GRIESHEIM EXPLOSION.

Nelson Evening Mail, Volume LII, Issue 53, 2 March 1918, Page 6

GRIESHEIM EXPLOSION.

GREAT BLOW FOR GERMANY

A paralysing effect was temporarily produced in Germany by the destruction some months ago of the Griesheim factory. Extreme care was taken by the Berlin Government to prevent details leaking- out, and information which has since been obtained from trustworthy sources makes it clear that ther e was good reason for secrecy;. It is certain tnat the explosion caused the complete destruction of one of th e greatest munition factories in the world. The Griesheim-Electron factory was situated in the neighbourhood of Frankfort, -with an extensive frontage on the River Main. It consisted of an enormous group of buildings covering an area of over 54 acres. Tweaty-eigdit large chimneys', one of them over 200 feet high, gave the impression more of an industrial town than a single factory, and' numerous piers abutting on the river, combined with an extensive railway system, enabled this- huge concern to distribute its products among the world's markets economically and quickly. Before the war it ranked as fourth in importance of the great German chemical works, and was always a flourishing company, paying a pre-war dividend) of 14 per cent., and worth as a going concern well over £3,000,000. ■lts commanding position in the chemical world rested l not only on , jits ■huge output, but on the extensive variety of its manufactures. These comprised, among other things, aniline dyes of everyi description, nitric, sulphuric and 1 other •acids, phosphorus, aD-1 alkali, with liquid chlorine, hydrogen, and oxygen as important by-products. What it meant to Germany as a source of munitions of war can thus be readily understood. Moreover, as on© of the uncommon instances among German chemical works possessing installations for electro-chemical production, it was of prime importance as a source of synthetic nitrates,- and its splendidlyorganised research laboratory enabled it to play a leading part in the production of poison gas and the other more refined forms of f rightfulness which Germany has introduced in the course of the war. That the Imperial Government has taken- the fullest advantage of these facilities is shown by the increase of the works both in extent and' output since the beginning of the war, and' !>y the that the company has recently) decided to increase its* share capital by 60 per cent., an increase in which- the German Government is more than suspected of having a financial interest. With Teeard to the productive capacity of Griesheim some authoritative facts are available. It has been producing saltpetre for the manufacture of black -powders at the Tate of 10CO tons a day, and it is reputed to be the only factory turning out this article. To such an extent has its already impressive output of soda nitrate and' concentrated sulphuric acid been developed that it supplied the whole demand of five nitro-glycerine and dynamite factories, as well as two powder works, including that at Rottwell, one of the most important in Germany. Another explosive which is manufactured in large quantities was t-onite, through its ■facilities for making synthetic phe-jol and 1 consequently picric acid, from which acid this explosive is derived. Another circumstance of special interest i s the fact that this factory suppliedl large quantities of electrolytic hydrogen for the inflation of Zeppelins, and l possessed byi way of a reserve three gasometers with a total capacity of over 300,000 cubic feet. So important was it in this respect that a Zeppelin shed, containing two or three airships, was e rect-ed in close proximity to the works. For the .lute balloons at the front the gas was supplied; in steel tubes in the liquefied state. Moreover, the extensive electrolytic plant wai; further utilised to produce asphyxiating gas and lachrymatory and poisonous shells. Indeed-, it was the greater centre of this manufacture in- Germany, and' in 1916 th e output of poison gases reached the colossal figure of nearly 600.000 cubic feet a day.

The extent of the material loss which Germany has suffered' lpy the destruction of the Griesheim factory can thus be easily comprehended. But the disaster is of still wider significance. The varietyi of the materials formerly produced means, in such a closely interlocking industry as chemical manufacture, that every concern in Germany was affected', both from the cutting off of supplies which many of them formerly drew from Griesheim and from the "necessity of making th e loss of theso. supplies eood from plant already working to their maximum. The deaths of scores of trained workmen and l specialists, in the factory itself and in the dwellings within its confines, would make the task of copinsr with this deficit all th e more difficult.