MUNITIONS

Feilding Star, Volume XII, Issue 3022, 17 August 1916, Page 2

MUNITIONS

HUGE PRODUCTION OF SHELLS. OVER TWO MILLION WORKERS. L«Y KLUCTJMC TELEGItAI'H —COPVIUGHI f.Reu tor's Telegram. J London, August 15. Lord Montague of JJoaulieu told the Ho if so of Commons that the output of shells hud increased .so much that comparison, with that of 1914 would be useless. Besides a large amount of munitions and guns, we were supplying our Allies with metals for munitions to llic value of six millions sterling a month. Britain was scuding to France one-third of her production, of steel for shells. He urged the importance of a further dilution of labour. Forty-live thousand soldiers had been released for munition work. While 635,000 persons wer e employed in making munitions a year ago, there were now 2,250,000, of whom 400,000 were women. The British equipment of 18-pounders was practically complete, and we .should shortly .satisfy our own requirements in machineguns. Britain would then he able to devote attention entirely to the requirements of the Allies. The weekly output of munitions covered the expenditure of them, so that if the workmen and employers continued to play their parts as nobly as heretofore, there was no fear of the offensive breaking down, owing to a shortago of ammunition.' Our unpreparedness for war had the advantage of giving us entirely modern weapons. Reports from the front showed a steady improvement in the quality of the ammunition, but against an enemy like Germany, progress must be continuous. Tlie Ministry had been aiming at independence from foreign supply. When the Ministry was established, American factories supplied 70 per cent, of the light shells. We were now independent of U.S.A. We had found the American heavy shells invaluable during the development* British factories, but he expected that the Home and Canadian outputs would ultimately make us independent. The cost of factories was decreasing. The cost in some cases "had been completely covered in six or twelve -months by differences between the cost of home and foreign munitions. Lord Montagu paid a tribute to the women, and asked where now was the man who would deny women the civil rights which they had earned? The Ministry's programme would not be completed until the number of guns had increased many times and the ammunition? was sufficient to maintain an indefinite offensive on the whole front.