HOW "UNCLE SAM" ASSISTS THE ALLIES.

Otago Daily Times, Issue 16537, 10 November 1915, Page 8

HOW "UNCLE SAM" ASSISTS THE ALLIES.

By A Visitor,. When in the United States a few months ago i wanted to find out for my own satisfaction iiow far the United States munition manufacturers were assisting the Allies in providing them witih the so urgently needed death-dealing material. . It is not an easy matter to get admission to any of the munition producing plants, and I therefore considered myself very lucky when the general manager of the Remington Arms U.M.C. Company gave me permission to visit their plant at Bridgeport—the largest ammunition factory in the United States, probably in the world.

Mr Gray, an officer of the company, was detailed to bz my escort, and next day at an early hour we two set out for Bridgeport, one of the busiest cities in busy Connecticut. A run of nearly two hours brought us to our destination. A motor car which was waiting at the station whirled us in 10 minutes to the entrance of the ammunition works. The, place was well guarded by police and detectives, and I hardly think it possible for anyone to get access to the office, let alone the works, without undoubted credentials. Owing to my escort I had no trouble whatever, and soon was introduced to the superintendents of the works, Messrs Burkhardt a.nd Johnson, who received me as a visitor from the antipodes most cordially. They conducted me personally through the works. The very size of the great manufactory is impressive. The floor of the numerous workshops is not mentioned in feet, but in Just imagine 30 acres of it crowded with revolving machinery. Though every machine is running silently and smoothly, the cpmbined noise is a.ll the same deafening. \ We went through hundreds of rooms, and the sight is everywhere almost similar. Each room contains hundreds of machines, worked at top speed by a whirling network of shafts and belts.

At present 10,000 pairs of hands are employed by the company, and over onethird are. the nimble hands of girls and women, who seem to be better adapted to handle the smaller kind of ammunition than men.

Most of the machinery is exclusive, and has been developed at much pains and' expense; hence I was asked not to give any special description if ever I would publish my impressions. It was hardly necessary to give my escorts an assurance of my strictest discretion, as, even if I were willing to do so, I could not give a description of one single machine which could be of any use to anyone who would try to steal a inai'ch'on the company. Some of the machines were wonderful, indeed almost uncanny, combining a dozen and more actions for which otherwise as many separate mechanisms would be necessary. The present output of the firm is somewhere near 10,000,000 shells and cartridges of one sort and another per week. One cannot help feeling rather sad when contemplating that such a huge establishment can be kept going day and night producing these deathly missiles. I wondered if any of the girls were ever struck by tihe thought that the very cartridges passing through their hands might kill in a few weeks later brave young fellows who could have made excellent husbands for them. Apparently they all were happy and contented, and no such thoughts entered their minds. The matter-of-fact way in which these girls handle the most terrible compounds is very striking. For instance, when making primers, which go in the head of the loaded shell, there is sufficient of a greyish paste (fulminate of mercury) on their table to. send hundreds of them to "kingdom come" if the mass should dry too quickly. As long as it keeps wet there is no danger. The girls, though knowing this, have no fear in handling the deadly stuff,' and press it deftly into the mouldswhich separate it into the proper size for primers. J must confess I felt rather relieved when my guides moved on and we got to a part of the works less volcanic. The manufacture , of the brass cases for cannon shells is very interesting. A disc of braes about 6in in diameter and half an inch thick is placed in a hydraulic press, and forced into tlhe shape of a basin or tup, with sides of approximately 4in high. The operation is repeated twice in other machines, when the shell case is of the desired length and diameter. Then the delicate- operation of tapering the top has to be performed, after which the case is ready for filling. The materials out of which shell cases are made must be of the very best, otherwise it will not stand the strain. Ail shell and cartridge cases undergo the most careful (inspection. The former are inspected by men, the latter by girls: There are no less than 300 female inspectors, and' it is most interesting to watch them at ; work. With great dexterity they pass, the cartridges through their hands, and, though the action is very rapid, no faulty cartridge escapes their eagle eyes. A slight dent hardly perceptible by the naked 1 eye is sufficient to throw the cartridge out. The machinery is now so perfect that the rejects amount rarely to more than seven per 1000. After the first inspection a reinspection takes place by a squad of some 30 other girls. After passing the second inspection, the cartridges are packed in paper boxes, and then comes the final inspection by the officers of the Government interested, who are stationed within the factory. These officers take one or more out of the boxes at random, and inspect them very carefully. If found to be satisfactory the lot is passed, and can be packed into cases and made ready for shipment. I saw thousands of these cases waiting for V removal, and' probably a number of those I saw never reached their destination, and are now resting on the bottom of the sea out of harm's way. I am not allowed to divulge the names of the ports of destination, but I can say this, that none of the shipments I saw went to the enemy. ■ - 1 Apart from the inspection of the cartridges for outside defects, other tests have to be made to ensure that the effectiveness of the cartridge is up to standard. For these tests elaborate and complicated ar- ] rangements have been made. Velocity, in- ] tensity of sound, penetration, pressure, etc., etc., have to be gauged. A round million cartridges are fired every year in these tests.

One of th« most interesting parts of the works is the shot tower, 10 storeys high. The building is constructed of steel, brick, and concrete; not an inch of timber is used. Two large cylinders descend from tbe top through the whcJe building, and end in .a large water tank. • On the top floor are placed the cauldrons in which the lead in mixed with other metals and melted , . Over the cylinders mentioned before, sieves are placed, the perforations of which are of the exact size of the sliot desired.

The alloy is pourod on to these sieves and the shining metal dripr, through the meshes into the empty cylinders, taking shape during its descent of approximately 100 ft, the shot finally plunging into the water tank. The impact churns up the water to a white foam.

On certain points there are openings to allow a view of the interior of the cylinders. Apparently they ars empty, but if one were to put <i.n arm inside, it would be torn off bv the force of the fallinc; lead. The pellets after leaving the tank have to undergo many other manioulations before'they are ready for use. They have to be hoisted up again, and then tumble down through complicated devices, by which they are sorted, polished, graded, and coated with graphite.

■ It is a' pretty sight to zee the shot pour outjof large spouts in cascades rolling over glass inclines, shelf above shelf. Automatically the defective shot is driven ever so much quicker. The imperfect pellets are ■pushed info separate receptacles, and ultimately find their way into the cauldrons on the top floor. It is impossible to give in an article like this a full description of all there is to be seen. Suffice it to mention that the total aTra covered by the works of the Remington Arms and TJ.M.C. Company is nearly 400 acres. It contains over 100 buildings, a small deer park, several rifle ranges, and a private railway connecting the various buildings direct with the railway systems outside the U."M.C. territory. * The smartest thing done by the TJ.M.C. was the building and full equipment of 10 unit factories, five storeys high, each 60ft by 272 ft, -within four months. All the

factories are fireproof, and isolated, but interconnect with one another by outside fireproof staircase* and passages. These buildings were solely erected to be able to tope with the increased demand for ammunition by the allies. The U.M.C. works several other munition factories, but on a (■mailer scale. Outside this concern there are many others busy supplying ".lohn Hull" and his friends with the Avherewithal to eyi?h their enemies. U would be a calamity if "Uncle Sam" would be drawn into the fray, if it were only on account of the stoppage of the supply of munitions. It was 4 o'clock in the afternoon when I took leave of my courteous guides, and two hours later found me in New York ready for dinner.