The Birmingham age-herald., 1918-07-17
NEW RECORD FOR
 POWDER PLANT
By HOLLAND

Fly HOLLAND
 New York, July 16.-(SpeciaL)-On July 1, the so-called ''Old Hickory smoke- less powder plant recently constructor near Nashville began turning out smoHe- less powder amounting to 100000 pounds each day. The plant is well named TOT 1t Is situaTed near the home of Andrew Jackson, who was familiarity known to the American people in his day and gen eration as Old Hickory. The construc- tion of this plant is one of the marveis of efficiency, rapidity and stability or constructive work of which there nave been good many examples since we en- tered into the war as one Of the aAiles. For as late as March of this year tnsle was no plant at this place, nothing ou. an unoccupied stretch of ground II seemed incredible that those who hao undertaken the contract for the govern ment would be able to open up this trdc- and establish upon it plants for the pro duction of smokeless powder which with in eight months would be turning our 900 GOO pounds of powder day. The con tractors promised to build that plant ana have it in good operation by October of this year. Yet within three months after the first spadeful of dirt was turned up upon this tract the contractors were already making some sulphuric acid. Within four months. instead ot eight, they were beginning to turn out 100000 pounds a day.
 There was some sentimental associa- tion with this achievement because 1t was possible to make use of some of this smokeess powder upon Fourth of July celebration. There was a time in mid spring when it seemed probable that the cJ7trae. CTS would be baked in their e.- fort to Eegin to manufacture smokeless powder by July 1. For there was disap- pointment over the arrival of macnih- eIy reeess.Iy for the compete ias:at- r.,ut Of the plant. Th ,. however, did not cause the contractors to lay back. so to speak, but instead spurred the resi- dent engineer, E. F. Johnson, to greater efforts so that if he could surely receive the machinery time. lie was successful in these endeavors. The iln- portant machinery came, was swiftly in- stalled, and the work Of making pow oet was rushed to the utincs t In reposI received tt day from Nashville 1t IS sdic that it is due tc the al nest supernumaa efforts Of MT. Johnson and his assistants as Well rS lie diu Lui is4SAoo " ~-N " woskmeli, even to the most humble, that the fist un.t of the entire plant was com pleted TO 1hat it was possible to turn out sIuokeless powder on July l.
 A GREAT ACHIEVEMENT
 This great plant near Nashville supple ments, or 1t might be better to report that It precedes in it's achievement the work of the large smokeiess powder plant that the government has established a. Charleston, w. Va. These two plants will when completed furnish probably all of the ammunition of this kind that may be needed by our army in France even though that should at least reacn as great a figure as 100000 men.
 To government officers were sent sam rles of the first finished smokeless pow der and also to the contractors who unoer the government are building the great smokeless powder plant at Charleston. Within considerably less than year stnokeless powder in abundant quantities will be ready for transmission to the government The Nashville plant by req son of it's first unit, is being now aple to turn over to the government 10oo0o pounds day of this explosive, and when all of the units are completed, which VIII be within short time, it will be for- warding to the government approxl- mately 1,000,0o0 pounds a day of this sx- plosive In the days before we entered the war even the expert and aggressive management of some of our great busi- ness corporations would have regarded IL as a fair proposition to construct plants +h #, l1;,l in 10 months or little more,