The Powder River County examiner and the Broadus independent. [volume] (Broadus, Mont.) 1919-1935, 1920-01-09
Had Sold to America Secret
Of Making Explosive
From Air.
BIG NITRATE PLANT RESULTS.
Built in Eight Months X Con-
vinces Kaiser Of His Defeat.
BY GARRETT SMITH.

Is the story Ut how the Ordnance DE.
rartment of the United States Army
made II possible for America. until
then utterly lacking in ammunition
and in facilities for making it, to man.
nfacture unlimited quantities If pow.
erf1ll explosives out Of air and rock.
Ii was largely the knowledge Of this
fact that forced Germany to surrender
when she did.
/ The secret was secured from Ger
many herself. 1t was an open hnsi-
ness transaction between business
men, whereby we apparently acquired
nothing more military than a process
for making high grade fertilizer
known as eyanamid.
/, Frank Sherman Washburn, head Of
4 the group If business men who bought
this process. conceived the germ Of
the idea IN the early ninetirs while IN
South America as consulting engineer
in connection with the production and
shipping Of Chilean nitrate of Soda
Nitrogen compounds are an essential
part of all commercial fertilizers. The
only available natural nitrate deposits
in large quantities are in Chile This
supply WAS diminishing. Germany,
which had been taking about one
third OF the Chilean nitratcs. was al
ready experimenting with processes
FOR their artificial production. In 1907
Mr. WaShburn secured in Germany
tie American rights Of the cyanamil
process which had been invented in
that country.
Turning Air into a Weapon.
Fly this process air. which is a mix
tNre of about fonr-tifihs nitrogen gas
and ore-fifth oxygen. is placed in con-
taners and subjected to pressure and
cold until 1t turns to liquid. Then
the nitrogen is distilled in much The
same manner as alcohol is separated
from water. Put before this nitrogen
can be used as fertilizer il must be
combined with 81 chemical combination
of lime and carbon known as calcium
carbide produced 10y burning ordinary
-'.''> - Vie a'A''S ouu tVtu-
bining II in the electric furnace with
carbon supplied in the form of or,li-
nary coke
Cyanamld thus produced contains
the elements Of ammonium nitrate. one
Of the most powerful Of modern expio-
sives. Ey one process ammonia is en-
tracted from the cyanamid. BY an
other nil ric a..iR iS u
from another batch Of this same Sya-
namid Then The ammonia and nitric
acid are combined and there you have
Ammonium nitrate ready for packing
into shells with INT.
There are three kinds Of explosives
used for bursting shells in modern
picric acid and ammo
mum nitrate. The United States was
equally deficient in raw materials and
plants for manufacturing all three of
these explosives. Under the best Of
conditions the cost of either INT or
nitric acid is about two and one.half
the cost Of ammonium nitrate. But
the United States was wholly depend
ent upon Chilean nitrate of soda as a
raw material for ammonium nirrate,
with the exception of small pro,1uc-
ton Of nitrogen from the c"king OF
coal The Chilean supply was 4.5o0
miles away from New York City Nv
way Of the Panama Canal, and the
route by way Of the Straits of Magel,
AN is nearly twice as long.
A Record Building Operation.
Shortly after the war began in Flu
rope the German government entered
INTO the fixation of air nitrogen for
explosives on vast scale. 1t
vas not, however, until the fall of 1917 !
hat the United States government
oOk it up. /
The Ordnance Department asked MIR. /,
Naahburn's company to organize
corporation, known MS the
Air Nitrates Corporation, with Mr. !
Nsshburn as president, to act as .
lgent of the government for the con- |,
and operation of the air nj
rates plant at Muscle Shoals. Ala |
'ama. This corporation provided the
designs, erected the equipment in the !
helnical plants and supervised all the
'ther work. 1t also operated the
amp, the town and the plant. Other
york is sublet To several Of the best 4
Known organizations in the United 4
states. Westinghouse Church Kerr 1
Company built the plant buildings. the
amp. the permanent city and utilities,
The J. &. White Engineering Corpora
ion designed and built the nitrate
cid plant. The N. w. Kellogg Com.
any furnished the piping and built
hs chimneys. On February 18, 1918,
round was broken. and eight months
nd eight days later the $6OOOO,OOO
luscle Shoals plant began producing
mm0niun nitrate. In that brief 10.
tod $1,000 men had completed the
liant and around it, where not q \
euss stood before, had arisen a city
$4,000 Inhabitants. -
This plant when In full operation
No ready 10 provide Is Per cent Of oil /
Eplnsives to be used by all the allies |
a all the allied frSnts during the ex.
ec:c' spring drive "f lvl4