The daily banner. (Cambridge, Md.) 1897-2008, 1917-09-19
MAY RECALL
AMMUNITION
Congress Probes Defective Car
tfidgoS Tor Small Arms.
HINTS At TkMPERIkG
1t Was All Right When it Left Frank,
ford Arsenal. Chemist Tells the
ProberS.

Probers.
Washington, Sept. l9.-An the small
arms ammunition furnished TO the
Pershina expedition may be recalled
and broken up.
This statement was made ON the
floor OF the house by Representative
Fitzgerald Democrat, New York.
chairman Of TIE house appropriations
committee. discussing appropriations
for the F'rankford Arsenal i'll the ST..
000.no0,""n urgency deficiency bill.
H. c. Prithem. civilian chemist,
testified before The committee investi.
eating tie causes for defective ammu
milton made at the Frankford Arse.
nal.
He gave a detailed explanation OF
the government specifications for
primers. He said that the Winchester
Arms company did not use sulphur
in their primers. and therefore the
chemical MIXTURE is more stable. He
added that Frankfort Arsenal hat
abandoned manufacture Of primers
only temporarily. As soon as new
dry houses can be built, manufacture
viii h resumed.
Prithem said outside Influences haG
nothing to 10 with the defective prim
ers He said the chemical department
OF the arsenal was not to blame fo1
the Bad primers. Mass production
which necessirated haste. he said, was
the chief cause Of the imperrections
Speeding up had caused faulty work
be said
Representative Dent, Democrat. Ala
bamA. chairman of the subcommittee
asked if any Germans were employed
at the arsenal Prithem said all the
employees are Americans.
REPRESENTATIVE Quin. Democrat
MiSsiss ppi, endeavored to draw ad
missions from Prtthem that the po
taseium chlOrate used in manuf3 cturt
of the primers had not been prnperl!
analysed to discover potassium bro
mate. which caused the defects. Coo
mel George Montgomery, commandan,
at the arsenal, in TESTIMONY. had blam
ed the trouble on the presence Of po
laSSiUHl DrOl1dle.
Prithem said that all proper analy
ses had been made. II was only re
Gently. he said that he Had learned
from new text books on explosive,
that potassium bromate in potassium
chlorate would cause chemiCa! reac
ton which would spoil cartridge prim
erS.
He confirmed Colonel Montgomery
statement that the present formula OF
the government for primers is not a
stable as primer compositions uset
by private manufacturers.
W. Arthur another chemist, ex
pressed the belief that chemica
changes caused by coarseness in the
artimQny vas -tAe chief-aaBse Of In tn
defects
Major Cushman said that when h,i
took charge of the frankfort labora
tory. Colonel Montgomery asked hin
to experiment 10 get the best possible
primer mixtures He said he had re
ported to Montgomery sulphur should
be omitted from primer mixtures.
The witness said facilities at the
arsenal are so limited that conditions
are very difficult More than 100000
rounds of artillery ammunition are a
the arsenal at all times. The slight
est carelessness, he said, might caust
the whole reservation 10 blow UP, i'm
perilling thousands in the surrounding.
area
He had a suspicion that German
chemists employed by American firms
might be trying to supply bad chimi
Gals without the knowledge of thei1i
firms. He had been unable to verify
these suspicious.
He then made the startling state
ment that something happened tcI
the defective ammunition from the
time it left the arsenal 70 the time
it was fired. because it was perfect
when ii left"