Evening star., 1942-05-17
By THOMAS r. HENRY,
Star staff Correspondent.


KNOXVILLE, Tenn, May 10
Endlessly the silver river flows like
a mountain torrent, sunlight from
high factory windows flashing in
weird patterns against its eternal
undulations.
It Is Americas river Of victory
and perhaps the river of new
world to follow the war.
The silver river Is the everlasting
flow of sheet aluminium through
the presses and over the production
line of the largest single industrial
plant located in the Knoxville area
by the Aluminium Co. of America
Up to the war the strong light
metal, which forms a twelfth Of the
crust of the earth, was finding its
way into many industrial uses
especially household wares and rail-
road trains-but it still was far
from having found its place in the
sun.
Huge Production Rate Seen.
Despite its abundance, 1t was diff
ficult to extract and relatively ex-
pensive. Within the next IL months,
however, the United Sttaes will be
producing the metal at q rate of
2,100, ,000, 900, pounds q year, more
than seven times the production
of. five years ago and enough to
replace every railroad passenger car
In the United States three times a
year.
This has been largely a triumph
OF engineering and technology. In
one vital process alone at this plant,
company engineers explain, the
rolling of aluminium has been
speeded up fiftyfold. Otherwise the
factory. which even now covers
more ground than any other plant
in the country, would have to be
increased In size 10 times to give
the same output.
In the last two years, due to these
developments and the mass produc-
ton which they made possible, the
price OF the metal has been cut from
20 cents to Is cents q pound.
Today the entire effort Is directed
to winning the war. But In the
company's laboratories are new
aluminium alloys with copper, man
ganese and magnesium which prom
ise to be stronger, lighter and
cheaper for peAcetime industrial
uses. They are not being brought
into production at present because
they still require much experiment
tation and it is unwise to change
horses in the middle Of a stream.
Twilight" of Iron Age.
But the aluminium age may well
succeed the iron age, now in its
twilight.
No other American industry is
watched so Zealously by the Army
and Navy. Every pound Of the light,
silver metal is precious to the war
effort and the new technical meth
DDS for its extraction and fabrica-
ton are closely guarded.
The manufacture Of 1000 ,000, 900
pounds of sheet aluminium in year
will require more electric power
than was consumed in 1910 in ~
Of the 48 States. The amount Of
current required to make . pound
would light the average American
home for 10 days. For every pound
8 pounds Of other materials are re-
quired.
The present program got under
way late In 1898. War still was far
in the future, but the Aluminium
CO. Of America officials saw that the
country was bound to arm itself,
especially in the air. The expan-
sion, primarily undertaken to sup
ply the needs OF the aircraft manu-
facturers, has been stepped up as
other needs have arisen.
The second phase came In Octo-
Der, 1941, when the Defense Plant
Corp. let the first contracts in a
program to add another $4,000, 900
pounds to the country's productive
capacity. The third phase. first
announced in February, will add
about 600, ,000, 900 pounds more. This
is far more Of the metal than, it is
believed. the Axis powers will be
able to produce.
Supply Is Abundant.
The abundance Of aluminium Is
deceptive. 1t is far more common,
for example. than iron. Any clay
bank contains plenty of 1t. It oc-
ours, however, in a finely distributed
form and the job Is to extract it.
Most clays are too poor, unless re-