The Washington herald., 1918-05-15
SUPERBILLION
CORPORATION
U. S. Steel. Expanded, Will
Surpass Krupp's, Says
Holland.

II Il be true that the aggregate In
vestment In the ordnance plant Whlcn
the government IL to construct VIII
amount approximately to A.Ooo0Wo'
. then the United States Steel Cor
operation. acting In eo-operation with
the Government, will be repre-
sented By an investment which viii
tar surpass the original investment
which caused that corporation to be
termed q billion dollar corporation.
=. Very likely this report as to the
amount Of the ultimate investment Is
based upon guesswork or estimate.
but In any event This Undertaking Is
TO be the greatest single proposition
into which the government has en-
tered or probably win enter and In
IL the United States Steel Corpora
ton will participate.
Among the irst things observed in
the announcement made a day or two
ago that the government will build
an enormous ordnance plant wherein
howitxers. very. large shell and can
non can be manufactured. Is the fact
that the plant will be established
somewhere in the interior OF the
country. Presumably It will be To-
Gated not far from the steel plant
at Gary. although whether this be so
or not is q matter Of conjecture she
same reasons, however. which Justi-
ned the steel corporation in expend-
ing seventy-five million dollars In es-
tahlishinE a plant at Gary would
explain the placing Of this great gov
ernment plant IN the vicinity Of this
new Industrial center. Ore can be
brought to that place from the Min
nesota iron regions at very low cost.
At that point railroads concentrate.
making distribution easy to all parts
Of the West and also to the coast
Interior Danger Le.s-
Another reason which may ex-
plain the selection, of an interior
point for this plant Is that IL will
Be far removed from any danger
which might arise in case the Unit
ed States were at war with q na =
tion which sent its armies to invade
this country.
Two or three years ago when the
advocates of preparedness were agi-
tattng that issue. many of them
urged the government to establish
plants for the manufacture of mu-
nitions of war at points remote
from the coast. So that the dan
ger which might follow invasion
would be lessened. The govern
ment's Enormous plant whereby nj
trogen obtained from the atmos-
phere IL to be converted into ex-
plosive material and, after the war
into fertilizers and other peace
USES. was located at Muscle Shoals
chiefly because at that point water
power which may be raised to the
equivalent of six hundred horse
power can be utilized. 1t was DEEM
ed certain that in addition to this
utilization of inexhaustible natural
resources at that point, the plant
was so situated as to make il sub
stantially immune in case the Unit
ed States were in danger of inva-
sion by an enemy.
, Probably the greatest lesson; in
value of coordination and CO.
operation IL that which the govern
ment is teaching through. Director
General McAdoo by the unification
of the railroads of the United
States Next to that the most i'm
portant lesson which teaches the
value OF coordination and co-opera.
tien win be furnished during tht
construction and, after completion
the operation of this gigantic
manufacturing plant. The govern.
ment could not have done this alone
at least not until many years hat
passed. 1t has required ten ol
fifteen years to build up the Beth,
lehem Steel Company to its present
magnitude.
The Krupps in Germany were
many years in perfecting theil
plant. now said to be second to thai
fore the government called upon this
United States Steel Corporation
giving no heed to the fact that ont
department of the administration
is seeking to disrupt this corpora.
tion and has made argument il
support of that purpose before th'
Supreme Court at Washington. Had
the United States Steel Corporation
been disrupted by command of tn,
Supreme Court before we entered
into the war as one OF the allies. i
would have had been impracticable
even impossible, for the corpora
/. tion to give to the government th'
assistance which the Secretary Of
War has asked 1t to give and whicl
the corporation has promised t
give.
Aside from the construction o
the buildings which will be re-
quired for this plant, there is alsC
the very important question o
equipment. Much time is required
to- > manufacture the machinery
alone, which is necessary IL largt