The Washington herald., 1918-09-05
ERECT PLANTS
FOR NITRATES
Government Arranges to
Take Over Synthetic Pro-
cess, Says Holland.

The only change in the great IN
dustrial proposition now under way
near Sheffield. Ala, which will be due
to the suspension Of work upon the
construction OF the large power dam
in the Tennessee River, lies in the
fact that this power plant PROPOSE
ton Is simply postponed for most
convenient season. whereas the nj
trats plants which are established and
speedily to be enlarged in the vicinity
will not be interferred with.
There seems to have been mis-
apprehension throughout the country
with respect to the water-power plant
on the Tennessee River and the be-
ginning and continuance OF construc-
ton Of the very great nitrate plants
which are already established there.
For it has been presumed that the
utilization Of the vast water power
Of the Tennessee River and the man.
ufacture Of nitrogen obtained from
the atmosphere would be coincident
in point Of time. But that was a
mistaken view. for in any event it
would have been impossible completely
to utilize the water powers Of the
Tennessee River until construction
work had been carried on for several
years. By and by when peace comes
this water power resource will be
made available by government aid.
II will be used in the process of re-
covering nitrogen from the atmOs-
phere, but this product will IN days
to come be chiefly used for fertilizinE
purposes and for peaceful industrial
demands. Our recovery of nitrogen
from the atmosphere by a process
which men of science discovered not
long ago will be of great importance
by and by. because there is no doubt
that the nitrate fields of Chile upon
which we have chiefly depended are
being rapidly exhausted.
Great Possibility Unheeded.
The government and private en-
terprise paid no heed until recently
TO the possibility Of securiting to
commercial advantage atmospheric
nitrogen through the utilization Of
electricity OF high pOtentiality. 9th
er nations did realize that an mex
haustible natural resource could
thus be obtained. Norway set the
example which Germany speedily
followed as Germany has taken up
other inventions and discoveries
and improved upon them. 1t has
already been pointed out by men
oT science that II Germany had not
perfected faculties for the recovery
~ nitrogen from the atmosphere
.h- would have been unable to he
kin wa, certainly unable to carry
il on.
As in so many other cases it is
the CxiEerCics Of the war which
have Of 4 sudden caused both the
government and private capital to
realize that in the United States
there are abundant facilities afford
cd by water power for the cheap
recovery Of nitrogen from the at
0osphere and for the utilization of
tNo product thus secured through
chemical and other processes for in
dustgiaI needs and for fertilizers.
Plants Undrr Construction.
Now at Toledo. at Cincinnati. in
West Virginia and in Alabama.
plants are in the course of con-
struction which when completed
viii be able TO provide the United
States with all Of the nitrogenOus
products that are needed both for
the manufacture OF explosives and
also for use in industrial pursuits.
The nitric plan. at Muscle Shoals
will not be interferred with by rea-
son OF the decision Of the govern
ment TO suspend work upon the con-
struction of the water power plant
The needed electricity will be pro-
duced by the use OF coal.
At one of the Muscle Shoals nitric
plants known as number one" it
will he possible to get about II 900
tons Of nitrates annually. This,
however. is to be recovered by the
ammonia is the base. The entire
plant which will cost about 3O.OOO,-
600 will, when completed. have a
capacity OF $4,000 tons Of nitrate. II
so much as that be needed for
powder. or nearly 22j.OOO tons OF
fertilizer concentrates.
L. :. May Become Independent.
Dye stufrs obtained from our own
raw material. the wonderfully eN-
panded use OF cotton both for war and
domestic purposes, the gradual but
sure utilization Of all our natural re-
sources from which potash can be OBJ
tanned probably ultimately in amount
the rest Of the world. and now nitro
Eenous products obtained either from
the atmosphere or from ammonia rep
resent the sudden and enormous
transition that has taken place in the
United States. so far as certain in
dustrial activities are concerned, since
the war began.
In addition, these new developments
and the unexpected but wonderfully
successful utilization OF our resources
for the production of various COM
moditles which we did not produce in
any amount before the war began are
especially to be supplemented by the
development under government aus
pices Of our waterpower resources. The
day IS not far distant when the pre-
diction made by George Westinghouse
when he was addressing some OF the
business congress OF Atlanta ten years
ago will be justified by the event
For Mr.. Westinghouse then said that
within a comparatively few years
much Of the industries and much OF
the railroad transportation in the
South would make use OF electric en-
ergy created by Southern water pow
ers and in private conversation Mr..
Westinghouse added that within a
generation's time many OF the indus
tries and substantially all the rail-
roads OF the United States would be
operated by electric energy which had
been created by the utilization OF wa
. ter powers. HOLLAND"