IN GRIM EARNEST

Dominion, Volume 9, Issue 2665, 10 January 1916, Page 7

IN GRIM EARNEST

OUTPUT OF MUNITIONS WH£T YORKSHIRE IS DOING .WOMEN IN KHAKI Leeds is tlio lioarquarters of tho West Hiding munitions area. Tlio whole kingdom has been mapped out into eleven areas, of which seven are in England and Wales, two in Scotlaud, and two in Ireland. The areas are subdivided into a varying- number of districts, and each district has a local board of management, acting under tho Ministry of Munitions, and kept in touch witb it by a- doublo system. In the organisation department of the Ministry, writes the Leeds correspondent or the London "Daily News," the various districts are allotted to particular officials, who advise the local boards of their districts and keep in constant correspondence with them. U'hat is one form of connection. At the same time the production department at the Ministry has a supervising engineer resident in each area, and looking after the practical work in cooperation with the local boards. That is the general scheme of organisation in outline. Localiy there is 110 uniform type of arrangement. The boards vary a good deal in form, character, and activities according to local conditions. In this thickly-populated manufacturing area there are nine districts with their own boards of management, and each of these has a varying number of smaller towns and villages within its Jurisdiction. The whole area embraces 79 separate places in which munitions are being produced in- one form or another. There are several national shell factories, and tho co-operative system is also employed. It enables many small workshops to contribute by making parts, and altogether there are four or five hundred establishments working under tho organisation. _ A great advance has been made during the last three months, and it may said that the resources of the West Riding are now fairly mobilised,' though the.v are not yet by aby means in full work. The national shell factories aro particularly noteworthy.

First In the Field. • There are now twenty of these estab* lisbments sot up under the Ministry, and the West Riding not only has more than its share of them, but it is also in advance of othor areas in point of time. Leeds was first in tho field, and it lias been turning out shells for some months. The factory, in which 12U0 men are employed, will very soon be working' up to the full output for which it was plauned. It is a thoroughly practical concern, run by practical men, and ic is entirely a local product. Tho whole fflstallation of machinery has been designed and built, in the neighbourhood, and is specially adapted for use by unskilled or semi-skilled labour, which has all been traiued in the factory. Very few women are employed here, because tho class of shell is too heavy for themto handle. The forcings aro also supplied in the place. This factory, -which has made extraordinarily rapid progress since it was first taken in hand in June, is now as busy as • any workslibp in the country. No rfne can see it without admitting that this form of munition production can be made perfectly successful, and a real asset. It is indeed, so successful that a second has been built not far from it, and is now being fitted for turning out shells of larger calibre. A third, on a much larger scale, is being built on another site, and will form one of tho hew national "projectile factories" for the production of high explosive shells of large calibre.j The programme of tho present tour inolude'd a visit to another national factory in this neighbourhood which made an equally strong impression. I refer to that at Keighley, which. has run a neck-and-nc-ck race for priority with Leeds, and is now in full work. The Keighley factory is on a smaller scale, but it presents some features of particular interest. It demonstrates tho energy and patriotism of the Yorkshire people in a remarkable way.

"fanned" by Women. It has teen equipped and manned from local resources, if manned is the right ivord for a factory in which, most uf the work is done by women. The khaki-clad women of Keigklcy are in the way of becoming deservedly famous'; for they are splendid workers'; the skilled men who have taught them cannot soy too mucli of their capacity and industry. But there are other remarkable workers here. Tho local manufacturers who took this factory in hand pi;t their hearts into the business, and' scoured the neighbourhood for volunteer help. They appealed on patriotic grounds and not in vain. Retired manufacturers, farmers, rural labourers, men over sixty years of'ago came forward, and are putting in their rhifts now. The day's work also included a visit .to one of the famous Leeds engineering establishment!, in which an extraOrdinary variety cf material, is being turned out. The following is the . bare list:—Small arms munitions, ammunition* for the French .Government, 1 ma-chine-gun mountings, fuso igniters, plant for' manufacturing small arms ammunition and for cartridge cases, shell forging presses and shell thread milling machines, machinery for manufacturing rifles, steam turbines and electrical machinery for munition _ works. The firm lias devoted itself entirely to war work, and in order to turn out all this varied material it lias built many new workshops and increased its staff from 1500 to 5000.