The Birmingham age-herald., 1917-03-20

! and cheerful, brought cheering in- formation for Alabama when he re- turned to Birmingham last night from the nations capital.
 If the government determines to
 manufacture nitrates by water power
 plant. Muscle Shoals will be named as ] the site. After talk with Secretary of
 War Newton Diehl Baker he was sat
 isfied that Muscle Shoals was the only site east of the Mississippi that could develop the primary horse power nec- | essary.
 But, in event the government should de- eide to produce nitrates by the Haber, or chemical process, Muscle Shoals will be developed and conserved for uses of the United States.
 The overt act has been committed by Germany in the destruction of the City of Memphis, vigilancia and Illinois, he thinks. President Wilson, therefore will call into service the warships to protect American shipping, anc to the senator s
 mind has power sufficient without call ing immediate session of Congress.
 TO NAVAL WARFARE Tn event of war, which he regards as probable, the United States will resort, at first entirely to naval warfare. But, in event Germany can withstand the en- 1 tente powers for two years, it is likely that the government will raise a force
 of at least 100000 men-though conscrip- ton will be necessary--and they will be placed in the field against Germany. The doom of Germany is certain. That the entente powers will dismember the German empire he considers unlikely, but the fall of the Hohenzollern dynasty and a new form of government is certain This is survey of the critical situation that Senator Underwood gave to The Age Herald last night.
 TALKS WITH BAKER Before leaving Washington for Bir-
 mingham, I had a talk with Secretary Baker" said Senator Underwood. T am very much encouraged. It is my opinion ! that, should the government determine to | manufacture nitrates by the cyanamid process, which will necessitate the use of waterpower, Muscle Shoals will be the | site of the plant.
 States east of the Mississippi that car develop the primary horsepower that would be necessary for the manufacture of air nitric acid. It is Muscle Shoals There is no chance for any other site to get the nitrate plant, if the cyanamid process is used.
 However, I know that it has not been decided whether the cyanamid process or the Haber, or chemical method, will be availed of to make nitrates. The adop- tion of the Haber process would mean that the United States would have to have an army of expert chemists, which it does not possess. Furthermore, there | is no nation in the world except Germany which might supply the chemists who would be necessary in event the Haber process was used.
 TWO GREAT QUESTIONS ITO my mind the two greatest ques- tions that the United States faces are: The defense of the nation and the feeding of it's people. If the nitrate plant were located at Muscle Shoals, it would be able to furnish nitric acid for the manu- faature of explosives, and thereby would fulnll the first requirement. In times of peace, 1t would manufacture fertilizer and thereby enable the farmers of this country to raise more food without the expenditure of more labor.
 "The chemical process will not permit the manufacture of fertilizer and nitric acid. Furthermore, the Secretary of War estimated that the United States would need 1S0,000 tons of concentrated nitric acid a year. This is only two-thirds of the amount that Germany used in 1914 To manufacture this amount would re- quire only 125,OO0 primary horsepower by the cyanamid process. but 500,000 horse- power by the arc method.
 WILL HARNESS SHOALS
 'T might state positively that. if the government decides to manufacture nitric acid from the cyanamd process, the plant will go 10 Muscle Shoals.
 But regardless of this fact. the tre- mendous water power of Muscle Shoals l is going to be developed by the United