Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1916-08-11

| put would still be insufficient so the
ministry Of munitions proceeded tC
provide a large number of single pur-
! pose factories, that is, plants where
the work could be specialized. Skilled
/ engineers divided the work up into a
number of repetition operations such
as could be done with a few weeks
training by women or unskillede labor
There a.e now in the country 53 ma
tional shell factories of this kind, all
of which have either been built or re-
constructed by the government. Oh
these 80 are under the management OF
the boards previously referred to. 9th
ers are managed for the ministry by
experienced munitions firms.
Just as the output of shells, she'll
bodies, etc, had to be augmented so
we had similarly to provide explosives
and filling factories. As a result OF
! this apart from the enormous extern
sions of existing factories, 10 special
explosive works have been provided.
This has practically doubled the whole
previous output of the country. Sim
ilarly there had to be built IA filling
factories, each of which has been pro
vided since last August. Altogether
there are now 80 national factories
which have been equipped with ma
chinery and in most cases built during
the last II months.
We can now produce in less than a
month as many of the lighter shells
as could have been turned out in the
whole year of 1914-15. In less than a
fortnight we can make more heavy
shells than we could have done in the
year 1914-15. We can now turn out
in a week far more shells, filled and
complete, than were used in the whole
hot of f<4h ayv4 an % a
fortnight, and they had been saving
ammunition for that battle for month.
We could have a battle of LoOs every
week now and it wouldn't touch the
shell reserve stock.
Need Experience for Cans.
THE manufacture Of guns, which
did not lend itself to the process of
subdivision like ammunition, has had
to be concentrated largely in the hands
Of experienced firms, but new factories
under the direction of these firms have
been made for single purpose work.
Regarding our present capacity for
gun production as compared with the
capacity in June, 1914, before the war,
We are now making in the case of the
Iightest guns over 10 times what we
were then, in the case of medium
weight guns over 20 times, and in the
y .
times"
The production of trench warfare
supplies has meant the creation of an
industry of which there was pTactic-
ally no experience in this country
Now grenades are being made in back
yards and in all sorts of small shops
as well as in the big factories, and
hundreds of thousands are being pro-
duced weekly In the early days Of
the war the trench mortar was a Wea
pom which had received little atten-
ton and undergone little development
as there was a mere handful Of these
weapons in existence. They are now
being produced in immensely improy-
ed 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 it previously was reckoned in
hundreds has now reached a total of
scores Of thousands weekly. The pro-
ductiOn OF trench warfare munitions
in q most miscellaneous collection Of
workshops has, of course, necessitated
the provision Of many assembly and
inspection stations.
"One Of the earliest steps the min
istry of munitions had to take was to
acquire control Of every machine tool
maker in the United Kingdom and also
to bring in the manufacture Of ma
chine tools. Every machine tool made
during the last y months has been
disposed Of as directed by the minis
try of munitions. The tools have been
sent where they were most needed for
the making of munitions.
Labor Greatest Problem.
"One Of our most anxious problems
has been the supply and distribution
Of skilled labor There was not
enough skilled labor to go round. This
fact was recognized by the trades
unions and the government has re-
ceiyed their hearty assistance through
out in the distribution of skilled labor
and in the dilution Of skilled labor
with unskilled The introduction Of
unskilled labor into the field of skilled
labor is a sacrifice of skilled labor to
which no too high tribute can be paid.
Skilled men have trained and instruct
ed unsk1lied workers and in thousands
Of cases have willingly been moved
from piece work to day wages with
the result that they have earned
smaller wages than the people they
had trained have received at piece
work
This position was rendered more
difficult by the fact that many skilled
WOTkmen crowded into the army.
More than $4,000 highly skilled work
men have since been Withdrawn for
munitions work. They go where they
are sent. This has given the ministry
Of munitions control Of a large body
Of skilled wOrkmen who can be moved
as required
Apart from the manufacture of
ships, aerOplanes, etc. which do not
fall under the charge of the ministry
OF munitions, there are now employed
about 100000 people. of whom sew
eral hundred thousand are women. 1t
follows that there has been much la
Dor expended in housing munitions
workers. Whole villages have been
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90 .3FA S0uOrG