The Chesterfield advertiser. [volume] (Chesterfield C.H., S.C.) 1884-1978, 1920-01-29
Mammoth Explosives Factory
in Alabama Built in
Eight Months.
ALL SPEED RECORDS BROKEN
Could Supply 13 Per Cent OF
Allies Needs Had War
Continued. x
BY oARRET SMITH.

Just now brought TO light for the first
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 end of city around II
for the housing OF Its 25.00O wOrltmcn
and their families. At the same time
Is revealed one OF the chief reasons
why Germany suddenly surrendered a
year ago. The German high command
knew TINT the United States was
ready at Muscle Shoals, Alabama, to
manufacture 13 per cent OF an the
high explosives needed by all the AL
lied armies on all fronts in the expect
cd drive of the following spring.
The first person on construction
work reached Muscle Shoals on No
vcmhcr 2G. 1917. On February 1G,
1918. ground was first broken for
permanent plant building. On OctO-
her 2G, 1918, eight months and eight
days later, the manufacturing plant
had begun the production of ammo
mum nitrate.
war in April. 1917. she had no Incnns
Of producing the enormous quantities
Of high explosives necessary to pro-
vide the huge ARMY she planned to
raise The very fact that our indus
tries were already worked to capacity
providing ammunition to the allies
seemed Ia make further production for
our own use impossible,
Fertilizer Process Turned to War Usc
At this iun"tur" the Ordnance De
parim"nt turned to cyanahid. n com
m~rcial fertilizer. shich had for some
years hecn produced successfully at
Niagara Falls, by Il process the Ameri-
can rights. OF which were obtained in
lNuT from Germany by Frank Sher-
man WaShburn, hend of the American
Cyannpid Company.
BY this process cyhnanid was pre-
duced by extracting nitrogen from the
air and combining it with calcium oh
tanned from limestone rock and carbon
fron coke. BY putting c!anamid
through. three more processes both am
iuenia and-nitrlc acid can bc extracted
from 1t and combined into the cXplO-
sivc, ammonium nitrate Mr.. Wash
burn was Invited to present plans and
estimates for the construction I'm the
shortest possible time of an ammonium
nitrate plant at Muscle Shoals, Ala
bamn, and a contract between his COM
pany and the United States was enter
ed into under date OF November 10,
1917.
TO have general supervision OF plan.
mir MI r,i m, hn rly
gnnization known ns the Air Nitrates
| Corporation was formed to act as
| agent OF the Ordnance Department
| This corporation provided the general
! acsgns, supervised all the work and
| operated the camp the town and the
| plant. II also Installed all equipment
| IN the chemical plant The various
other sections Of the work were sub
let to organizations that were special
| lists I'm the directions in which they
| were asked to help.
New City Built From the Ground.
1t was necessary to build new
! town to house the laborers. For this
| Job Westinghouse Church Kerr Com
| pany was called I'm ms contractor This
company also built the buildings OF the
| chemical plant Within four months
| 10000 workmcn had been assembled
! and city capable OF accommodating
5000 inhabitants had been complet ed,
! with lodging. restaurants, stores, Of
! Aces police headquarters. schools, fire
! departments, hospitals. motion picture
! thcatcrS. electric light and sewerage
| systems.
The construction OF the plant proper
was begun on February 1G. 1918. Just
/ pigh; months ana eight days later the
! hiC plant began n steady output OF am
( mOn,um nitrate. The plant contains
! 113 permanent buildings, with roof
area of over 20 ncr"s
10 prOvh" the electric current II
! was necessary to build a steam power
electric plant. for II would have taken
| thr"" years or more to complete In"
dam and hydro clc"lrrc station now un.
| der way. This plant. built by the !. G.
White Corporation, is one of the Inrg
eat steam plants for developing elrc.
trical energy in the world
Th' output Of tho plant is 300 tons of
ammonium nitrate n day. and this can
be produced at Muscle Shoals mt II cost
less thun onc-hulf thc standard fixed
price pnid by the Government for am
monium nitrate produced by other
methods and 0nc-fourih to onc.ffth the
cost Of other high explosives Of equal
strength. Compares with the Older
process Of making ammonium nitrate
the savings made by this plant would
haze paid the SGO,OOO0OO cost OF the
entire plant I'm about one and one.hnIf
years Of operation.
As military weapon 1t Is one of th.
wisest and most economical expendi.
lures that the Ordnance Department
has under taken. AS an agent In stop
ping tie war and as a future protec
tion I o the country Its value 10 incalcu
able
Catarrh Cannot Re Crrad