Judsonia weekly advance., 1918-10-09

oQUJCtl. lAc lCW WllO hnCW IL q oughly have had the double task of furnishing ideas and perfecting de- signs and of imparting their knowl- edge to others. They had to be work CTS and teachers in the same day. The old ordnance department of less than 100 officers was split up into a gun-carriage division, cannon divi- sion, small-arms division, and so on, each division being charged with the design and production of some part of ordnance material. Manufacture of ordnance material was carried on al- most entirely in government arsenals. The problem of production was not difficult. A few officers could follow a gun through from the day that it was turned over to field artillery regi- ment. But when the ordnance depart ment was called upon to put through a program involving expenditures and contracts totaling more than $4,500,- 100000 in a single year, the old way of doing business had to end and the old form of organization had to be aban- doned.
 Organized the Forces.
 To meet the new problem, most of the ordnance experts-the regular army officers-were assembled in what is known as the engineering bureau of the ordnance department, and to this bureau was given the task of design ing ordnance material. How much de- signing work there is to be done in the ordnance department is suggested by the fact that 10000 blue prints a day are turned out in Washington for the information of manufacturers of ordnance material.
 The next big task of the ordnance department, after designing the ma terial, was to place contracts and pur chase orders. It was extremely diff cult to find plants where ordnance ma terial could be made, and in great many cases it was necessary to have factories built, or to have them equip ped throughout with new machinery and tools. Sometimes the ordnance de- partment could not find anything more to begin with than a group of men who knew manufacturing methods. It would persuade them to undertake the making of some part, would finance them in building plant and In buying machinery, and then would set them at work manufacturing the thing need- ed in the war program. It is clear that the work of placing contracts and orders on so large a scale Is an in- dustrial rather than a military func tion. Consequently an almost entire ly civilian personnel was selected for the procurement division, men who were experienced in the lines of in- dustry affected, as, for instance. ex- perts in shell industry, in explosives, machine tools, textiles, etc.
 The orders placed, 1t was next nee essary to follow them up in each of the more than 1000 munitions fac tories engaged upon ordnance work. To do this, and to force quick produc- ton, a production division was organ ized which has representatives in every plant and which is responsible for all production of material. This division, too, Is made up almost entirely of civilians commissioned for the period of the war. An inspection division has the duty of making sure that guns and shells are up to specifications. After the material has been manufactured, inspected and accepted by the United States government, it is next necessary to supply it to troops in the training camps In this country and to the Amer ican expeditionary forces in France. Numerous Articles Required. The extremely difficult problem of the supply division of the ordnance de- partment is readily understood when 1t is known that there are more than 100000 different articles which must be furnished to our fighting forces and which must be distributed under the most difficult circumstances without hitch. These 100000 articles range from the small striker or firing pin of rifle or little nut or bolt to a man. moth railway mount for 16-inch how tiger. Some of the artillery carriages have as many as 1000 parts and 1t Is the duty of the ordnance department to repair and maintain such material.