keeps six
engines on the Du Pont yards. in order
! 10 supply inc inOliNc power LOT Snllt-
! ing ears from one section of the plant
to another. The shifting crews are on
the job day and night. working in re-
! lays of eight hours each
Just what the output OF the plant so
far has been ia not known. The Of
icials are scCrctivc. and any figures
would be more or less Sucsswork 1t
( is known, however. that the plant has
! been working ON one contract for the
/ Russian government, which involves
an outlay OF GO.000.O0J This is only
| on" OF the contracts which the Hone
! well plant has been called upon to fill.
! WILL. CARRY ON LARGE
! WORK WHEN WAR Is OVER
/ plant when the war Is over? This
| question is one most frequently asked.
} 1t has been stated on apparently re-
| liable authority that the plans made
! in the fail Of 1914 called for operations
| which would give employment for
| 5000 or 10000 men. principally skilled
mechanics. Since that time. the sui
| phurc acid unit has been added to the
| outlay. The plant is now running on
! three shifts and is working at capacity
! day in and day out with more than
I l".O0G men on the operating pav roll
/ AS additions are completed the opcrat-
! ing force will he Increased and main
! tanned as long as the demand for gun
/ cotton continues
/ II is pointed out that the Du Points
( have been conducting experiments in
I their laboratories in Wilmington. Del.
1 looking to the utilization OF by products