Catoctin clarion., 1921-07-14
KRUPP'S SCRAP "
MUN|T|0N PLANT
Month After Armistice Army of
115,0CO Employees Was
Reduced to O,OOO.
take UP PURSUITS or PEACE
Nowhere Else, in Self-Contsined
Works, Has the Process of Turn
ing Swords Into rlowshares
Been on So Vast !. Scale.

feature of krupp's works ut Is
sen 1T the present time which struck
Walter Meakin, writing in the London
Daily News, is the scruppng Of he
huge extra equipment required for
Hindenhu"gS luunition program, v h Oh
raised tn" number OF employees from
$1,000 to llj.OO0.
The whole of the works with no less
than 800 acres. or nearly Il square mile
OF covered floor space. was concentrate
ed entirely on production for the war.
when, al the signing of the armiSticr,
the vast organization of labor for De
structive purposes suddenly collapsed.
The social p0ltpnts in lh2 Ruhr were
sinister. Revolution was in the blood
of the workers, and no one could fore
cast the development of the uphenvaL
Partly as precautionary measure
partly To hurry on the task of adapt
ing the works To new conditions. the
starr was reduced to the 42,Oun prewar
strength within month Of The ar
luistice. The additional workers in
Guiding all the women. were paid f'lr
weeks wages and sent to their homes
throughout Germany.
The position at this time WIS IN
planned by enc of the chef officials.
"Although before the war;" he said.
''we manufactured other things rail
way and shipping material. motor car
parts. hish-@ grade tool Stetls and 80 on,
the production OF guns. munitions and
war vessels was the lnainStay of the
works. All that WAS irrevncnbly end
ed"
In the Intervening two years the
task of converting the arsenal t" peace
production has proceeded unr""" 'n"ly,
and still goes ON. Now her" else. in 8
self-conlained works has the process
of turning swords inIo plowSlnrrs been
carried out on 50 vast scale.
Titanic Transformation Spt ctacIe.
Under the supervision of the al led
control commission the whole of the
new shell and gun equipment IN The
mammoih buildings Of the llindenl'urg
program has been made useless md
thrown tn the scrap heap. The most
complete and spectacular lranSforma-
tion has taken place in one of these
buildings. Within twelve months Ii
was re-equipped With machinery for
the mass hroductinn Of locomotive
goods and engines for the state rail
ways,
From n balcony one looks down i'm
mensc avenues of roaring machinery,
and the whole scene. with hundreds
of workmen busy at forge or lathe or
crowded about the assembling stands.
Is one of titanic enterprise. From the
bays ON the side come the plates and
other heavy parts. From the other
side flows n stream of machined parts.
and In wide central bay they come
together at thirty-five assembling
stands.
The normal rate of production with
each engine and tender on the stand
for nineteen days, would give, roughly,
a daily output of one completed engine,
hut while the artisans are underfcd
aud domestic troubles foster political
discomfort normal work is impossible.
Nevertheless this engine shop present
ed the most impressive picture OF in
dustrlal activity seen in Germany.
Make Costly Experiments.
In the famous cannon halls Of pre-
viuus years and in other parts of the
works elaborare and costly experiments
in the manufacture of textile and agri-
cultural machinery, tracto"s and motor
vehicles are being carried out. in the
belief that the home market, which has
been almost monop0lized by America
In the past, can be supplied by mass
production methods.
This intense reorganization effort is
only possible 70 firm with Il prewar
capital of SEQ, ,OOO,OOO. and enormous re-
serves built up during the war. No
dividend Is being taken by the four
or five holders of the capital
Thousands of old employees, for
whom there is little work, are kept on
at full wages. All the resources are
being staked in the attempt to carry
the concern through the uncertain
years which lie Immediately ahead.
"lf we go slack now" the officials
SAY "there must be crash. 1t may
uot be possible to avert 1t ultimately.
Our workers have settled down more
cOntentedly for the present but II
their privations continue breaking
point must be reached sooner or later.
"Also, If coal difficulties, high prices
and the disastrous fluctuations of the
exchange cannot be overcome q return
10 a healthy state of industry is i'm
pt ptssble. Impoverishment must in
crease and productive effort will de-
cline even If the country is spared an
extremist uprising. The whole situa-
:icn is uncertain, artificial and un-
Rtable. We are simply going forward
in the hope that final collapse may
be avoided"