Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1915-10-03
By J. HERBERT pUcKWoRTH.

BY. HERBERT pUcKWoRTH.
m SSEN. Germany. the home Of the
IN Krupps. has a rival in Bridge
IT, port Conn. With orders for
IL munitions for the allies esti-
mated to amount in the aggregate to
$50, 1000. 900, the city IL organizing it.
self into a tremendous plant for turn
ing out thousands Of small naval and
field guns. millions of rifles and shells
and billions Of cartridges.
The biggest factory ever built at one
time in any country in the world Is
being rushed to completion for the
Remington-Union Metallic Cartridge
Company at Bridgeport. and when its
giant power house gets going and its
countless lathes commence to turn it's
output of small arms. cartridges and
shells will exceed. It Is said. that Of the
great Krupp works at Essen.
From a city engaged largely In
peaceful arts and Industries. Bridge
port has become overnight Jealous
and energetic handservant of Mars.
Under the coaxing touch Of ten, TWEEN
ty and thirty million dollar orders that
ers by agents of the allies the place
has been transformed. An army Of
factory hands-men, women and chill
dren-which a year ago was quietly
Jogg ng along making corsets. sewing
machines, baby carriages. Photographs
and typewriters. is now occupied on
rush orders for shells and cartridge
cases. Maxims. quick nrers. rifles and
other small arms.
Even the winter headquarters Of
Barnum & Baileys circus and Buffalo
Bits wild west show have failed to es-
cape the effects Of war. English.
French and Italian remount officers. on
the lookout for animals to drag can
non over the battleields of Europe.
have taken from these two institutions
some of their most imposing parade
horses.
Block after block of frame houses
has been put up in the outskirts of the
city to shelter the large influx of work
men. The Remington Arms Company
alone has erected some 1000 two-famfly
homes. at a cost of $s.00o.oo0. to house
its 5000 employees and their families.
The total pay roll Of these 5000 work
ers-those at present employed at the
old works-amounts to about $1.25O.000
a month. Before the end of the year
there will probably be 10000 employees
at the old and 1900 at the new plant.
At the employment bureau at the
new plant they are already signing on
workers. The men who are focking
country. besides having to produce sat
isfactory references, are put through
special examination. in order to weed
out Germans. Austrians and Hun
garians Only neutrals and pro-allies
are wanted.
That Great Britain, at any rae, did
not expect a short war and Lord
Kitchener said at the outset that it
might last three years-would seem to
be proved by the new Union metallic
cartridge plant. England decided to
haze this enormous structure built
and this is what 1t practically amounts
to-before the war was two months old.
On the strength of huge orders, which
1t IS said will take three years to fill,
the Bennington company had plans
drawn up for new plant on a scale
never before attempted in this country
or abroad
strip of ground a mile long and
nearly a quarter of mile wide. adj
Joining the original works. which cover
half mile OF land. was cleared in less
than a month of houses and trees and
the foundations begun Now there
stands on the site a building consist
ing or thirteen wings and six smaller
buildings. each of five floors. The floors
OF the larger buildings have each an
acre of space. A branch of the New
road has been run into the grounds and
Dig vaults have been excavated for the
storage OF explosives
Already the whole plant is surround
ed by high barbed wire fence and
armed guards every fifty yards patro.
every foot of this barrier. A f1ve-story
barrack Is being erected to accommo-
date the small army Of guards that
viii watch the plant night and day
when IT gets properly under way.
Besides making rifles, field guns and
shells and cartridges. the Remington
concern also has shops for turning out
armored motor cars special munition
machinery. torpedoes. aerial bombs and
hand grenades And 1t Is not the only
concern busy with big war orders in
Bridgeport The Bridgeport Projectile
Company has $4,000 900 order, while
other large contracts have been given
to the Bryant Electric Company, the
Automatic Machine Company and the
American Chain Company.
Almost everybody in Bridgeport
seems to have some connection or
other with this war business. Bridge