The Logan Republican. [volume] (Logan, Utah) 1902-1924, 1919-12-30
Mammoth Explosives Factory
in Alabama Built in
Eight Months.
ALL SPEED RECORDS BROKEN
Could Supply 10 Per Cent oil
Allies Needs Had War
Continued.
BY GARRETT SMITH.

'u'' Nv" "l'"-"' !" 'S"' '"' '''' ''S
llile one OF lhe most stup'huous leAtS
or construction In hislorN-ihe plan
ming and building In less than one year
of the largest ammonium nitrate plar'
I'm the world md Of 81 CITY around
for tbe bouslu,, or ifs % uoo vorl.i.. 81
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manufacture ]" per cent OF "Il the
hlgh explosives needed ny an the Al
lied armies on all fronts In the expect
cd drive OF the following spring
The first prrson ON construction
work reached NruscIn SboaIs nm No.
,en,bor oe 1oi7 IN E,brrory ~
,o;o a,,,,, ,a .n., h.a,.. -
l''''onell l'"'' p"''u'"s' va WV
per ~ l7IS' elGht months ana elEht
DAYS hl'r inc hahuIhc'ur'hE p'hh'
hhu neguh Ihe production OF ammo
mum nitrate
when America entered the world
war ~ APRIL l9l', she hnd no means
OF producing the enormous quantities
OF hlEh explosives necessary 10 pro
Nld' the huge nrL'E sue Planned 10
raise Inc very Iact lhal our lhdus-
trl's were ALREADY WORKED 10 capacity
providing ammunition l" lhe h'lles
seemed |" make further production Tor
our own use impossible.
Fertilizer Process Turned to War Use.
At this Iuncture the Ordnance De.
pnrtment turned 10 cyanamld Il com
merclnl fertilizer, which had for some
years been produced successfully at
Niagara Fails. by process the Amerl-
can rights of which were obtained In
1907 from Germany BY Frank Shrr.
man Washburn. head Of the American
Cyanamid Company.
rs this process cynnamid was pro.
duced by extracting nitrogen from the
air and combining It with calcium oh
tanned from limestone rock and carbon
from coke. BY putting cynnamId
through three more processes Doth am.
monia ana nitric acid can be extracted
from II ana c"mhlheu INTO me expo
siNe, ammonium nitrate. MT wash
burh was lhNlten 10 present pans and
estimates FOR the construction IN the
shortest possible TINE OF an ammonium
nitrate plant M Muscle shoals Ala
Dama' ana cohiract DetWeen MS com
pnny ana the 'hited states was enter
cd INTO under daie OF November IT,
WI
10 nave general supervision OF pan
ning ana carrying out the work an or
ganl2ation known ny the Ar N'irales
Corporation was iofhed Z" ACT as
agent OF me ordnance department.
inns corporation PROVIDED the general
designs supervisor an the work anu
operated the camp, the town ana the
plail. " also Installed an equipment
IN the chemical plait. Ihr various
other sections OF me work were sub
let to organizations mat were special
ISIS IN the directions ~ Wlich they
were asked TO h"lp
New City Built From the Ground.
II was necessary 10 build new
town to house the iahorors. For this
job Westinghouse Church Kerr Com.
pany was called In MS contractor This
company also built the buildings Of the
chemical plant within four months
10000 workmon had been assembled
and city capable Of accommodating
$4,000 inhabitants had been completed,
with lodging, restaurants. stores, Of
fees, police Headquarters. schools fire
departments, hospitals, motion picture
theatcrs, electric light and sewerage
systcms
The construction Of the plant proper
was begun on February 1G 1918 Just
eight months and eight days later the
big plant began steady output Of am
monlum nitrate, The plant contains
ll3 permanent buildings, with n roof
area of over 20 acres,
To provide the electric current II
was necessary To build q steam power