The Elk Mountain pilot., 1920-01-22
WORLDS BIecEST
NITRATE PLANT
Mammoth Epiosises Faetssy
n Nab1mA Butt n
ElQht n1entis&
ALL SPEED RECORDS BROKEN
Could Supply 13 Per Cent OF
AIhes' Needs Had War
Continued.


Continued.
Dy GARNET SMITH.
Lifting the ban Of war secrecy has
tuse now brought to light for the A1Se
time one Of the most srspendoos feats
Of construction IN histov-ths plan
ming and building fa len thaA ons year
Of the largest amnsu1um nitrate paanf
IN de world and Of city around n
for the housing Of Its 1900 vorkm<a
aAA their famflssa AT the sane t1me
10 rsveaJed one Of the chief reasons
Why Germany suddsaly surrendered
year aeo. The German high command
hSv that the United States was
ready At Muscle Shoals, Alabama, to
manufaefurs Is per cent Of an the
high explosives needed BY all ths Al
lied G1mies on an fronts In the expect
Cd drive Of the following sprng-
ns arBt person on constructson
verk reached Muscle Shoals on No
venbsr "a, 1917. o. February 14
1919 ground was arst broken for .
permanent plant building On Oeto-
beT u, 1918, eight months and eight
days later, tie manufacturing plant
had begun ths production Of ammo
ntum nitrate.
When America entered the world
war in April. 1917, she had no means
Of predicting the enormous quantities
Of high explosives necessary to PRO
vide the huge army she planned to
mise. The very fact that our indus
tries were already worked to eapae1ty
providing ammunifion to the alliea
seemed to make further production for
our own use inpossible-
Fertilizer prsesss Turned 70 War Uss.
At this tunctsre the Ordnance De
partment tsFnsd to cyanamid. q com
mercial fertilizer. which had for som<
years been produced suceessfully a'
NiasaEa Falls, BY . process the Amefi
| can rights of witch were obtained n
1907 from Gernsay ~ Frank sher
nan wsshburn. h4ef1f the American
Cysnansd Coopo1.
BY sAis pres1 onenid vas pro
d.esa ~ 1hVel 7Sitrpses from tn
air e,s csufS1Sk vftA ealcfum %
tnased fssm N1iSstsss rsek and earbos
ftuO eske- Dy--Dotting eyanaDi<
shrsssh three lore proeesses both aD
1ania aud nitric aesd can be extracts
frpm 1t aud cd0Ained Into the explo
ave. an66ssu1 Nitrate. Mr.. Wash
burn vaS 7a~seAd TO present plans an
estimates for the eeastTuefiou IN n
sbesisss pnssibls tiDs Of an ammoniu.
nitrate plant at Muscle Shoalx Ala
bama. and eontrsct between his com
pany and the United States was enter
ed into under date Of November II
1917. - -e--s
To have general Supervision Of plan
ming and cayryfng cot the work an OF
eaaixation known - the Air Nitrate
Corporation was formed to act q
sReat OF the Ordnance Departneni
This eorporstios pr1vided the genera
desagns, supervised all the work an
operateti the camp. the town and tn
plant II also Installed all equipmen
in the chemical plant The variou
other sections Of the work were suh
let to organisations that were special
lists in the directions In which the
were asked to help. 80.
Now City Built Frsm the Ground.
It was pecessary to build Q ne,
town to house the laborers. For thi
Job Westinghouse Church Kerr Com
papy was called in ~ contractor. Thi
company also built the buildings Of tn
chemical plant. Within four month
1900 ;workmen had been assemble
and a city capable Of accommodatin
5000 Inhabitants had been completed
with lodging. restaurants, stores. Of
ices. police hea6luartsrs. schools, Or
departments. hospitals, motion pictur
theaters, electric light and sewerag
SYSTEMS.
The constructed Of the plant prope
was begun on February 18. 1918. Jus
eight months and eight days later tn
big plaAt began . steady output Of an
monium nitrate. The plant contain
l13 permanent buildings, with q roo
srea Of over % acres.
To provide the electric current
was necessary TO build a steam powe
electric plant. for It would have take
three years or moro to complete tn
dam and hydro electric station now ur
der way. This plant, built by the ].
1 white CoFpoFat1s0, II one Of the. lasl
ct steam plants for developing elet
trical energy in the world.
The output OF tAs plant Is 300 tons
ammonium nitrate Q day, and this ca
be produced At Muscle Shoals at COS
leas than one-half the standard nxe
price paid by the Government for an
monium nitrate produced by othe
methods and ons-Seurtn to one-nfth tn
cost of other high explosives Of equs
strength. Compars9 with the olde
process of maktng ammonium nitrate
ths savings made By this plant woul
have psiS the $6Q,oo0.000 cost OF tn