The St. Joseph observer., 1920-01-31
EXPLOSIVE PRODUC-
TON QUADRUPLED
While None of the Powder Or Dyna-
mite Manufactured I'm This State
Found Its Way Acrues the Waters
to be Employed Against the Ger
mans Yet Ii Produced the Stuff
That Made the Agents Which Did.
By A. T. Edmonston.

JEtFEltSON CITY, Jan. IL
Especial Correspondence What the
war years did to promote and increase
the annual output and worth of pow
der and other explosives, dynamite,
Missouri is indicated by a bull
letin OF the Missouri Bureau Of Labor
Statistics, dealing with the industry,
commencing with 1914 and closing
with the end of 1918, given publicity
by Labor Commissioner william II.
Lewis.
The increase in worth of Missouri
made dynamite, powder and other eX-
plosives in course of four years, is
convincingly made clear by the fact
that the 1918 output of the four fac
tories of the state, one in Pike county,
two in Jasper county, near Carthage,
miles from Kansas City, the last year
of the war. was worth s9,471, ,476, as
compared to a worth of s3,O95,25s
for the production of 1914, the year
the world wide conflict commenced.
The gain in worth of output i'm four
years was S6,376,21S, or about 200
per cent. While the price per unit
Of dynamite, powder and explosives,
1915 over 1914 materially increased,
just as did all other manufactured
commodities, yet most of the increase
in worth during the period considered
by the Bureau OF Labor Statistics
bulletin was due to an actual gain in
total quantity of explosives produced.
Worth Over Eight Million
The 1917 production of Missouri
made explosives had a total worth of
| SS,5S4,322 as compared to $6,79S,016
for 1916 and S4,213,S75 for 1915. The
following exhibition of figures gives
the annual output of Missouri-made
dynamite, powder and by-products
from January l, 1914, to the close of
1915.
Explosive products manufactured in
Missouri in 1918: Dynamite, 34,-
506,127 pounds; black blasting pow
der, 2,375,75O pounds: mixed acids,
9,949,3O pounds, and ammonium nj
trate, 13,S12,67s pounds; total pro-
duction reported. 60,643.sf5 pounds.
Explosive products manufactured in
1917: Dynamite, 45,169,0OO pounds;
black blasting powder, 4.215,OOO
pounds; mixed acids, s,O51, 900
pounds, and ammonium nitrate, g.
$4,000 pounds; total production re-
ported. 6O.354,OOo pounds.
Kept On Increasing
Explosive products manufactured in
1916: Dynamite. 4l,2s7,OOO pounds;
black blasting powder, 1857, 900
pounds; mixed acids, l,457,000
pounds, and ammonium nitrate, L.
| $4,000 pounds; total production re-
ported, 45,O7s, 900 pounds
Explosive products manufactured in
1915: Dynamite, Ss,O21, 900 pounds;
black blasting powder, 2,o33, 900
pounds; mixed acids, 256,0O pounds,
and ammonium nitrate, 2,239, 900
pounds; total production reported,
42,549,OOO pounds.
Explosive products, manufactured
| in 1914: Dynamite, 27,1e0, 900
pounds; black blasting powder l.
| 976, 100 pounds; mixed acids and am
mOnium nitrate, none reported; total
reported production of explosives,
1914, 29,166,lOO pounds.
The Part Missouri Played
! The part Missouri manufacturers OF
explosives played in bringing to a
speedy termination the world war
while only an indirect one, since none
of their products, were, so far as is
officially known, used in actual bat
ties on land or sea. was necessary
and, therefore, worth while. During
the war years, Missouri made dyna-
mite blasting powder and other ex-
plosiVcs were shipped into every min
ing state of the country and used
there to blast out the mineral which
finally found their way in the manu-,
factured form of cartridges, bullett
shells, rifles, bayonets, machine
gun pistols, revolvers, seige-guns, can
mons, auto tanks and trucks and Other
munitions supplies and paraphenalia
including even submarine boats
dreadnaughts, battle cruisers, and al
parts OF aeroplanes, into the yer,
heart of the conflict as 1t ragged OF
land and sea in the eastern hsni
sphere Through increasing their out
puts end shipping into eastern mininI
states, Missouri explosive manufactur