Spirit of Jefferson. [volume] (Charles Town, Va. [W. Va.]) 1844-1948, 1920-01-27
WORLDS BIGGEST
NITRATE PLANT
Mammoth Explosives Factory
in Alabama Built in
Eight Months.
ALL SPEED RECORDS BROKEN
Could Supply 10 Per Cent OF
Allies Needs Had War
Continued.
By GARRETT SMITH.

Lifting the ban of war secrecy mas
lust now brought to light for the nrst
time one of the most stupendous feats
Of construction in history-the plan
ming and building in less than one year
of the largest ammonium nitrate plant
In the world and of city around II
for the housing Of its $4,000 workmen
and their families At the same time
Is revealed one of the chief reasons
why Germany suddenly surrendered
year ago. The German high command
knew that the United States was
ready at Muscle Shoals, Alabama, to
manufacture 10 per cent of all the
high explosives needed by all the Al
lied armies on all fronts in the expect
ed drive Of the following spring.
The first person on construction
work reached Muscle Shoals on No
vember 26, 1917. On February 16.
1918, ground was frst broken for
permanent plant building. On Octo-
Der g. 1918, eight months and eight
DAYS later. the manufacturing plant
had begun the production of ammo
mum nitrate.
When America entered the world
war in April, 1917, she had no means
of producing the enormous quantities
of high explosives necessary to pro-
vide the huge army she planned to
TN 20 ho
tries were already worked to capacity
providing ammunition to the allies
seemed to make further production for
our own use impossible.
Fertilizer Process Turned to War Use.
At this juncture the Ordnance De-
partment turned to cyanamid, COM
mercial fertilizer, which had for some
years been produced successfully at
Niagara Falls, by process the Ameri-
can rights of which were obtained In
1907 from Germany by Frank Sher-
man Washburn, head Of the American
Cyanamid Company.
By this process cyanamid was pro-
duced by extracting nitrogen from the
air and combining it with calcium OBJ
tanned from limestone rock and carbon
from coke. By putting cyanamid
through three more processes both am
4nonia and nitric acid can be extracted
from it and combined into the explo-
sive. ammonium nitrate. Mr.. Wasr
burn was invited to present plans and
estimates for the construction In the
10 IF on mn
nitrate plant at Muscle Shoals, Ala
bama, and a contract between his COM
pany and the United States was enter
ed into under date of November 16.
1917.
To have general supervision Of plan
ming and carrying out the work an or
ganization known as the Air Nitrates
CORPORATION was formed to act as
agent of the Ordnance Department.
This corporation provided the general
designs, supervised all the work and
operated the camp, the town and the
plant. 1t also installed all equipment
in the chemical plant The various
other sections of the work were sub
let to organizations that were special
lists in the directions in which they
were asked to help.
New City Built From the Ground.
1t was necessary to build new
atown to house the laborers. For this
Job Westinghouse Church Kerr Com
pany was called in as contractor. This
company also built the buildings of the
chemical plant. Within four months
$4,000 workmen 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
theaters. electric light and sewerage
systems.
The construction of the plant proper
was begun on February 16, 1918. Just
eight months and eight days later the
big plant began steady output Of am
monium nitrate. The plant contains
113 permanent buildings, with roof
area of over 26 acres.
To provide the electric current IT
was necessary to build steam power
electric plant, for 1t would have taken
three years or more to complete the
dam and hydro-electric station now un.
der way. This plant, built by the J. G.
White Corporation, is one of the larg-
est steam plants for developing cleo
trical energy in the world.
The output of the plant is 800 tons Of
ammonium nitrate a day, and this can
he produced at Muscle Shoals at cost
less than one-half the standard fixed
price paid by the Government for am
monium nitrate produced by other
methods and one-fourth to one-ffth the
cost of other high explosives of equal
strength. Compared with the older
process of making ammonium nitrate,
the savings made by this plant would
have paid the $60,000,0o0 cost of the
entire plant in about one and one-half
years of operation
AS military weapon it is one of the
wisest and most economical expendi-
lures that the Ordnance Department
has undertaken AS an agent in stop
ping the war and as future protec-
ton to the country its value is incalcu-
liable.