Iron County news. [volume] (Hurley, Wis.) 1913-1950, 1923-05-12
SURPLUS WAR EXPLOSIVES
BEING UTILIZED
Has Proven One of Great Economic
Benefits of the Aftermath of
War.

Washington, D. C.-The salvage
and utilization of surplus war ex-
plosives in peace-time pursuits in
the United States has been one Of
the great economic benefits of the
aftermath Of the war, according to
Dr.. Charles f. Munroe, chief ex-
plosive chemist Of the Bureau of
Mines, in a statement made by him
Government agencies alone, Dr.
Munroe says, have distributed, for
their own use and for uses under
their auspices. many million pounds
of such explosives during the last
four years, compared with none be-
fore that.
These agencies include the Bureau
of Public Roads, the Reclamation
Service, the Indian Service, and the
National Parks, and thousands of
pounds of the explosives have been
used in the construction of the
Alaskan Government Railroad, in
Panama Canal Zone work, and in
numerous river projects.
As times goes on" DR.. Munroe
said, "the people who have been
using these wartime explosives will
realize more and more the benefits
to be derived from their use, in high
way construction and repairing, in
ditch-digging, in drainage work, and
in land clearing on cut-over stump
lands. Eventually there will be a
larger and larger demand for eX-
plosives as labor-savers in such work
and the consumption will go way be-
yond the present work. Having
once used explosives in industrial
work, people will always want to use
them. As a result the whole ex-
plosives industry Of the country viii
eventually greatly benefit, to say
nothing of the direct, immediate
benefit to all Of the people, by rea-
son Of the labor saved"
The Bureau Of Mines made many
tests to determine what to do with
these explosives at the end of the
war, resulting in a program Of dis
tribution now being carried on,
which has saved hundreds of thou
sands Of dollars Dr. Munroe, who
is one Of the country's leading eX-
plosive engineers. has made a report
to the Bureau Of Mines, in which he
says:
"The use of these surplus explo-
sives in industrial blasting seem
now to be an obvious means for their
economical utilization, but it was by
no means 50 obvious when first pro-
posed following the armistice.
Authorities differed widely in their
opinion on the matter Those who
believed that military explosives
were unsuitable for industrial blast
ing could point to the we'll known
fact that although the explosive pro-
perties Of substances such as plcric
acid and T H. T., had been known
for years prior to the war, yet they
had not entered into use as industri-
al blasting agents Investigation had
to be resorted to as a means of de-
termining the facts, and the larger
part Of the allotments made have
been used in industrial blasting, on
great variety Of projects, with entire
acceptance
One interesting feature Of the
Investigations made was in the case
Of agriculture. Estimates made by
the II S. Soil Survey and various
colleges Of agriculture showed that
the value 81 land in the Upper
N ssissippi River States alone would
Be increased by more than $1,000
100000, when lands there We're
cleared Of scumps and reclaimed.
This work is now going on. as the re-
suit Of the distribution Of the ex-
n-1siHee- ordared BY Cargress.