Belington progressive. [volume] (Belington, W. Va.) 1912-1927, 1920-01-08
THIS CITY BUILT /.
WHILE YOU WAIT
Fourth Largest Town in Alabama
Full Grown in One Year.
HAD A MODEL GOVERNMENT
Permanent Settlement Around
U. S. Nitrate Plant Presented
Unusual Problems.
By oAsREr sM,rh.

~ Anc AupEta t1Txcst .6Iy N sAtop4ns.
eeopied sith $4,000 souls Of diverse
races and religions, uprooted from far
scattered communities In every part
;.ot the Uaitsd States and Canada
sprapg into being almost overnight
aresnd the great new government amrs1
nan.Nm nitrate plant down on the
spea cotton and corn fields At Muscle
EseAis on the Tennessee River dsrins
the last year Of the World War. Here
yves 4 problem "; city bnilding, mimic
ipai sgerernncnt and community wes.
| fsrs that has seldom been eQsslisd'l
and Tie SUCCESS Of its solution hiss
sever bees excsaied.
The Job was N the hands Of the Ar
Nitrates Corpora tions which had been
srEanised aader the direction Of ths
Ordinances Department 10 build plant
and city At Muscle Shoals Essay in
january. 1918, this, new town aaa =
ten tsnDorary hsasAinss, and = pepss
,atisn Of $50. This had Jumped by tSs
nai11ls " August to moro than 3, 600
!. a population Tnuitpaicd BY 20 In Z
| months. tF's ~ +stss@ go %s 20
81 In the Management Of tha new
| towns and army cantonments that
lssprang up during the war the sit-
tine evils that attended the growth st
mushroom cities have been syoided
by the application Of laodern Nelfars
|. systems. But nowhere were condi-
|, tiens more dificnit than 1t Muscle.
/ Shoais Here was . maiariaf region
threatened at the same time with.
| other deadly disease epidemics' Trans
portationA was lacking No nearby
labor was available and the general
labor shortage was at its most acute
stage. Costs OF labor and supplies
! were Ieaping over night. Furthermore,
Muscle Shoals differed from all the
! other new war towns inasmuch ms IL
! was to be permanent
New Government Devised.
The managers, besides city govern
ment had to handle the entire retail
! business of the town. A camp super
visor's department was put in charge
! of the maintenance of all buildings,
! fire protection and sanitation The
camp supervisor looked after every
thing from the mending of lock to
the remodeling of groups of buildings
or laying sewers or steam mains. For
the bachelor contingent commissary
department was necessary.
The business department managed
he stores, canteens, motion picture
tneaters, pool parlors, tailor shops
dry cleaning establishments, barber
shops, newsstands, hotel, vegetable
farm and a hog farm where 1000 hogs
were raised on the wastes from eat
lag places. 1t maintained slaughter
house where these hogs were put
through the regular packing house
course. 1t operated laundry which
cleaned 7,49S pieces day. Then
there was real estate department
that rented and managed the family
quarters and housing department.
which assigned to quarters everybody
4 excepting the families.
j 4, Under separate Jurisdiction from its
4 community director were the police, \
The health department. in charge Vt
| physician from New York city,
started with q small once In one Of
tbs temporary buildings, and was
i soen ffAl grown and spleadidly
| equipped Conditions were favorable
to disease. The winter was the
seyerest on record In northern Ala
i hana. Ths men were compelled to
/ work either In deep snow or mud above
j THAR knees. As result . pneumonia
epidamic developed among the Negroes
that spring. Later In the year u
Typhoid : epidemic was threatened.
Moreover the site of the plant was IA
the heart Of the malaria district. But
the pneumonia epidemic was checked,
the typhoid threat nipped in the bud,
and malaria stamped out.
~ A Health Record Established
The little first-aid hospital present
~ grew to a complete modern institu-
ton with nurses home and sep
arate dispensary for dental, eye, ear,
nose, throat, genito-urinary clinics and
surgical dispensary for first-aid
work.
During the eight months when the
death rate was not affected by the in
fuenza and pneumonia epidemics the
general health rate was 12.4 per thou
sand per year, which is lower than in
most cities in the same latitude and
climate, and the pneumonia death rate
during the epidemic was lower than
In most army environments.
Much of the success of the health
administration is due to the establish
ment of the Muscle Shoals sanitary
district by the United States Public
Health Service.
The education and welfare depart
ment also had vital work to perform.
There was a school population of over
LOCO The Secretary of War created
the community organization branch
of the Ordnance Department which,
with advice and aid of some of the