East Oregonian : E.O. (Pendleton, OR) 1888-current, 1915-09-08

Copyright 1915 by the United Press
Copyrighted in Great Brltaln.)
WITH THE FRENCH ARMY AT
THE FRONT, Aug 6.-(By Mall -
Young girls and women are the prin-
cipal workers in the factories where
bombs, highexplosiye shells. hand
grenades and similar man-killing de.
vices are manufactured. It strikes
one as odd that frail women should
be making the terrible engines Of war
yet they seem to like their Job. en-
tering into the work with a patriotic
fervor which one is coming more and
more to associate with the country
women Of Jeane dare.
Out here, surprisingly near the fir
ing line, there is a steel and iron
works which in times of peace made
pots and pans for the cooking OF
friend potatoes, the boiling Of cab
bage and the stewing of ragouts. Now
the military are in charge and NOR
tars from so milimeters to inches
are the factory's products. those and
the projectiles hurled from their
muzzles.
Also several varieties OF grenades,
bombs and petards are supplied here.
The "lemon" is one of the newest
and most effective of the many
brands Of hand grenades. It Is like
wise the simplest. 1t is made in the
shape Of lemon. from which it gets
its nickname, and at one end is pro-
vlded with a sort Of button with coil
spring-a button working on the
same principal as the one you use
in ringing for Marie to serve the
coffee This button is harder to op-
crate. of course, as 1t sets off the
grenade when pushed in and were
it too easy on the trigger it would
he too dangerous to operate. Before
throwing the bomb you simply hit
the button about as you would to
open a bottle OF soda-pop.
Here is how the hand grenades
are made:
First the shell is cast, a shell some
quarter of an inch thick. 1t is in
dented all over to insure its bursting
into innumerable pieces when ex-
ploded. The average number of
fragments. determined after careful
tests. is 220, the fragments being
about the size of the tip of your lit
tie finger of very rough edges and,
at short distances-these weapons
are never used therwise-capable of
piercing a two-inch plank. They
make very dangerous wounds
These cast-iron shells, shaped like
a lemon, are next cleaned: outside by
brushes welded by women, inside by
revolving apparatus resembling an
egg-beater. This inside cleaning is
to prevent grit or particles of iron re-
naming to cause a possible spark
and consequent explosion while being
filled with chedite later.
Girls pack the grenades with the
explosives which resembles sulphur
or light brown sugar, A round piece
of parafined paper is put over the
opening and with a plug is forced
down into the grenades neck to the
point where the lemon begins to
swell
While this is being done the stop
per" is assembled by other girls.
From the wood turning department
come the wooden plugs which close
the grenade and contain the operat-
ing button. A hole runs through the
middle and through this passes a
Bickford time fuse. At the upper
end is cap something like the cap
Of an old-time muzzle loading gun
which is exploded by the push button
mentioned above At the bottom OF
the fuse is the detonator. The vari-
Gus operations OF assembling this ap-
paratus are performed by girls and
women, some quite young, some old,
grandmotherly and bespectacled. Each
girl or woman has but one operation
to perform however simple they may
be. One inserts the fuse, another ad-
justs the cap, a third the detonator,
a fourth makes the joints between
the fuse and detonator safe by means
of sealing wax and so on, the stop
pers" flowing smoothly down this
human stream rapidly and without
let-up until at last they pour into
the grenades stream for final adjust
ment.
A hole is made in the tightly pack
ed chedite with which the grenade is
filled and into his hole the detonator
is passed. The grenade is now near
ing completion and becomes extreme
ly dangerous. Should one be drop
ped, or the button of one hit against
any hard object with force, an ex-
plosion results within four and a half
seconds the time these special gren-
AIDES are set for. Consequently from
now on, until the grenades are pack
ed for shipment all workmen sit be-
side barrlcaded stone and brick
oven which a bomb which has met.
with an accident may be tossed be-
fore it explodes.
In this strange war hand grenades
have become of more importance in
many instances than rifles and all
oAuAS AiAt AVll eFSNtaA NNAhS Va
"grenadlers" have been formed.
There are being drilled in their spe-
cial work daily.
Don't tell where YOU saw us maxi
ing grenades,' was the final injunc-
ton of the colonel of artillery act
ing as superintendent of the works
I'VE were visited by a spy this NOR
ming. The Germans want to know
Just where We are so they can drop
bombs on us from their aeroplanes
We supply 10000 grenades a day to
one army so YOU see how important