Richmond times-dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1914-current, 1916-08-06

brought into munition-making the most
remarkable assortment Imaginable Of
shops and factories. In one place alone
shell bodies. or the components OF
shells. are beins made. not only by
engineering works. but in confectionery
works. by a music-roll manufacturer.
by an infants foodmaker. by II CANDLE
maker, by a -four miller. by 4 tobacco
merchant. by an advertising agent, in
several brewerics. by some jobmpsters.
by n glazier, by syphon manufacturers
and so on. Shells. and good shells.
have been rurned out by achinc
and methods which would be horriry-
Ing to the apostles of orthodoxy.
What all this amounts to in the
aggregate you can form some concep-
ton of when | tell you ha a calcula-
ton made three weeks ago showed that
there were being turned out weekly by
firms who Il year ago had not been
engaged in munition work sixteen
times as many heavy shells as were
being produced n year ago by all the
national plants and private
firms put together. or course. the big
armament firms have been greatly en-
tended since then. and that figure does
not apply to their present output.
Numbers OF manufacturers who
have hitherto bcen engaged in pro-
duciug quite different goods have sac
rihCch heir business and good will in
order 20 take up the manufacture OF
munitions. They have done ii for the
asking. and unGrudCiugly. Many OF
them will find themselves ut the end
Of the war with II great part Of their
good WIN ~icopnrdized or lost.
extraordinarily with this of
bringing in private firms became evil
dent that ven with their help the out
pu, would still be Insufficient, :" the
Ministry OF Munitions proceeded to pro-
vide u large number of single purpose
factories. tina Is. plants where the
work could he specialized. Skille! en-
vin"crS divided the work up into
a Nun Ger Of repetition operations such
as could io done with II f.w w.chS
training 10y women or unskill"d labor.
Thee 1T, Low In the eountrs .it;S
three national shell factories OF This
kind. all nf which have either been
built or reconstructed by the govern
mcnt. OF these. thirty-ciEht are under
ne management of the boards previous
'ly referred to. Others are managed for
IN" ministry by experienced munitiou
firms.
Just as the output OF shells, she'll
hphlcS. &C, h1u TO he RNG mefllsi. so
W" had similarly to provide explosives
ana filling factories. AS II result OF this
apart from the enormous extensions OF
existing factories, nineteen special cN-
plosivc works have been provided. This
has practically doubled the whole pre-
vious output of the country. similarly
there had to be built fourteen filling fac
tories. each OF which has been provided
since last August. altogether, there
irc now ninety national factories. which
have been equipped with machinery.
and in most cases built during tn" last
twelve months.
PRESENT Production
ON ENOR NOUS SCALE
W. can now produce in less than 4
month as many OF tho lighter shells
as could have been turned out IN tho
whole ear of l?lI-l9l5. In less than
n fortnight we can make moro heavy
SHELLS than we could have lone in the
!car l?ii-l?l5. We can now turn ont
u II week far more shells, filled and
Completed. than were used In the whole
lou" az loos which extended over II
1 itNich,. ana they had been saving
ammunition for that battle for n month.
~" could have IA battle Of l.oos every
,-ly week now. and 1t wouldn't touch
I = she'll reserve stock,
Til" manufacture NJ guns. which did
- lend itself to the process of sub
t!'iSion like ammunition. has had 10
20 Nt.lt'N''atFI laIcsiN III tRe n1nUS
Al experienced firms. hut new factories
| rdr' IN" direction Of these firms have
] .'n made for 's'ngle-purpose' work.
"H"paidinE our present capacity for
iEu production as compared with the
capacity In June. 1914. before the war.
al. uow making in the case OF the
ight,si suns over ten times what We
Acre ;nrn, in tho case OF medium
weight guns over twenty times, and in
1'c case OF heavy guns more thar nifty
"!hc production of trench warfare
supplies has meant the creation OF
Au industry OF which there was pra-,-
tirally no experience in this country.
Now ercnad"s arc being made in back
yards and in all sorts Of small shape.
as we'll as in tho big factories, and
hundreds of thousands are being pro-
duCcd weekly. In the early DAYS OF
the war the trench mortar was a
weapon which had received little att"n-
t!"u and undergone little development
and there was Il mere handful Of these
Weapons in existence. They arc now
being produced in immensely improved
types in hundreds where they were
previously in units. And the output
Of their heavy ammunition has had to
keep pace. The output of bombs where
IL previously was reckoncd In hundreds