The Bridgeport evening farmer. [volume] (Bridgeport, Conn.) 1866-1917, 1916-05-25
FUKMINATE PERILS
ELIMINATED IN THE
U. Nj. C.. FACTORIES
tcontInued from Page H.


tity Of dynamite. The particles, how
ever minute, are exploded by harsh
contact with any hard substance.
In common practice a ton or more
Of mercuric illuminate is no uncommon
sight in transportation through the
streets of Bridgeport or on railroads,
being carried in barrels filed with
water, the explosive being suspended
in bags of so to rs pounds each, sur
rounded by water.
When taken from the barrels, still
wet, it. may be papcelled into small
lots and stored in convenient places
until used. When carried or han
died it is customary to again wet it,
though in some instances it must
necessarily be handled in dry form.
The system in vogue and to be uti1-
lied hereafter, detailed to a Farmer
reporter by q illuminate mixer famil.
lar with the operations both of the pits
and in the primer departments is sub
stantfal1y as follows:
The illuminate as heretofore han
died from the dryers to the mixing
room has been in shallow, elongated
rubber vessels taken into a room
with a rubber flooring, a rubber top
ped table, a rubberl coated scale and
pam and handled with rubber scoops
or (if dry) with camels hair brush es
If. for instance a certain mixture
is needed for a particular explosive
purpose the mixer is informed how
much weight of dry illuminate, how
much glass and potassium ch1orate or
other ingredient is required. These
are carefully weighed, great care be-
ing taken that none of the substance
is dropped or handled roughly. When
weighed the illuminate is heaped on
the table in a hollow cone and grad
uaI1y moistened with wateT. Upon
T71-o i1vir1 re
and while still lamp, it is sifted
through a perforated plate into the
waiting caps below.
Little coatings, or 'anvi1s," of shell
lac or other substance are tamped
into the caps to prevent the loosen
ing of the persuasive mixture. The
caps placed upon screen to dry at
this stage OF production are most
dangerous. There is a ssibility
that some of the high explosive may
have been Improperly placed or 1oos-
ened. To ascertain this, an operator
takes them before "a high steel inch
thick shield around which by means
of instruments he may grasp the tray
while partially immune from full
force of explosion. He tits the screen
until satisfied that stray particles
have dropped through the screen into
a tray of water below and that each
cap is perfect.
In the. dry method similar pro-,
cess ills performed with the exceptio.i
that the ingredients are placed upon
a piece of paper and tilted slowly
back and forth, the operation being
viewed from behind the screen by
M leans of system Of mirrors. This
metho cd is resorted to only in urgent
cases.
Lindsay,s method, as known to OPP
eratives in the pits today, is said to
4T0w1
of the quantity of dry illuminate in
any given quantity Of the wet ma
terial How these calculations are
arrived at are trade secrets, but in
sures the dangerous substance being
in all processes OF operation
without danger, even where dry mix
ture is desired 1t will hereafter be
for employees to handle.
small quantities of illuminate at close
range The wet mixing will here
after be done on a. large scale in a
hopper box through which passes a
shafting carrying blades similar to
that of a propeller on a ship The
mixture is placed in the hopper, a.
long shaft projects from the small
building and is electrically driven
from beyond the high sand bunk
ers When mixed the substance still
wet is taken to the f1nishing-roon.
In the new dry process the re-
spective substances will be placed in
a sheet suspended over a funnel
shaped vessel of soft substance, capa-
Bile of following the inside contour of
the container but held some distance
away at the top and sides. Between
the top of the container and the bag
is a screen,
This screen extends between the
outside circumference of the contain
er vessel and the inside circumference
of the bag. One has but to imagine
the bag to be an inverted pyramid
with rubber ball to prevent its sharp
contact with the container bottom
and several other balls located cen
trally for the same purpose to have
an idea, of the contrivance. It will
easily be seen that wire strung from
the bottom apex of the bag and up
wards through the mixture to pull
legs at the top Of the building. and
thence to any safe distance. may be
mechanically actuated to gently lift
and drop the bag until a sure mixture
is accomplished when full upward
extension of the cone shaped bag will
gradually drop the dry mixture
through the sieve and into the soft
funnel shaped receptacle from which
it may be precipitated across a per-
forated plate under which are set the
caps to be filled
illuminate mixers declare that this
process has proven perfect In trials
and the likelihood of future loss of
life has been mininaized to q negli-
bic quantity.
Every attempt to prevent this won
derful invention from becoming public
though it's value to humanity is great
and will materially aid the local COM
panies in securing labor has been
made by officials of both the Ren1ing-
ton Arms and Remington U. M. C.
Co.'S, though it is not denied that the
tests have been satisfactory and the
operation on a large scale will soon be
Only through mixers
themselves who are highly elated at
the innovation has it been possible to
gain complete knowledge Of old and
new methods, which insure to Bridge
port a relief from the anxiety here
tofore entertained of explosions and