Tensas gazette. [volume] (St. Joseph, La.) 1886-current, 1917-04-20

OF the ministry of munitions, with the
object OF inspiring the British public
to still greater exertiOns In the manu-
facture of munitions of war. The ar
ticle, entitled, IN. p. F.: A Working
Example of the New Phenomena" fol-
lows:
BY ARNOLD BENNETT.
You see these letters on the doormat
of the office. They stand for National
PrOjectile Factory. / know not how
many n. L. F.'s there are in Britain.
Perhaps Mr.. Montagu, the minister Of
munitions, knows. This particular
factory Is very large one. 1t has over
IL acres beneath single roof. A
farmer can visualize a ten-acre field,
but to the man in the industrial street
an acre is mere term. Imagine an
area of one mile long by hundred
feet broad. That is roughly the area
OF the factory, though naturally its
shape is much nearer square. Over
5000 hands" (the more spiritual Rus
slams would say "souls"O are employed
there, and of these very considerably
over half are women, of whom a large
part are young or youngish and
attractive, and possess husbands In
the army.
Now, you can observe y. Z. f. i'm
various aspects. There is the human
aspect of its picturesque adjuncts. For
instance, the canteen (under its own
separate roof, with prodigious
veranda for the al frescO), surprising
town halls In size and supplying all
the diverse cooking and eating accom-
modations which young women who
know on which side their bread ought
to be buttered require. There are the
women's dressing rooms and lavatories.
Il never saw before and do not hope
to see again so many white faience
basins with hot and cold water, rows
and rows and rows, and scores in a
row. There is the ambulance station
with every device, and a nurse always
waiting In the secret expectation of
major" case and rarely getting any,
thing better than a scratch or a cut.
There are the women In the roof con-
trolling the overhead travelling cleo
tric cranes that command every foot
of thevfoOr space. Each has a rope
to slide down by in an emergency, and
for practice sake she is obliged to slide
down that rope at least once a week.
There are the other women who drive
the electric carriages on the floor it.
self-miles of line-sitting in sort
OF easy chair and tickling levers. (Six-
inch and nine-inch shells are not to be
lightly thrown about. The latter
weigh more than a man, and 1t takes
either electricity or two men to shift
them to and fro; electricity does 80
per cent of the shifting).
There are still other women in peg
top trousers. These last piquant crea-
lures start with two minute points
near the ground and very often finish |
near the top with an elaborate white, |
lacy corsage or flowing, glowing |
scarf. The phenomenon. looks queer |
In factory. 1t ought not to look |
queer. 1t ought to be far more preva-
lent. i liked to see girl checker deli
cately rolling a nine-inch shell over
with her fashionable glace-kid boot
that peeped out beneath the yellow
overall. These things. happily, will
peep out. So will the vase of flowers
and the strange personal belongings in
the wire cage cupboard of which each
machinist has one near her machine.
There are the long queues of women
In variegated street attire at the pay
desks. ("Pay from 65O1-7O2O" is one
of the signs.) There are the war saw
ings desks-astutely placed next to the
pay desks. war Savings Certificates.
They are subscribed today in THE
section. Are YOU subscribing?" Well.
rs rule, she was.
The Manufacturing Aspect.
SO might continue with the human
aspect, but l must turn to
the manufacturing aspect ;Hfor, after
all, this fast rumbling maze of wheels
md women and men exists for shells.
And, like the men, all these women,
however nice and happy; are conscious
y engaged in the preparation of the
means of destruction and slaughter.
Steam is at the bottom of this affair
"a row Of boilers and furnaces. Step
inside the power house and, behold, the I
steam has been translated into cleo
ricity-three units of $50 kilowatts :
each and three more of $50 kilowatts {
each. A little further, and much of
he power has become hydraulic. You !
IAN see the huge hydraulic accumula- 2
ors rising and falling according as !
he creation of power here overtakes |
'r is oyertaken by the dissipation of G
power In the factory. '
Having grasped thiA you may enter q
he factory. You there discover an or I
iinary railway wagon behind row I
II FORCES. The wagon is full of steel
ngots which have made long Jour +
icy. They are craned out-they L
s~~S~~S~~~s~~s~~~~s~>.~
HhM TunlIHuT lF laraN >>..., .