Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1917-06-29
BRITISH INGENUITY
STIMULATED BY WAR
DR.. Addison Tells Of Great Work Ac-
complished by Ministry
Of Munitions.
~ the Associated Press.

LONDON. June Reviewing the
work of the ministry of munitions. DR..
Christopher Addison had an encouraE-
ing and fascinating story to tell In the
house OF commons OF amazing develop
ments in that department after lnitia,
disappotntments and difficulties, ana
Of the expedients and determination
whereby they had been overcome. HIS
revelation OF the remarkable output OF
munitions and ornaments and how the
necessities of war stimulated ma
ttonal ingenuity and enterprise that
totally unexpected developments OF
natural resources were secured whlcn
will be Of unrivaled service to the ma
ton after the war, gave parliament ana
the public the keenest satisfaction.
Dr. Addison emphasized the enormous
increase in home production of what
previous to the war. had been obtained
from abroad. and said that after the
war. as an instance. Great Britain
would md herself with her capacity for
steel production increased by 30 per
cent
One Of the most welcome illusions
was to the fact that Great Britain
would no longer be dependent upon
Germany for potash supplied
Tribute to American.
Mr.. Addison paid tribute to Kenneth
Quinn, California engineer. who de-
signed and equipped the new rnunition
factories.
He is not the only American citizen
who has assisted the ministry of mu-
nitions throughout its career" said the
minister. but in the great work at
Queens Ferry. Gretna and other places
we became possessed. through his gen
.us Of factories which to a very large
extent will be of permanent value to
peace Industries"
Mr.. Addison said that some concep-
tion Of the magnitude Of the production
Of explosives might be formed from
the fact that in March, 1917. the ca
pacity for the production Of high ex-
plosives was more than four times that
Of March. 1916. and twenty-six times
that of March, 1915.
Steel Output Increased.
with respect to steel, the minister
said that the output of steel in this
country before the war had for some
time been stationary at little more
than seven million tons yearly. The
output now was ten million tons and
he would be disappointed If the coun-
try did not reach a twelve-million-ton
output by the end of next year.
:, Referring to salvage operations at the
front. the minister said. it now was
possible to reform hundreds of thou
sands of 1s-pouader cartridge cases
weekly at cost of pence each, COM
pared with Z shillings for new cases.
Regarding trench warfare. he said:
while we started behind in the race
We now probably are as superior to
the Germans in this section of warfare
rs we are in that of artillery"
Work Of Ministry Doubled.
More than $500, 900 steel helmets had
been supplied in the last six months,
ana whereas in December the tonnage
required for trench warfare material
was 7.64s tons, in the last six months
1t was 1888 tons The work OF the
ministry had almost doubled within
the last twelve months. The aircraft
supply alone at the beginning Of the
year required an additional 10000
workers and that which applied to the
aircraft applied also to shipbuilding.
gunmaking. tanks. agricultural imple-
ments and other necessaries of war.
The widespread employment of wom-
en- had been attended, singularly, with
little difficulty. From 50 to 80 per cent
Of the machine work on shells, fuse and
trench warfare supplies was done by
women.
Comparing the cost Of ammunition
during the last year with what the
eame would have cost the previous
year. said Mr.. Addison. tho saving was
xorty-three million pounds sterling.