The Birmingham age-herald., 1917-09-11
COLONEL JOYES HERE. TODAY EN ROUTE ID INSPECT WARRIOR From Tuscaloosa He Will Be Taken Up the River
 by Boat IS SEEKING SITE
 FOR NITRATE PLANT Visit Is in Line With Construction of Several Small Plants
 Instead of One
 Large One

Col. J. W. Joyes, en route to the Warrior river from Muscle Shoals. will reach Birmingham this morning over the Louisville and Nashville at 4 o'clock
 He will either immediately leave by automobile or a few hours later by rail for Tuscaloosa. At that city he will be met by a delegation and under advantages shown the Warrior.
 Colonel Joyes. in this instance the eyes of the interdepartmenta1 nitrate board. is endeavoring to locate site for the construction by the govern ment of an experimental nitrate sta- tion.
 W. B. Oliver, representative in Con gress of the Sixth Alabama district, passed through Birmingham last night en route to Tuscaloosa, and there to- day will be a member of the welcom- ing party.
 SEARCH FOR SUITABLE SITE
 The interdepartmental board, en- trusted with the expenditure of $20, 0oo.0oo in constructing a plant for the
 
 the manufacture of explosives and fer tilizer. has since last February been in search of suitable site and suit able chemical process.
 After months of investigation the board decided to construct at cost of s3,700,000 an experimental station wherein all available processes would be tested. A tentative site on Salt river in Virginia was selected and the transaction was carried to the ex- tent of the government entering into an agreement to pay a royalty of $5 per ton for fertilizer produced by the Butcher or Haber process
 Recently, however dissatisfaction with the Virginia site developed and engineers were again assigned to the exploration of available locations VISITS MUSCLE SHOALS FIRST
 Colonel Joyes, having received in structions, immediately turned to the south. The first point visited was Muscle Shoals. Yesterday he floated on a government board 30 miles up the Tennessee. Today he will likewise, in a government boat. inspect the War rior.
 Colonel Joyes will be in Birmingham again tonight. Secretary Harold of the Birmingham Civic association stated yesterday that as it has been deter mined, according to his information, that in the filtration of nitrogen, wa ter power is no longer regarded as essential, he would be glad to inter- est Colonel Joyes in innumerable prop ositions in the environs of Birming ham,.
 By his schedule, however, Colonel Joyes will be on the Holston river, a near Chattanooga tributary of the Tennessee. tomorrow.
 BUILT SEVERAL PLANTS
 Tn a recent statement to the pub lie. Newton D. Baker, Secretary of War. declared that the board had abandoned it's original purpose of con structing one large plant and would expend the $2o.00o,0O0 in the cohstruc- ton of several small plants.
 If this idea is adhered to. it is re- garded as probable that Alabama, the heart of the agricultural and thus the fertilizer belt will be given one of the plants and. possibly two. The Warrior and Tennessee rivers would necessar- fly. in accordance with this prospect, be favored.
 Secretaries Baker Houston and Lane, members of tlhe interdepartment- al board, have publicly declared that they would develop Muscle Shoals either in connection with the nitrate proposition or other government en terpriSe.