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About The North Platte semi-weekly tribune. (North Platte, Neb.) 1895-1922 | View Entire Issue (May 8, 1917)
THE 8EMLWEEKLY TRIBUNE, NORTH PLATTE, NEBRASKA. UNITED STATES IS NOW EXPERT i MAKING MONITIONS OF WAR America the Unready, Is America the Unready No Longer Rich in Machinery and Experience, This Country Can Now Turn Out War Material in Staggering Quantities High Etficiency Reached in Big Plants. By SYDNEY BROOKS. (Now York Times.) Now York. America enters the grent wnr bettor equipped on thojn dustrlnl Hldo tlmn nt any momontipf l.or history. Yet wlion It broke out she wns virtually Innocent of the art of making munitions. Of nil tlmt vust Industry, which today employs capital by the hundred million and men by the hundred thousand, there was, HO months ago, practically no tracu what ever. A few companies here and there wore engaged In the manufacture of war material ns a Ride lino to their normal business: and that was about all. Thanks to tho war orders of the British government, America the un ready Is America the unready no longer. Indeed, when I think of Beth lehom, with Its output of 800.000 com plete three-Inch shells a month; of the Dul'ont company, with an annual production of H-fi.OOO.OOO pounds of mllltury powder, of the Baldwin Lo comotive company, which Is turning out 800 V.'-lnch shells a dny; of the American Locomotive company, which Is tnnklng 000,000 loaded time fuses a month an Incredibly Intricate com ponent of which when the war began It knew nothing whatever; of the Mid valo Steel company, which Is equally at homo with howitzers and light and heavy shells; of tho great rltle facto ries at Bridgeport, Won, Eddystono, nnd elsewhere, which have now a ca pacity of 15,000 rifles a day about 10 or 12 times tho output of the govern ment nrscnals; of the 70,000 D.2 shells a month, representing from 10,000 to 12,000 tons of steel, and filling ten freight cars a dny, that oiie firm Is manufacturing; of tho 20 other firms that aro turning out ench from 12,000 to 75,000 shells n month in all tho heavy grndes between fl-lnch and 12 Inch, nnd of tho 1,250,000 loaded time fuses a month thnt aro likewise being produced here when I think of these and many similar achievements, I am tempted to say that the war has been not only tho commercial but the mili tary salvation of America. Demand for Machines. Tho first effect of the war was to rnlso among tho manufacturers In the allied nations a hungry demand for machines to make tho munitions. The American machine tool manufacturers found themselves on n sudden swamp ed with orders. It was tho first trick ling of tho stream thnt was soon to become an unprecedented, overwhelm ing Hood. Very quickly the allies dis covered that, oven If they could get tho tools, their own manufacturing re sources would not for many crucial inonthB, possibly not for a year or more, cnablo them to overtake Ger many's enormous lead. The call for American tools was followed there fore with another and wider call for tho American finished product, for American guns, American rifles, shells, cartridges, and powder. There en sued it llternlly frantic scrhmhlo for anything- America could produco In tho way of war material and equip ment, not moroly for munitions hut for foodstuffs, wagons, tools, shirts, blnhkcts, barbed wire, horses, motor enrs, trucks and lorries, railway ties, canteens, harness and saddles, cotton and knit goods, overcoats. And this cntaract of orders caniu pouring over tho American continent just at a tlmu when all tho signs pointed to a period of severo commer cial depression. Its effects were felt not merely by tho firms that actually received tho orders, but by an extra ordinary variety of contributory In dustries. In tho Inst year, whllo going over some of tho principal munition factories lu tho United States, I have been struck by nothing mora forcibly thnn by tho extent to which the man ufacture of military material is Inter twined with nnd dependent upon the productlvo energy of Innumerable oth er Industries and interests. All Sections Drawn Upon. Take, for Instance, a concern like tho Mldvnlo Steel company of Penn sylvania. When It entered tho muni tion business on a largo scale and se cured contracts for guns, shells, and rough forglngs, Its first care was to provide Itself with new facilities. It needed buildings; it needed machine tools, nnd It scoured the country to get them; It needed lathes and drill presses, grinding nnd milling ma chines, forging presses and blooming mills; It needed electric cranes, hy draulic pumps, heating furnaces, draw benches, electric motors, generators, and hollers; and it needed ores and minerals In prodigious quantities. On those nnd n thousnnd other neces saries It authorized an Immediate ex penditure of Homo $0,000,000, and to trace where tho money went you would have to travel from New Eng land to Oregon and from Georgia to North Dakota. Or .to go to ono of tho colossal rifle factories such as have been erected nt Eddyatouo, n few miles outside of Philadelphia; ut Hrldgoport, Conn., and at Won, N. Y. "Ask them where they bought their raw material nnd machinery, and you will receive In re ply n comprehensive lesson in the geo graphy of tho United States. When, therefore, war orders began to como lu, first In rivulets, then In spates, and at last lu a torrential flood, the whole country was fertilized. The purchase of horses and the demand for meat and grain In unheard-of qunn titles filled to overflowing the pockets of tho farmers. Tho boot, woolen, clothing, and Implement nianufactur ers were soon working overtime. Such raw materials as brass, nickel, and copper put on nn amazing spurt. In deed, for a while It almost looked as though the American Industrial ma chine would bo subjected to a strain It might not be able to bear. Bid Against Each Other. So little In the early days of the war j was the business of purchasing Amor- , lean supplies reduced to a system that not only were England. France, and Russia competing with one another, but the army nnd navy departments of all three countries had their sepa rate representatives over here cover ing tho same ground nnd bidding fiercely for the same commodities. If things had gone on like that the results would have been bad for the allies, but, I think, worse for America. There would have been much Ill feeling, constant misunderstanding, and more than a little litigation. American manufacturers would have got, and were, In fact, rapidly getting, a had name In Europo; and it might easily havo happened that the short comings of n comparatively few Amer ican contractors would have proved n boomerang to all American prosperity. Nor could the United States have reached Its present level of uniform well-being under the haphazard sys tem of buying and selling that ob tained In the first months of the war. Some corporations would havo prof ited abnormally; others would have been left out In the cold, and whllo trade In any event would have re vived, Its revival would have been much less diffused, much more un even, and much more liable to sudden setbneks. War business In those days was practically the only business the United Stntes was doing; It wns the mainstay of the whole lndustrlnl fab ric, and while It wns Important for the allied governments, It was oven more so for America, that It should be handled with Judgment by respon sible ngents, nnd In a way that would bring in tho utmost benefit to nil par tics. Appoint Purchasing Agent. The British government In January, 1015, selected the house of J. V. Mor gan & Co. to act as Its representative In Atnerlcn, to safeguard It against tho men of straw, supervise Its pur chases, and bring order and common sense Into the business of making con tracts. Tho firm was to receive a commission of 2 per cent on the first $50,000,000, of tho purchases it was au thorized to make, and 1 per cent there after. It was not an exclusive con tract. That Is to say, the British gov ernment might buy through other channels and agencies to any extent 4..1..1.4....l..j..l.4,4.4.4,.l..l,4.,M.4Ml t WALKS 25 MILES TO "DEFEND NEW YORK" $ Newark, N. J. Hearing that tho Germans were bombarding New York, Andrew Miller, a farm hnnd, dropped his milking pall and walked 25 miles ns fast as he could hike to the marine recruiting station here. ".Tust jjlvo mo a gun," ho told the recruiting officer. "I don't need a uniform these overalls aro good enough. Let me draw a bead on those Prussians and It's good night to them I" Miller wns quite jipset to learn that the beautiful gilt nngel was still perched on New York's mu nicipal building and tho Ger mans hadn't even declared war. "Well, I ain't going to hoof those twenty-five miles line' again, anyway," said Miller. So ho filled out a recruiting blnnk, and soon was on his way to Charleston, S. O. UNITED STATES SUBMARINE TENDER P r Jaas JUT IT"-" iriBTMi ,, The Tallahassee, a submarine tender, a typo of tho United Stutes nuvy'i flouting submarine bases. A H. C. OF L COSTUME This high ent of living costume won n prize for originality at a masquerade lu Boston. The roMume Is tailor-made from burlap, vegetarian necklaco of beans and wrist hag of burlap with onion ornaments. It pleased, providing It Informed Mor gan & Co. of the character and amount of Its purchases, such Information be ing, of course, very necessary, to pre vent any overlapping of orders. The only other points of Importance In the contract to which the French govern ment became a party four or five months later were that It wns term inable by either side at any time nnd that Morgan & Co. engaged to. disclose the extent of their holdings In any firm they might recommend to the British government. Since the war began the allied gov ernments have spent In America on munitions and raw material alone about $2,500,000,000 rather over half being for munitions and lather tinder half for raw material. Some 75 per cent of this sum, or nearly $2,000,000, 000, has been disbursed on tho advice nnd under the guidance of Morgan & Co. I suppose no firm In the whole history of commerce has ever been placed In such u position or Intrusted with such a task. The grent boom, of course, Is over. No new orders for munitions are being placed here now by the British and French governments, and very few, If any, repeat orders. In u few weeks from now practically all the existing foreign orders for American munitions will have run out, though the pur chases of raw material will continue. Wo nre Hearing tho end of ono of the most wonderful chapters In American Industry, and Its lessons and Its ad vantages can be treated now almost In a historical spirit. It makes u really great record, and one on which all Americans may look with equal gratitude and pride; grati tude becauso It has been tho means of equipping tho nation with some of the most vital factors In Industrial pre paredness, nnd pride because Ameri can manufacturers, when put to the test of a now and highly technical business, have Justified all that hns ever been snld In praise of their ver satility, their enterprise, their big and efficient ways of doing things. MOUSE CLIMBS TO FATAL END Start3 at Pretty Foot In Church at Merchantvllle, N. J., but Grip Is Deadly. Merchantvllle, N. J. A hnrmless little mouse came near creating a sen sation at o"no of tho church services Sunday mornlug. Tho mouse started to roam around the auditorium and found himself surrounded by beautiful scenery In the midst of which he soon discovered a neatly booted foot be longing to one of tho young women of the congregation. Without a moment's hesitation he started to climb. Tho owner of the boot grubbed tho mouse In the middle of his Journey, getting a strangle hold. She exerted so much pressure that the creature fell to tho lloor dead. An obliging usher removed i he carcass. MTIOMLF OPI1AL AFFAIRS Washington Society Women Are Ardent Patriots ASIIINGTON. If you happen Into either ono of two of the city's best known garages, nnd find u girl, or mntron. nerhnns. under n car. with grouse dripping upon her fair fuce, nnd for service with the armed forces of tho United Stntes ns soon ns tho call comes from the wnr department through the lied Cross. More than u score of the drivers, many of them prepnred to donate cars, nre qualifying us mechanicians to make field repairs. They nre being schooled by experts in two big garages. The women nre qualifying rapidly, nnd thcro are several who have won "diplomas" for skill In motor mechanics. They enn tnke tlown and reassemble a three-gear car without a lock wnsher or cotter pin left over. They know the parts nnd can call them by nnme, oven to all of tho genrs and pins In tho transmission nnd differential. Furthermore, It Is declared, they show surprising skill nnd strength. Tho women interested nre "going at ft" with n vim. A gnrngemnn facetiously snld he was getting frightened, because If many more of tho women showed such skill tho day might come when society women would do their own uutomohlle overhauling. The corps has been divided into companies of ten ench with a captain. Each Sunday morning th companies go to Fort Myer nnd practice handling army motortrucks over rough ground. Ench one enlisted Is n skilled driver of one or more types of passenger cars, electric or gasoline. Each Is being Instructed In tho handling of henvler vehicles over difficult ground. The drivers will handle nil motor units of the medical nnd lied Cross departments, supply wagons as well ns ambulances behind the lines, nccordlng to present plans. Army officers arc co-operating In tho Instruction of the drivers, but Benin of tho women nre giving instruction to fellow corps mcmbavB. Purchase Not Altogether a Matter of Charity 4P USSY AVILLOHS, pussy wlllohs, lndy? FIcentscrbuneh?" Everybody loves pussy willows, but no lady could possibly bo expected to waste a nickel on switches bumpy with close-fisted buds nnd all tied around with n dirty string. Still when you como right down to It, u child's fight with life Is Just as formidable If not so scrlpturnlly Important us David's com bat with Goliath, so tho woman, who hnsi to grub uround for small yarns, stnrtcd a conversation: "Selling a whole lot, son?" "Nome. Ain't sold nnlr hunch." "That's bad. Where did they come from?" "I guethcrcd 'em yestyday down yonder In Mun'gumry county, where I lives. I hnster tromp roun' everwhlcherwny nn' can't hardly never sell n thing, counter tho mnsh muhket, hut mammy she say I gottn keeper comln, 'cause how's we gwlno buy sugar nn' ten an' stuff, when nigs nlnter laying free ylt, 'cept'n to set with? I'm like pappy. I druther work in tho country, where I knows how to do whnttcr I got to do. He's ben dald mos'n two years now." "I like the country, too. Why don't you get n regular Job down there?" "'Cause I ain't big enough to hire for a man, nn' they nil don't give child'en nothln' hut bode nn' close but I gottn Job ahead runnln' nrrents nnd freshlu' tho grass for a white lady that's boughtln a house down ynnder to live In when warm weather comes an' I mout hepper In the gynnlen." "Fine! I reckon I might ns well take those other two bunches und then you can run along hoint nnd give my love to Montgomery county." The boy started off as spry as a llznrd, and the woman took her switches homo and put them in water. Charity? Of course not business. Tho woman put tho little Incident on a pad' and got paid for it and n story is alwnys worth Its price. President Caused Flutter in Navy Department PHESIDENT WILSON'S recently formed hnblt of dropping In on Secretaries Lansing, Daniels and Baker lu the state, war and navy building, opposite the White House office, for informal war preparation conferences, has in spired the ofilclnls in these three Im -10 newspaper men were crowded nround Mr. Daniels' desk, plying him with questions. The president slipped quietly Into the room, nccompnnled by a secret service man, took In the situation with one glance and stepped softly to a couch, where he sat down to await his turn. The president wns not noticed nt first. He wns discovered by n news paper man, who npprlscd the secretary In n stngo whisper. Instnntly tho cor respondents sepnrnted. Lieutenant Commnnder McCnndless Jumped to a salute, and the president, laughing at the confusion he had caused, nrose to his feet, greeted Mr. Daniels in cordial, but businesslike fashion, nnd apolo gized for having broken up the conference. Before the room was cleared the president and the secretary of the navy had their heads together and were earnestly discussing plans of nnvnl pre paredness. Tho president looked the picture of restored health, his color was good and his ntep springy. Illumination of Capitol OWING to the continued Illness of cnpltol, no definite steps were taken lighting of the capltol dome. The cost hut no special appropriation or legisla tive authority Is necessary. There Is plenty of current on tap In tho capltol power house, and ill' thnt Is required Is to direct the flow of current to tho lighting units necessary to outline tho dome In white each night. The Instal lation of the tlood-llghtlug system for the Inaugural ceremonies wns paid for out of money appropriated by con gress and the system installed Is n permanent one. Now thnt It Is rendy for use, tho electric light bills do not have to ho reckoned with, any more than if thoso In charge of tho capltol grounds determined to put nn extra lump post lu a dark spot In tho park. Although there seems to bo no possible objection to lighting the domo ench night, Superintendent Woods desires to have the proper authorities give their sanction formally. Scores of letters from citizens of this city, as well ns from inaugural visitors, have heen received nt tho capltol, expressing do. light and appreciation of tho lighted dome. getting nil smeary, you will appreciate the cornestness of nenrly a hundred of Washington's best-known society women in preparing ns motor mechan ics to nld the nntlon In time of war. A school for mechanicians hns been started by tho Ited Cross corps of woman ambulance drivers recently organized by Mrs. .7. Borden Hnrrl man, Mrs. Augustus P. Gardner, Mrs. Lnrz Anderson, nnd others. Ninety-three of the city's best known girls and matrons nre enlisted portant branches of the government to put forth their best efforts to have everything In readiness for the clash with Germany. The president hobs up at unex pected moments nt all hours of the day and Is In thorough touch with the work In every bureau. The other day Mr. Wilson nrrlvcd nt the nnvy de partment while Secretory Daniels wns giving his regular afternoon audience to Washington correspondents. About Dome Pleases Many Elliot Woods, superintendent of the for some time townrd the continued of this lighting has not been figured, BIG i M I For Western Canada and the 160-Acre Homesteads. "In a war like this, they also serve and serve effectively who till the fields and gardens. "It cannot be repeated too orteu that the world needs every ounce of food It can produce this year, nnd that tho growers of thnt food aro sure of good prices. When men now of middle ago were cnstlng their first ballot, 'dollar wheat' was the farmer's Ideal of pros perity. Today, we have two-dollar wheat, with other grains und meats and vegetables In proportion; und Indi cations that any shift from these prices Is as likely to be up as down. "Every ncro must work. The farmer who Increases his crops Is performing n national service, as well ns assuring prosperity for himself. There cannot he too much, nnd unless n united and consistent effort Is made, there will not be enough." Chicago Journal. Now that the United States has Joined with the Allies, the sentiment of tho pnst has merged Into the per sonal Interest of the present. The duty of tho loyal nnd patriotic citizen is to bend every effort to bring the great World's Wnr to a satisfactory conclu sion, to assist In nil ways tho forces that have been fighting at tremendous odds tho giant power of autocracy. Victory Is now assured; tho union of the grent fighting force of the United Stntes navy. Its military. Its financial co-operation, its full and complete sym pathy, will eventually bring nbout a pence thnt will be solid and lasting. Canada, Just across the border line, Unit has no mnrk of fortification, no signs of defense, welcomes the nssist anco that the United States is render ing, welcomes this new partner into tho arena thnt is bnttling for o disruption of tho forces that breed and begot tyr anny and oppression, nnd fighting for n democratic and free world. What a sight It will be to see the American and tho Canadian, with the Stars and Stripes nnd the Maple Leaf of Canada emblazoned In one fold nnd entwined In their effort to rid the world of an Incubus that has disregarded all laws human nnd divine. There Is a necessity for tho greatest elTort ever was made, not only on the battlefields of Europe, not only on the mined and suhmnrlned sens, but lu carrying out on the peaceful Holds of agriculture, the plans so urgently requested by those at the head of the departments of resources. Tho recent reports by tho Government show a groat falling off In the amount of grnln thnt may he expected from the crop as of recent date, being only a little over 00 per cent, 1C per cent less than the nverage. Every patriotic American will bend all his effort towards Increasing this. He may not shoulder n musket, but he can handle n hoc, ho can drive a team nnd man ago a plow. He will bo doing yeoman service In this way, and assist In a wonderful munner the man who Is fighting In the trenches. If he does not now own a piece of Innd. by all means get one rent It, buy It get It. There Is lot of vacant land thnt will give ample return for his Inbor. The desire to possess a home. o Im prove It nnd to prosper, Is natural to every American, and today unprece dented offers nre being ninde to secure the residence of the home-hunter. Tho war condition Is draining the continent of Its foodstuffs nnd economists are endenvorlng to meet tho rapid deple tion of the nntlon's stores of grain and other farm products. Western Cnnnda has proven her clnlni to being the natu ral producer of economically grown foodstuffs nnd Is endenvorlng to over come n world's shortnge In necessities by offering her lands, practically free, to anyone who will take them nnd pro duce. Lnbor Is senrce In Canada, and Is now being bonused. Good wages are offered and the time a farm hand Is drawing pay In 1017, Is considered by the Cnnndlan Government, the snme ns residence duties on ono of the free 1G0 acre farms, that this Government Is giving nwny, In order to settle the fer tile prairies and bring nbout within a few years n half billion nnnual crop of wheat. The most conclusive evidence Is available to any Inquirer, thnt Western Canada farm Innds will produco more whent of'n better quality and at a lower cost of production per ncro than hns heretofore been known In grain growing countries. It Is no Idle state ment to say, that yields of fifty bushels to tho acre of wheat are grown In Cun pdn: the statement Is made In all seri ousness nnd Is backed up by the let ters nnd nflldnvlts of reliable farmers In Western Canada. Thoso farmers are enjoying the same home comforts thnt their neighbors to the south par ticipate; they have tho same good houses, tho same good horses and cattle, tho sumo good roads and com munication, ns well as the mime good social conditions, ami, best of nil, they own their laud and what they onrn they own for thciiiKelvim, lining a foun dation for greater wealth and Inde pendence AdverllMement. A plow driven ly a motorcycle has been Invented In keep tlu lee on skirt ing rlflltH NMIOOfll. 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