The Greeneville daily sun. (Greeneville, Tenn.) 1918-1920, 1919-12-29
MUSCLE SHgALS
NATIONS BUL WbRK
Big 100000, 900 Nitrate Plant
a Defense for Future
Generations.
lNsuREs NATIONAL DEFENSE
Assurance Of Abundant Aneri-
can Explosives a Reason
Why Germany Quit.
BY GARRETT SMITH.

|? One OF the chief fortresses OF Amer
1ica's new military defense system
which developed out of the World
War Is the Ammonium Nitrate Plant
at Muscle Shoals, Alabama. on the
Tennessee River, over three hundred
miles from the Aseacoast, capable Of
turning out 800 tons of high explosives
a day. II assures to the United States
for all time an abundance of amlnmi
ton without which an army Is help
less encumbrunce and Il has made
this unlimited supply Of explosives
available without resort to raw ma
terlal from outside of the country,
The essential ingredient Of all mod
ern military explosives in nitric acid
Before the World War, America was
entirely dependent upon Chile for thu
supply Of nitrate Of Soda the onla
chemical from which nitric acid can
be made. In case this country became
Involved In war with any nation thai
could control the sea our foe would
have us at her mercP, for she could
cut off our essential means Of striking
back.
Other nations, however, were
rqually dependent upon the Chilean
ntrate supply Germany was pur.
chasing one-tllird Of 1t. She Ind OK
pected to hold the sea with her sub
marines but failed But process,
for extracting nitrogen from the ali
had been obtained by Germany some
years before from italian chemists
This process had been successful In
producing a high grade heterogeneous
fertilizer from which In turn could
ne extracted ammonium nitrate. Ger
many, therefore, fell to manufacturinl
ammonium nitrate from the air on 81
large scale.
Americans Buy German Secret.
In 1907 an American company, head
ed by Frank s. Washburn, had secured
the American rights to This process
from Germany and had gone Into man
nfacturing the fertilizer on the Cam
dian side of the Niagara Falls. When
America found herself In tie World
War tile Ordnance Department turned
TO Mr. Washburn's company for help
The Air Nltrates Corporation was
formed, with Mr.. Washburn AT rs
head, TO build the Muscle Shoals plant
II was assisted By several other well
known corporations, such as the Wesi
nghouse Church Kerr Company which
put M the plant buildings The perma
nent city and utilities tie u q. White
Corporations which designed and con
strnced the power plani; the Chem
iea' Construction Company, which De
signed and built The nitric acid plant
and The NJ. w kellogg Company, which
furnished the piping and built tn
himneys.
Beginning work in NoTs,,er, 1919
The big plant and new city AT Muscle
Shoals was completed within one
years time Had the expected sprin;
drive OF 1919 materialized this on, |
plant alone would have haen able Il
supply 10 per cent. of all The high
explosives USED by all Tire Allied ar
mics on all fronts during that drive
and the United States Was secure for
all time TO come against an ammunl
lion shortage,
When the arrangement was finally
made for building the big air nitrate
plant, work was begun on power I
lam az the same point. This work Is
being conducted directly by the Unit /
ed States Engineering Corps II viii
not he completed. however. for two ol
three more years II was necessary
therefore. in order 10 insure lmme
late operation when the nitrate plani II
vas completed 10 construct a SO 900.
100 steam power plant, one OF the larg
est scam plants f0f the production OF
elerfrlc power In the world
L Is polnted out ihat even had the
xaterPower plant been completed dur
ng Tie war Il would have been ueces i
'ary also 10 have constructed steam
plant TO insure the nitrate plant work.
ng Al fun capacity at All times dur
ne the year