POWDER FOR ALLIES.

Lyttelton Times, Volume CXVII, Issue 17077, 28 January 1916, Page 2

POWDER FOR ALLIES.

WAR CREATES A.CIIX - , ("New York Herald).")" T The opinion of munition manufaefctr?-. ers regarding the indefinite prolongation of the European -war is forcibly, illustrated by the development schemes of the E. T. du Pontlde Nemoura Powder'Company branch factory, located at Parlin,- on- the banks of the,-Raritan near Perth Amboy, New JeTsey.- With fourteen square miles of wilderness transformed into a gunpowder-arsenal within the last eighteen .months,, the Du Pont company is new constructing additional buildings on an as large to start the manufacture .of gunpowder beginning. Blarch 1,4916.,;. : Adjoining the Du;Pont Union Powder Company's factory, : and* it is reported on good authority that on January 1 the.Du;Pont Company/ia to take over control of the latter company, and in addition to. the buildings now under construction, it is reported, the Du Pont people intend to bridge, the mile and a hair of vacant woodlands between their present plant and that of the Union works with more buildings which will • make the ;Dvt -Pbht plant in. this locality one of "the>' largest in" the country.. ' ; • '. .' ' Before the war the Du Pont Company manufactured gunpowder at •■ Pai'lin on a modest scale, and their plant was one of the smallest in the country; ;in:,the last year the number of employees has been increased from under, 1000 to between 3§QO and 4000 taenr. The Union Company "employs about 1000 men, and when the combination is effected and all the additional Du Pont building are completed, it is said between 70UQ and 8000 men will be employed'. ■ *'->'j In the early phases of the, war therq were hard times around 'Perth, Ambqy, South Antboyy South' River; -SayreviUe and surrounding cities and towns, and there was a vast army of the unemployed, but.with:,the work in the Du iprospetous times have coins and no yoUng, middle-aged, or elderly man in this territory has aii excuse for being without, work. Much has been written about the millions made by the big munitions boom at Hopewell, Virginia, and while the real estate speculators have not made big profits %in this section, the.benefit to the mechanic and workmgman;,has been justvas large 'as at Hopewell er.any Other siftall hajnlet put on the map because of the wjar 'munitions industry. Oarpenters, plumbers, and all buildingtrades';men hays found employment in the hew plants under construction, and they all hajra the opportunity to put in double time on Saturdays and Sundays. 3 i PLANT CAREFULLY GUARDED. Surrounded bj r a caged wire fence' nine feet high on top of which acre three strands of barbed wire- on a bevel angle, the plant of the Du Pont Company is so guarded that spies would! find it almost an impossibility to penetrate to the interior. In addition to the big wire fence, the plant is surrounded by a large army or armed guards, including New York " gunmen " and men who have served in the ai'ihy and navy., They maintain a constant patrol outside the wire fences, reinforced by another cordon at a short distance inside the fence, which is further backed up by another squad of guards around each building. Special precautions against- fire >or explosions among the men who work in the factories are taken, and if anything serious happens at Parlin it will not be because of" negligence on the part of the executives of the Du Pont Company. The, Du 'Pont force worksan three shifts of eight hours, each, and before entering the-main gate to the plant! every: employee Thust • turn his pockets inside out for. the inspection {o guards. A match found in the possession of an employee means that man's discharge. In .addition?to this inspection one ninn is employed in the plant for examination purposes and at any : time: of the day.br night any employes is subject to a search by this inspector. Anv instrument of ignition found on the person of an employee causes immediate, expulsion from the premises and discharge. ■•■ - 't, '' man is employed as a fire inspector and his duty is to constantly patrol the plants for evidences'of carelessness. He looks for scraps of powder dropped on the floor, .which ,are supposed to be cleaned up immediately by the employees. A sliding of a bucket across the'floor is apt to cause an ex-; plosion if tnere are any scraps of powder around, and there are many other minor details which become gigantic hi a powder factory. ' The health of the employees of the "Du Pont Company at Parlin is a big item of expense. More,... than- 50,000 dollars now is being spent on the 4000 employees to inoculate them with typhoid bacilli: Parlin ; as -located in a swampy country "and stbe" -drinking water 'obtainable is \ apt to cause an invasion of typhoid. ' To guard against this every employee is subject to threa injections of a typhoid serum ten days apart, and <it is - estimated that each injection costs the company four dollars a man. An endeavour was made to obtain water from the Perth Ambby Water Department, but the amount needed could not be supplied from thel Perth Aniboy reservoir without, a big shortage in Perth Amboy.