The Bridgeport evening farmer., 1917-01-16
AMERICALEhDS
MAKING OXYGEN
And NITROCEI:t' !;
Walter w. Birge Making
Commercial and Possibly
Military History.

crying need Of the country both com
merc1ally and in a military way. The
need was set forth by Professor AL.
fred Noyes, of the Massachusetts In.
stltute Of Technology when he TOLD
the American Association for the Ad-
Vancenmet of Science, at one of its
sessions the last week of 1915, in
New York city, that the country must
nave vast increase in the produc-
ton of nitrogen, both for commercial
needs and the purpose Of defense
Even before he made the statement
the need was being supplied by the
energy and ability Of a man who had
organized the industry into the larg-
est series of plants for this purpose
in the world.
The man who is thus making com
merical and possibly military hstor,
Tor this country, is Walter w. Birge
President of the Air Reduction com
pany, Inc. At the beginning of 1915
the company did not have an office
or an employe. In one years time
the company had nine plants in oper-
alton; and others far enough advanc-
ed so that at least every five weeks a
new plant will be put in operation
And all this was accomplished in the
face of what, to many. would have
been insurmountable difficulties
The company had at the start a
contract with L'Air Iiquide Society. of
Paris, for the American rights to the
Claude Process for the manufactu
of oxygen and nitrogen from the air
Four plants were to have been fur
nished with the contract, but the
French government took three of
them because of the need of their
products as result of the European
war. AS soon as this situation be-
came known to Birge, he obtained
control and later the entire stock OF
company in this country which was
using somewhat similar process
Then, having opened an office in New
York city, he proceeded to organize
administration and sales departments
an engineering department. for the
building Of plants and the construc-
ton of machinery. and a research de-
partment to investigate the many
new fields in which the products OF
he company can be used to advan-
tage.
The principal plants are in Brook
lyn, Chicago, Philadelphia, Buffalo
Pittsburgh, Defiance and ST. Louis
Other plants or warehouses Of the
company are in the Bronx, New York
city; Jersey City, Passaic, Paterson.
Chicago Heights, Davenport, Grand
Rapids. Joliet, Milwaukee. Peoria,
Fort Wayne, Louisville, Toledo, Day
ton, Baltimore, Boston, Detroit and
Cleveland. From this distribution OF
facilities it may be seen that every
part of the country is within easy
reach of the company's products eth
er in a time of war or peace. The
largest plant-tfe largest in America
is in Philadelphia, it is Claude
process equipment which the COM
pany found to be superior to any of
those built along similar lines.
The uses to which the product of
the company may be applied are ex-
tensive and varied. This is the re-
suit of the fact that it is the only
company which has ever covered the
entire field of both oxygen and nitro
gen and such elements as are used in
connection with them. Thus, as
oxygen is used largely in what is
known as oxy-acetylene welding and
cutting, the company is not only pro-
ducing oxygen on an enormous scale,
but has taken over one Of the largest
companies enga ged in the production
of acetylene, and are re-organizing
and planning vast extensions of that
business. Thus it will be able to fur
nish both the oxygen and the acety-
lene gases. Furthermore the COM
pany has developed a full line OF
equipment which is used with the
cases. such as the cutting and weld
ing torches
Under the direction of president
Birge, the company has gone step
farther and has made plans for the
production of calcium carbide on a
large scale. It is expected that this
branch of the business will be con-
nected with large interests in other
countries, thereby giving it an inter-
national as well as national scope for
it's activities. Moreover the addition
of this branch makes this the only
company in the world which has UNI
der it's control the production of ace
tylene, and the carbide from which
acetylene is made, as we'll as the
oxygen and the apparatus with which
oxygen and acetylene are used for
oxy-acetylene cutting and welding.
In addition--this broadening of the
activities of the OBSERVATION-DISCLOSURES
work is being done in the vast field of
the flxation Of nitrogen. AS result,
plans have been made for the erection
of very large plants in which will be
produced several distinct lines of nj
trogenous products both for use as
fertilizer and chemical work. The
nitrogen for the purpose will be OBJ
tanned by the cOmpany'S process from
the air Possibly only the agricul-
tural experts can comprehend the
this branch of the COM
pany's work will be to the nation. By
the use of nitrogen old soils can be
with what has been taken
from them by too extensive and in
tensve cultivation; and soils which
have net the desired richness can be
thus fortified so that it may be pos
sible to grow two blades of grass
where one blade grew before.
Yet the indefatigabl President of,
the company is not satisfied. appar-
emily, with providing the means for
accomplishing so much. One of his
most recent efforts has been to edu-
cate the public to make use of the
products of the air that the entire
people may get the full benefit. Fer
this purpose a campaign of education
has been started by which the uses
of the oxy-acetylene torch will be de-
in such places as trade
schools. manual training schools, and
technical institutes The need of this
work is known by those
who are familiar with the great many
uses to which such equipment is put
by the artisans abroad. Thus far it is
used here in only fraction of the in
a in icI, iC N