The Washington herald., 1916-09-28
RE-ENFORCES ARGUMENT
FOR U. S. ARMOR PLANT
S. Herbert Giesy Sends Letter to Sec
retary of Navy Daniels. =.

The following letter, which was sent
to Secretary Of the Navy Daniels by 3.
Herbert Giesy, q local attorney, present
ing a number of very pertinent argu-
ments for the establishment Of the pro-
posed government armor plant in this
/ city, was given to The Herald last night
by Mr.. Giesy in order that those inter-
ested In the campaign might be enlight-
ened on these particular advantages:
wish TO add my word to the advocacy
of locating the armor plate plant for
! the navy in the valley Of the Potomac
preferably at Washington.
The bill providing for this plant requires
that 1t be located with due consideration
for safety in time Of war. For this very
reason the du Pont Powder Company To-
Gated its plant at Hopewell. on the James
River, a tributary, like the Potomac, OF
Chesapeake Bay, claiming that the mod
| ern fortihcatIons at Fortress Monroe and
Cape Charles rendered Chesapeake Bay
and its tributaries safe. while furnishing
deep water facilities and direct water
communication with Europe. Washing
ton is doubly protected because, in ad-
dition to the fortihcations mentioned.
there are the fortifcations at Fort Wash
lngton and Fort Hunt.
The Chesapeake and Ohio Canal L. here
to bring lime from Martinsburg and coal
| from Cumberland at q water freight rate
| and deliver II in the original package
the canal boat--at any site on the Po-
tomae selected for the manufacture Of
| armor plate.
The Monterey Folio Of the United States
Geological Survey shows that the iron
ores about Covington, Va, are of com
mercial Importance and the best man
ganese deposits in the United States are
| in Virginia, as shown by mineral re-
sources Of the United States Geological
| Survey, ]. W. Powell, 1885, folio 326 ct
seq.
In Mineral County w. Va, there are
for sale at so an acre 2ooO acres OF coal,
the report on which, made by Prot John
| l. Johnson, Of the West Virginia Uni
Versity, says In part:
LAS a steam. coking and domestic coal
1t cannot be excelled. 1t gives intense
heat and is the nearest absolutely smoke
less of any soft coal have ever seen
burn, and has staying qualities almost
equal to anthracite. CThe heat test ID
10, 900 B T u The following Is the coke
test from the same coal-forty-eight-hour
coke: Moisture. .4s; volatile matter l.5l
fixed carbon, 9o.Z7; ash, 7.76; sulphur, A. u
This property is Immediately south OF
Cumberland, on the Western Maryland
| Railroad, so that 1t Is apparent that
coke with q fixed carbon of 9o.27 could be
brought by canal boat to an armor plate
plant on the Potomac. Such an economy
could hardly be claimed for any other To-
cation.
Then, in steel making, 1t is necessary To
mix with the domestic ores Cuban iron
ores, and the fact that these can Ue de-
livered at lninimum cost on Chesapeake
Bay and its tributaries is the reason al
legged in Baltimore for the purchase by
the Bethlehem Steel Company of the
Maryland steel Company plant at Spar
rows Point. Thomas O. Brady, residing
at 1917 Vernon street, this city, owns an
| iron property in Cuba and states that ore
can be delivered in Washington for s.
a ton, as against 81 ct Pittsburgh.
Natural gas is piped from West Vir-
glnia TO Cleveland, Ohio and II is sur
prisIng II has not been brought to Wash
lngton. A lew years ago a company
was streRuously seeking a franchise -
furnish II to Baltimore, but the existing
gas companies there were strong enough
to prevent that competition. This econ
ony Is available TO the government IN
Washington II desired.
1t does SEEM with all the natural ad-
vanta ges Of Washington, the government
would not havs 20 go away from the seat
of government TO find location for its
armor plate plant, but coordinate Il
here with the naval gun factory and the
Indian Heal proving grounds.