New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1917-09-18
New Inventions Ignored
Because of Dislike to
Change"
Obsolete Methods
Firmly Adhered To
Continued the Old System
as Other Nations
Progressed
lsar Corrssp--t ,n~l


WASHINGTON, Sept. l7.-ConvinceC
by the expert of the du Pont Powder
Company that the primers manufaet
ured at the frankfort Arsenal were in
forior TO those being manufactured by
nearly every other maker in the world
Colonel George Montgomery, superin
tendent Of the arsenal. told the House
Military Affairs Committee to-day thai
he permitted the same formula 10 con
tinue in use with view TO his SUB
ordinates being shown beyond ques'
ton.
How he expected them to be shown
other than by the failure Of the am
munition either in target practice OF
IN the trenches he did not explain. NC
member OF the committee pressed .
question after the colonel stated that
all Of his subordinates preferred the
formula which had been IN use ano
disliked 10 make a change.
"Disliked a Change"
So the Frankfort Arsenal continued
10 make primers on a formula contain
doned by every other manufacturer OF
primers i'm the world save one, the
United States Metallic Cartridge Com
panv, although Colonel Montgomery
testified he had the secret formulas al
the time used by every foreign govern
rnent and every other manufacturer.
And il was the very ingredient when
other makers had abandoned, but which
a desire on the part Of Colonel Mont
somery TO convince his subordinates
beyond question before making a
change prevented the Frankfort Ar
senal from elimination, that did cause
the defective ammunition.
Colonel Montgomery made the start
ling admission that the same formula
precisely had been used IN the manu-,
fLcture Of artillery ammunition, and
that reports Of defective artillery am
munition had been received
Defect Not Different
Even the du Pont expert did not
know Of the chemical deterioration re-
sulting from the Frankford Arsenal
formula, but he did know, and con-
WINGED Colonel Montgomery, so the
colonel declared to-day, that the Frank
ford formula produced primer In
ferior TO those made by all other max
ers save one.
what the people want 10 know" said
Representative Quin, of Mississippi, at
this juncturey"is who is 10 blame for
this faulty ammunition ;"
mo individual is TO blame said
Colonel Montgomery. 1T is q new
chemical discovery. II had been dis
covered in Germany
well, couldn't this government ex-
pect that the chemists il put in your
laboratory would have discovered this
defect?' persisted Mr.. Quin.
when the chemists of private cor
porstions paid twice, aye, ten times
what the government chemists are paid
tail 20 discover 10 | do not see that the
government could expect its chemists
70 make this discovery" Tetorted Colo
mel Montgomery.
rs it not. or could il. not be consid
cred direct reflection on government
ownership or operation" inquired Rep
resentatiye Shallenberger, of Nebraska
that of all the manufacturers of am
munition the Frankfort Arsenal is thu
only one which produced these defec
tive primers
ANY private plant which had USE
TIE same formula would have made am
murition just as defective said Colo
mel Montgomery.
Nobody TO Blame"
'If-yes they didn't" retorte,
MIR. Shallenberger. "Your contention
is that in this particular instance Their
is nobody 70 blame
Most OF the hearing. however, bore Of
the actual point of the investigation
Why the arsenal produced thi, defective
committeeman remotely. IL sound
cd like the hearing on an appropriation
bill, when every officer testifying is try
III ing 20 get more money for his psrticu
" lar line. The colonel made a splendiC
argument for the enlargement ant
transformation Of the arsenal into
more modern plant. He testified tina
the arsenal was Il "poky little place"
One very important recommendation
he made was that the United States
should keep its ammunition and arm!
factories working az the most economi
cal pace all the time, even II more mu
ntions were produced than were need
cd. The surplus. he said, could be "solC
20 South America or some of thos,
Countries This has been the German
policy, he said. and would result in dis
covering the weak spots and correcting
them before war came.
He had found mass production" a.
the arsenal very different, ne said, from
the leisurely peace time production
when the plant was only operated a
four-ninths Of its capacity He strong
~ opposed operating three shifts, say
ing that this plan would, in his judg
ment, be uncconOmical.
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