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Show MUSCLE SHOALS NATION'S BULWARK Big $60,000,000 Nitrate Plant a Defense for Futuro Generations. INSURES NATIONAL DEFENSE Assurance of Abundant American Ameri-can Explosives a Reason Why Germany Quit. Dy GARRET SMITH. Oni' f tho chief fortresses of Amer-1 Icm'k iew military defense Hjslem which di cliiped out of tho World' War Is tho Ammonium Nltrnto l'liint ' nt Mude SIuuiIh, Aliiliiuiui, on the i Tt'iiiu- m'o ltler, over throo hundred i mlli'n from Urn nciiconst, capablo of turning out !HH) tout of IiIkIi eploslrw a iIii.n. It ii'.siiitm to the United Stales for all time no nbundanee of iiinmunl-t iiinmunl-t Ion without which nn nrmy Is u help-Il"-s eiicumbriiiice mid It bus Hindu this uiilluittt'd Hitpply of explosives iiMillnliln without leRort to raw inn-teilnl inn-teilnl from outside of the country. Tint essential liinirtllrnt of all modern mod-ern mllllnry explosives In nitric acid. Ilefore the World War, America wan entlivly dependent upon Chile for the supply of nltrnto of Rodn, tho onlj . chciiilcnl from which nitric acid can be niiide. In case this country becitino linohed In war with any nation Unit1 could control Hie sen our foo would , linxc us nt her mercy, for sho could, ,cut off our cs.scuthil means of striking back. I Other nations, however, wcroi equnlly dependent upon the Chilean ' nltrnto supply, Germany uns pur-. clinshiK oiic-thltd of It. She had ik- ' pected to hold the sea with her sub-1 j marines but fulled. Hut n process for extracting nitrogen fiom tho air; hnd been obtnlneil by (ietmnny some joins beforo from Itiillnu cliemlsls. This piocess hnd been successful III producing n lilgh gindo nitrogenous fertilizer from which In turn could bo extracted nmmonluiu nit rule. Germany, Ger-many, therefore, fell to iiianufiicturlng . ammonium nltrnte from tho nlr on a lnrco scale. Americana Buy German Secret. ' In 1007 nn Auieilcnn company, bend- ; cd by Prank S. Wnshburn, hnd necured , I tho Amerlcnn rights to this process ' from Germany and hnd gono Into mnn- J ufactuilng tho fetllllxer on tho Cnnn-i I dlnn side rf th VIncnn Palls. When I Amci leu found herself In the World I Wnr thu UidmiuCu Uetnirtuieut tinned 1 to Sir. V. . ! urn'ii loiiiiuili) for help, j m Tho Air Vlint'i Pornornllnn wns I formed, wlili Mr WnHliliuni nt Its I IkshI, to liulitl ihi ::,.sde Muialt, plnni. I It wan assisted hj several other well I known corporations, such lis the West- Inghoiiso Church ICerr Company, ililtr I put up the plant liulhlliigH, the pormn- R neiit cltj and utilities; the J. G While I Coiporatlou, which ileslgueil and con- I Btructed tlip jiower plHlit; the Clieni- I Icnl Coiibtructlon Compnny, which de- B signed ami built (ho nllilc ucld plant, I and thu M. W. Kellogg Compnny, which I fiirnlHhed the piping nnd built the I clilmiieys. I Ileglniilng woik In November, 11)17, thu big plant nnd new city nt Muscle I Shoals was completed within ouu I yeni's time Had tho expected spring 1 drive of 1010 mnieihilizeil Mils one U plant nlonc would hno been nblu to I suppl HI per cent, of all the high I explosUes used by nil tho Allied ur- mles on nil fronts (luting Hint dilve, n iinil tho United Stnteh wiih securo for j nil tliuo to coiuu against nn auiinimi-I auiinimi-I jloii Khorlnge. I NVtiuu jho nrrnngemenl wns flnnlly J uinde for hmhUiic thu lilt' nlr nitrate y plant, work was begun on n power i lani at tho same point This woik Is i being conducted dlreitlv li. tho Unit- 1 td Stulos Uiiglnecrlug Corps it will y not bo completed, how over, for two or j tliree more yenis. It wns iietessiiij, j therefore, In order to Insure liiimo illalo operation when tho nlllate plant J wns completed to constiuct n SI 0,000, S 000 stenni power plant, one of Hiolnrg est hieiiiti pliuiiH fot tho pioiluiiloii of 1 continuous electric power In the woiiil j It Is pointed out Hint even hnd the 1 wnter-power plant been completed dlir 1 lng tho wnr It would Iiiio been uects 2 Mir) ulso to have constructed n stenni plant to Iiisiiiu Iho nitrate plant woik- lug nt full capacity nt nil times din $ lng tho j ear. Plant Worth All It Cost. Sow, this entire Job cost the Govern j ment ?(l0.000,0O0. It wns put through S nt n time when the prices of materials j mid labor were nt their suiiunlt. It ' was built nt leeonl nned, and speed ; costs moiiej The riicailou natuiallj ; nrlses, then, ns to whether Undo Snm - got his monej'H woith. : Tests iimdo after tho phint wns in operation showed that ammonium til- J truto of stiiudnrd Mieclllcntlnns could j bo produied nt this plant nt a ost of t less thnn ono-hlilf Iho stiiudnrd lived prlco paid by tho Go eminent for niu moiiluui nitrate piodmeil by the oldei f methods This cost Is only nlioiit niiu. fourth to ono-nfth the cost of other 8 high evploshes ot equulitmiKlh IS Coiiipnrcd with the oUUuvirffocoss foi ffi mtiUliin' iiuimoHtiiiiitiltriite, tho sin a lugs inndo bj thlirii,il,t would mt paid tor tjujjemhe plant In uboiii one L' nnd imihlimf ienis of operation. B jheTlitof miIiio of tho .Muscle SlinuU g Iplalil, however, will bo as u defense to SI coining gvociatloiiy. |
