The Daily Ardmoreite. [volume] (Ardmore, Okla.) 1893-current, 1916-07-21

more contracts" We have learned
"how to make munitions at the other
fellows expense" have gained eX,
perience useful in regular machine
work and have developed methOds by
which "any farm hand or eX-bGrher"
can learn to run a lathe in q few !
hours. The time of machining three
inch shells has been reduced from
three hours to fifteen minutes.
Scarcity of skilled mechanics en-
abled them to get high wages with
out kicking for them" Toomalers
receive 75c to 81 an hour, "while
specialists in munitions can get al !
most anything they ask The single
purpose lathe has been adopted, and
mechanics of sufficient skill can be
trained almost while you wait" The
labor which is skilled in its pariiCu-
lar line" is paid far more than the
"all-around men, who set up the ma
chimes and direct the work An OK
barber is making SIS day Of ten
and one-half hours, others mako s2i
and as high as $33 day, while the
foreman receives $50 a week and the
machine-setter even less.
Not only these high wages, but
many other things eat into high prof
its, but these are so fair" that the
manufacturers "can afford 10 abandon
plants bought just for this work"
Special tools, machines, and above
all. gauges must be bought. Nearly
300 gauges must be used CIR a single
time fuse, and hundreds of ll,tle
shops have been established TO make
gauges and small special tools.
AS to rifles, many have been order
ed, but few shipped, though two new
huge plants have several hundred
thousand under way. Making the
military rife is "no simple matter
for our own Springfield, supposed to
be one of the simplest, takes more
than 1900 different operations" in
which there can be no guesswork." ."
Yet "scores of shops accustomed only
to ordinary coarse work tried to get
rifle contracts" How necessary the
} new plants are to our own military
: equipment can be judged from the
| statement that our two arsenals run
, ming double shift would take nearly
two years to make 100000 rifles,
) which "would last an army of 10000
5 men only year at the usual al
} lowance of rifle a month in ser
. vice" Also it took nearly three years
5 to fit up the Rock Island arsenal.
' The rush for munitions has shown
: the advantage of the eight-hour day
t Though the night shift in shops work.
l ing two shifts is usually much longer
= than the day shift, the latter turns
: out more work in from two to three
/ hours less time High prices ant
= urgent demand make this an idea
|. time to change to the eight-hour sys
0 TEN. for it enables three eight houl
i shifts to be put in, and this is beine
t done in some progressive shops.
When we consider that the ammu
5 milton turned out in this great new
v American industry is hardly droI
!. in the bucket to what is being useC
e on the western battle front" we car
n realize the absurdity of schemes tC
2 have all material for our army ant
j. navy made in government factories
n It is simply a physical and an econo
r mic impossibility. There is also I'M
S pressed upon us the tremendous han
" dicap under which this nation woult
e place itself were it to declare sales
e of war munitions by neutral to being
Y erent nations unneutral by placing al
o embargo on their export. AS was wei
!. stated in the secretary OF state
!: reply to Austria's protest, this peace
full nation would be compelled Il
provide for home production OF 1t
maximum needs against an aggresslV
/ military nation, or, in case of attac
by such a nation, to begin war unde
terrible handicap. An embargo o.
l arms would be a powerful weapon i
l the hands of an aggressive natio
against a peaceful nation.-Portlan
| Oregonian.