Perth Amboy evening news. [volume] (Perth Amboy, N.J.) 1903-1959, 1924-03-15
Senator Edge Reminds Weeks
That Jersey Will Work for
Appropriation
Il -,
FOR REMOVAL TO UTAH
Delegation Tells Weeks of Ex-
cited Frame of Mind of
MiddIesex People
By GEORGE H. MANNING
washington Correspondent OF
the Perth Amboy Evening News)

WASHINGTON, March 10
Secretary Of War Weeks gave as
surance to Senator Walter E.
Edge and four representatives of
the Middlesex County Board of
Freeholders who called on him
yesterday that he would have the
high explosives moved away
from Raritan Arsenal to a stor-
age station at Ogden, Utah, if
congress would provide the nee
essary appropriation.
q ) Senator Edge reminded Mr..
Weeks that he had in two of his
letters during the past week as
sured the secretary that if he
would approve the plan for NOV
ing the explosives he believed he
could get the united support Of
the New Jersey delegation in
congress to secure the appro-
priation from congress.
In the party that called on Sec
retary Weeks to urge him to move
the explosives away from Raritan
Arsenal were, in addition to Senator
Edge. Frederick Richardson, county
solicitor, and Freeholders William
Bey, George Applegate and George
Vandenbergh. Senator Edwards was
put of town.
The delegation explained to Mr..
Weeks the excited frame of mind
of the people of Middlesex because
of the fear that there will be more
explosions at the Raritan Arsenal
and urged him to move all the ex-
plosives away from the arsenal
! there.
Secretary Weeks explained that it
Is necessary to keep a supply of am
munition at Raritan Arsenal, which
is the principal supply plant for
the defenses and the army along the
Atlantic coast. He said, however.
that he was not opposed to moving
HWdy tiiO hi6ll CApiOSltCo dlld 0latCh
that he had directed General Will
liams, chief of ordnance, to prepare
an estimate of the cost of moving
the high explosives to the storage
plant near ogden, Utah. He did not
know the quantity of high explo-
sives at Raritan Arsenal. he said,
but expected to have a report on 1t
shortly.
Secretary Weeks was careful to
explain that only the high eXplo-
sives would be moved away from
Raritan Arsenri. This, with the
strict observance of safety precau-
tions taken with the other explo-
Bives would, he thought, remove
any danger of an explosion at the
Raritan Arsenal.
Secretary Weeks while In favor of
removing the high explosives added: !:
"Since the establishment of the
Raritan Arsenal, to the best of my
knowledge and belief, not a single
resident of the vicinity other than
employees of the arsenal has suffer-
ed any bodily injury from explosion
or accident occurring within the
Raritan Aresenal reservation, nor
has any property uamage whatso-
ever occurred to the citizens of the
vicinity which could be attributable
to the maintenance of the Raritan
Arsenal as a storage establishment
for government munitions.
That the Board of Freeholders of
Middlesex county has been instru-
mental in swaying secretary Weeks
to move the explosives from tne
Raritan Arsenal to other parts Of
the country is clearly shown in cop
les of letters which have been ex-
changed two days before the free
holder delegation appeared in Wash
ington to make personal protest.
In letters to Governor Silzer and
Senator Edge, written last Wednes-
day and Thursday, Secretary of War
Weeks reasserted that the storing OF
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