Tulsa daily world. [volume] (Tulsa, Indian Territory [Okla.]) 1905-1919, 1916-08-04
Fuel for Tremendous Drive
Made Possible by Huge
Factories.
WAS BUILT RECENTLY
Credit for Work Goes to
DR.. Christopher Addi-
son, at Head.

| great offensive bonn bardment on June
- and for days hurled into The Ger
man ines such an avalanche Of steel
| ana lead as the world had never
/ known before, even the people of
| England expressed wonder that it
should have been possible to assemble
| So vast a store Of munitions. The
story Of how these supplies were
| created constitutes one Of the most
| important chapters in the history OF
British achievement during the war.
At the outbreak of hostilities twO
years age there were only three Im-
| portant government munitions fac
| tories in the British Isles. Today
some 1000 government controlled
| firms, employing more than 100000
| workers. are turning out virtually all
| Of the tremendous amount of war ma
tcrias which have gone to equip the
| 100000 British soldiers in the field.
The organization of this great in
dustry has been accomplished in a lit
| tie more than one year by the minis
| try of munitions, which was estab-
| lished in May 1915, under the leader
| ship to David Lloyd-George. In that
| time every available resource of the
| country has been built for the produc-
! ton OF munitions. Some idea of the
scale upon which this organization
has been carried out may be gathered
Of the new plants covers an area of
nine miles long and from three TO
four miles wide
5000 People Used.
A staff of 5000 people has been re-
uuired to supervise the work. At the
head of this staff and responsible only
to the minister of munitions has been
a man whose organizing ability has
been accorded widespread recognition.
He is Or. Christopher Addison, inter-
nationally known for his medical re-
search work. For some years he has
devoted his attention to politics, and
besides holding a seat in the house
Of commons had been parliamentary
secretary to the board Of education
before entering on his present duties
as parliamentary secretary TO the
ministry Of munitions. Every detail
Of the munitions production is known
to Doctor Addison. and during an in
tcrView with a representative of the
Associated Press he told as much of
the story of the creation of this in
dustry as could be made public at this
time
At the outset he disposed OF the
statement which has been made in
America to the effect that if II wore
not for the munitions furnished by
the United States Great Britain would
nave TO quit tHe WAT.
United states Furnishes Much.
81 have heard that statement
made" said Doctor Addison, land it
is pre- Postcrous, of course. The
United States has furnished and is
fuI nshing many raw materials which
We are anxious to get for the manu-
facture of munitions, but so far as the
actual production of shells goes
America has provided us with only
very small percentage of those
which we have used"
Turning to the manufacture Of mu"
nitions in this country, he continued:
AT the beginning of the war there
were only three important munitions
factories in the United Kingdom. II
addition there were a number of large
private munitions and armament
firms At the start reliance was
placed mainly in these national fac
tories and experienced firms, and that
time they were full of orders
"ln the early stages of the conflict
more attention was paid to field guns
and their equipment than to heavy
guns. but as time went on the require
ments for heavy shells greatly in
creased. In June, 1915, we made an
inventory of all the available ma
chinery in the country and it was
evident that it was entirely made
quate to meet the demands. There
were, however, a great many private
firms which could be brought in to
make munitions, and 1t was decided
70 mobilize them for national service.
In order to do this we created an or
Ganization embracing the entire
country The country was divided
into districts, in each of which n
working board of management was
set up. BY means Of this scheme of
local organization thousands of firms
have been brought in, many of which
had never seen shell body, or fuse,
or grenade, or a bomb before. much
less than made them. Now muntion-
making in some for or other has ex-
tended well-nish to every considerable
town-indeed to large numbers of
villages.
Most Remarkable.
IAN earnest desire to help, m
edaptibility and eagerress to learn
have brought into munition- making
the most remarkable assortment
Imaginable OF shops and factories. In
one era alone shell bodies OF the
conponents of shells are being made
rot only by engineering works, but in
confectionery works. by an a music
roll manufacturer, by an infants food
maker, 10y a candle maker, by flour
miller. by a tobacco merchant, by an
advertising agent, in several brew
cries, by jobmasters, by n glazier, by
syphon manufacturers, and So on. |
shells and good shells have been
turned out by machines and methods |
which would be horrifying to the |
apostles of orthodoxy.
What all this amounts to in the |
aggregate you can form some concep- |
ton of when tell you that a calcula- |
tion made three weeks ago showed |
that there were being turned out
weekly by firms who a year ago had
rot been engaged in munition work /,
16 times as many heavy shells as
were being produced a year ago by all /
the national plants and private arma |
ment firms put together. OF course |
the big armament firms have been |
greatly extended since then. and that |
figure does not apply TO their present |
output.
Numbers of manufacturers who |
have hitherto been engaged in pro-
ducing quite different goods have sac !
rificed their business and goodwill |
in order to take up the manufacture |
CT munitions. They have done it for |
the asking and ungrudgingly. Many i