The Brattleboro daily reformer. (Brattleboro, Vt.) 1913-1955, 1918-03-21
Turning Out 100000, 900 in
Munitions, Motor Trucks
and U-BOat Chasers
.NOLABOR STRIFE
NOR PLOTS DISTURBE
City's Greatest Industrial Plants Quick
ly Changed for Army and Navy Work
Truck Beat Railroad Time in Trips
to Seaboard

DETROIT, Mich, March 2l.-The ire
mendous part which the automobile fac
tories and other industrial plants OF De |
troit are playing in the prosecution OF
the war is shown by figures obtained for
the Associated Press by the Detroit |
Board of Commerce According to these
statistics war contracts totalling $780,,
| 900 have been turned over to local
| firms since last April, but industrial
| leaders and trade experts seem agreed
that this fact is secondary in Importance.
The leading spectacle in Detroits war
drama has been the remarkable speed
with which many of these contracts have
been filed. 1t is believed that no city
in America got under Roadway for Gov
eminent work more quickly, kept more
free from strikes and labor discussion,
protected its industrial resources more
perfectly from enemy plots or accom-
plished more when rail and water trans
portation facilities were lacking There
has not been a strike OF important pro-
portions in Detroit since the United States
entered the war. Several attempts at
incendiarism We're nipped in the bud and
there has been no serious fire at war
products factory.
Detroit men conceived the Liberty
motor. While motor experts were per
fecting this piece OF machinery a local
, factory, nearly a quarter OF a mile in
length, was being built. \ short time
after the motor was approved by the gov
eminent it was being turned out in this
factory.
On another occasion government rep
resentatives came to Detroit with CON
tracts for $50, 100000 worth of ordnance
A large automobile company accepted
the task, spent more than 81 600 900 for
building construction and in a compare
+ lively short time had installed the spe-
cial machinery which the government had
d furnished. Manufacturing then became
routine,
Then proposition was made to man.
r u.atthre shells here Several business
men held meeting, organized a com
t pany and a new industry was founded
Anti-submarine boat plans were an
Il nounced at Washington early in Feb
ruary 4 few days later 1t was an
+ nounced here that contracts had beer
let for a plant to be built at River Rouge
3 suburb Of Detroit, where hundreds O
l these small boats are to be built anC
launched The factory must be ready by
|, May 10, according to the contract BE
S tween 10000 and $4,000 men will be EN-
ployed and announcement has been made
r. that the Government will construct
10 small naval training station there, s.
crews may be ready for each boat as s0ol
as it strikes the water. The boats thel
. will start for Atlantic Ocean via the De
/ troit River and great lakes
Months ago automobile makers saw tn
le threat of freight congestion Automobile
k OF every kind from great trucks and an
d balances to small high power officers
m cars were being made; airplane part
were being constructed and parts for
new type of ocean going vessel were bt
y ing built in the same factories. The raj
IL roads found the freight burden too heav,
We SO one Detroit automobile concern SUI
Ut gested to the government that It's wa
trucks be allowed to deliver themselve
- Permission was granted and the pla
proved successful The cars not only d
llvered themselves at seaports, but carrie
70 capacity loads of freight
~ Day after day long lines of new trucl
20 stream from the heart of the city and a
-, cording to investigations made by Il
H. Board of Commerce, they make the tri
,s to Philadelphia or Baltimore in niue
- better time than the steam freight q
~ service"
~ Detroit's two big shipbuilding cor
:. panes are Of course doing nothing b
~ war work Their construction in 10
=, was record and greater achievement
~ are forecast for this year The plan
. are building vessels of length that "
pass through the Canadian canals al
are fitting other lake ships for the jou
ney to salt water,
III Detroit's factories now are getting reaC