Eagle River review. [volume] (Eagle River, Wis.) 1890-1927, 1923-04-05
Wisconsin is Greatest
User of War Explosive
BILLIARDS. AND HEAVY WEATH
Err IN LAKE STATES CAUSES
DELAY IN FARM WORK

Billiards and other heavy weather
in the Lake States Of Minnesota, Wis
consin and Michigan have somewhat
DELAYED the Inauguration of spring
farm work, such as land clearing,
drainage, ETC., as well as highway
building and Improvement, but with
the opening of good weather there is
every prospect of going ahead along
these lines, and big demand for the
governments surplus war explosives
to be used in this work, according to
officials of the Bureau Of Public
Roads.
Minnesota has recently ordered
$4,000 pounds of the Governments
cartridged picric acid; Michigan has
recently ordered about 10000 pounds
but Wisconsin has shown more activ.
ity in this line than any of the Lake
States and has ordered $4,000 pounds
This cartridged picric acid, left
over from the war; is being distribut-
ed to the farmers and road builders
of the country through the Bureau
of Public Roads, under an act Of Con
gress, designed to relieve State and
County taxpayers of the payment of
hundreds of thousands of dollars
which they would otherwise have TO
expend for the purchase of CONNER
cial explosives for use on farms and
in road-building. The government is
distributing the cartridged picric acid
without charge except a cost of seven
cents a pound for drying, cartridging
and distribution, plus freight, and the
necessary blasting caps or detonators
are distributed free, one to each
pound of the explosive, meaning a
reduction in the cost of the explosive
of two cents a pound, thus making a
net cost of five cents pound, F. o. B.
present storage.
Unless farmers and highway build
ers in Minnesota and Michigan exert
themselves to obtain their supplies
of the cartridged picric acid in the
near future they will find that their
sister State of Wisconsin has far out
stripped them this Spring in stump
blasting, land clearing, drainage, and
the building, repairing and mainten
ance of it's roads AS the figures pre-
viously given show the Wisconsin de
mand is far ahead of that in Michigan
and Minnesota. This is due. to the fact.
that there is much more activity by
the Wisconsin Agricultural College
and it's state officials, in showing
farmers and road builders the merits
and great money saving through the
use of Government cartridged picric
acid, than there is in Michigan and
Minnesota. In Wisconsin fifty seven
county agricultural agents are actively
engaged under the supervision and dir
ection of Dean H L. Russell of the
University of Wisconsin, in pointing
out to farmers, especially, how they
can easily clear their cut-over lands
and thus add thousands of dollars to
the taxable areas and greatly increases
the value of their own lands. The WI
sconsin demand for the picric acid, ii
'kept up at the present ratio, will soon
reach 100000 pounds.
While Michigan has used so far but
10000 pounds, it is believed in Wash
ington that the farmers are badly in
need of it in that State, and that they
could and would use 100000 pounds
if the Michigan State Agricultural Col
iege and the county agents were as
active there as they are in Wisconsin.
A similar situation exists with regard
to Minnesota, where the demand SO
far has been for the explosive princi7
pally for highway work, but there are
vast areas in that State badly in need
of the necessary land-clearing by its
farmers.
Reports reaching Washington are
that the recent storms in the Lake
States have badly cut up many roads
and highways, and the Bureau of Pub
lie Roads points out that highway re
pair and maintenance men can get
supplies of the cartridged picric acid
through their State Highway Commits
sioners.