The Washington times., 1915-05-14
u. s. ARMS OUTPUT
LARGEST IN HISTORY
Factories Able to Turn Out
Enouhg Munitions For
Almost Any Army.
Continued from First PageD

Ioiii II u 81 oSO''
the field at any time during the civil
war.
AT the beginning of the present war
there were no other plants prepared to
produce such arms In any comparable
quantities But TODAY the Remington
Winchester Arms Company. at New
Haven. Conn, are making arms for Eu-
ropean countries. and II Is reported that
the stevens Arms Company, at Chico
pee Falls. Mass. allied with the West
inghouse Company, Ia putting In big
plant for the same use, to execute Dig
contract
The capacities Of these three plants
are estimated by the Government au-
thorities at 1000 rifles each per day
when ready to work at full capacity.
This would make total OF 5000 a day
for the Government plants and 1900
day for the private concerns; total. 5000
a day or over 100000 a year. 1t is to
be understood that the private plants
are making arms OF European models.
These capacities are quite comparable
with those Of the European countries.
Behind In Artillery.
For turning out seacoast and navy
yet up to the chief European count
tries: yet 1t has more capacity than
It has ever yet been required to use.
lhtTe are i"o pldntS
equipped to do. and doing. this work.
at Watervliet. n. Y. and the Wash
ington Navy Yard. Between these
two private concerns in this line, the
Bethlehem (Pa.) Steel Company and
the Midvale. Pa.. works. Neither OF
these. contrary to a somewhat gen
eral impression. has so large a ca
pacity as either Of the Government
works.
There is some misunderstanding
shrapnel. which in the artillery
fighting OF the present war has
proved the most terrible means OF
attack. To make shrapnel II Ia neces-
sary to produce a metal casing, and,
with a fuse attached that Will ex-
plode 1T at exactly the right instant.
is peculiarly deadly piece Of ammu-
milton.
out most economically on lathes de-
signed for that special purpose. But
any metal turning lathe that will do
the work on locomotive and other
steam engine cylinders. automobiles.
etc. will serve the purpose. So the
potential capacity Of this country for
producing shrapnel is almost unlim-
tied so far as the castings are con-
cerned
The problem is to get the 'tim.-
train fuse" which detonates tho
charge at the precisely correct time.
In order to get the best results from
shrapnel. 1t Is desirable that It be
decorated within 10 feet OF the cal
tents of bullets from that point.
Now, it Ia reasonably apparent that
when shell is thrown two or three
miles. and travelling through the air at
1000 feet per second. 1t requires a neat
little calculation to make a fuse that
will do the business at the correct point
Of time. II Is the production Of these
time-train fuses that limits the output
OF these. the Sco-,le Manufacturing
Company and the Bethlehem Steel Com
pany are the chief producers, so far
as private concerns are concerned while
the Government has a big equipment for
turning them out at the Frankford ar
senal at Philadelphia.
Gun Cartridges.
At Watertown, near Boston. Is a Gov
ernment plant in which gun carria ages
are turned out for heavy artillery. At
the Watervliet arsenal the guns them
selves, for naval and coast defence use,
are turned out. The Fra nkford. Pa. ar
senal makes ammunition for small arms
and artillery.
Rock Island arsenal turns out, in ad-
dition to rifles. field artillery carriages.
horse equipment. and numerous items Of
equipment for soldiers. There are also
small government arsenals at Augusta,
Ga. and Benicia. Cal
Among all tAese items, the prime i'm
portance Is attached to the rifle that SOL
diers carry AS stated. there are five
plants that can turn gu 1.-THE ammunition
that hese weapons require: They are.
first. the Government establishment at
Frankford /; then the private plants OF
the United States Cartridge Company.
Lowell, Mass. the Winchester Arms
Company. New Haven; the Union Me-
tallic Cartridge Company. Bridgeport.
Conn, and the Peters Cartridge Com
pany, Cincinnati. There are some much
smaller concerns. which, however. are
liza BILE to be very much larger before tho
end of the war.
All the military powder in this coun-
and the DUPONT Powder Company and
its allied concerns. At the beginning
OF the war several foreign countries 8
wore equipped to turn out larger guam
titles of military powder than this Coun-
trv can produce. On the other hand,
the great American concern was ready
with capital. management, and enter
prise to effect an increase OF capacity
in record time: so that at this moment
1t may be doubted whether any country
could surpass America in the outturn
of military explosives. In engineering
and mining explosives this country has
long led the world. 1t need only be
said that parid as has been the ex-
pansion of capacity to produce arms
and equipments OF all kinds. the ability
to make powder to go along with them
has fully kept pace At the present
date the demands on these enlarged
facilities are piling up in ever greater
measure.