The El Campo Citizen (El Campo, Tex.), Vol. 19, No. 47, Ed. 1 Friday, January 23, 1920 Page: 3 of 12
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the EL CAMPO CITI
'JANUARY 23, 1920
'■strict No. 11
H* fa the ft*
:pf batiness o
at the close
$60,000,000 Nitrate- Plant
a ifeFense for Future
* Y Gq^ations.
537,506.31
#.5«.«
mr~-
te» of Indebt-
lateral for
rtr Bill# ;
Fourth Largest Town in Alabama
Full Grown in One Year.
HAD A MODEL GOVERNMENT
INSURES NATIONAL DEFENSE
iiiM^oo.00
Permanent Settlement Around
U. S. Nitrate Plant Presented
Assurance of Abundant Ameri
can Explosives a Reason
Why Germany Quit
and Thrift
I4*Uf
lOB,£50.87
Unusual Problems.
I I*t, 4
iere«Bt,
* By GARRET SMITH.
The fourth largest city In Alabama,
peopled with 25,000 soul*' of diverse
races and religions, uprobted from far
scattered communities In every part
of the United States and Canada
sprang ipto being almost oYernlgnr
around the great new government am
mohlum nitrate plant down on the
open cotton and corn fields at Muscle
Shoals on the Tennessee River during
tnb last year of the World War. Here
was a problem in City building, munic-
ipal government and commuity wel-
fare that has seldom been equalled
and the success of its solution has
never been excelled.
The job was In the hands of the Air
Nitrates Corporation which had been
organized under the .direction of the
Ordnance Department to build plant
and city at Muscle Shoals. Early in
January, 1918, this new town had a
few temporary buildings and a popu-
lation of 800. Tills had Jumped by the
middle of August to more than 21,000.
A population multiplied by 70 In 7
months.
In the management of . the ne'tv
towns and
______ <,500.00
h.HW.00 11^00.00
Le-W- U500.00
1500 Bushels
White Corn in Shuck
from Seguin, Texas.
nU due
1H5.5S0.87
for all time an abundance of ammuni-
tion Without .which *an army Is a help-
lefts encumbrance - and It has made
Oil* unlimited Supply of explosives
available without resort' to raw ma-
terial from outside the country.
The essential: Ingredient- of fill mod-
ern military explosives in nitric acid.
Before the World War, America was
entirely dependent upon Chile for. the
supply of nitrate of soda, the only
chemical from which: nitric acid
same
10P.91S.41
-SOM.OO
5,415.00
^1.038,042.98
cneuucai rrom which- nitric acid can
be mada In case this country became
involved in war with any nation that
^onld control the sea - our foe would
n io,ooe.oo
50.001.80
A700.ll ; 5S.758.CT
m c
9.S71J*
M0,000.00
Other nations, however, were
equally dependent upon the Chilean
nitrite * supply. Germany was pur-
chasing one-tbird of It She had ex
pected to bold the sea with her sub-
marines hot failed But a process
for extracting nitrogen from the air
had been obtained by Germany some
yea* before from Italian chemists.
Tb/ procfss had been successful In
pr*!uelng a high grade nitrogenous
fertilizer from which in turn could
be extracted ammonium nitrate. Ger-
many, therefore, fell to manufacturing
ammonium nitrate from the air on a
large scale. K'& . ,
Americana Buy German 8ecret
In 1607 an American company, bead-
army cantonments that
sprang up during the war the old-
time evils that attended the growth of
mushroom cities have been avoided
by the application of modern welfare
systems. But nowhere were condi-
lt.477.ia
tp bank
10.831.00
The Air Nitrates Corporation was or laying sewers or steam mains. For
formed, with Mr. .Washburn at Its the bachelor contingent a commissary
head, to build the Muscle Shoals plant, j department *was necessary.
It was assisted by several other well The 'business department managed
taiown corporations, such as tile West-, the stores, canteens, motion picture
ifighouse Church Kerr Company, which theaters, pool parlors, tailor shops
put up the plant buildings, the permn dry cleaning establishments, barber
SBg&3SSi£&Ml
SSSSSISSS!
h aCl<3 P ftnt’ wber« We were put
Ogyyany.which through the regular packing house!
***• ppin* aad buUt course. It operated a laund£ which
B^to* work to mrj gFLX, tiLSSl
2*Sj i*lt 2T.h‘. Un,i,!r *eo*r»te Jortwlicuoo from IJ
cerplool.e, \>T*n IkfSwS were P°u«-
■to. oo oil froot, during th., drl« . 3*5*“* d«par,ni«K. la charge of
aad the Uoltcd State ... wear, tor Lrfi . m .^IM I Y°rt ClIJ,
all time to come aeainst «n nmmnr,i *tarted j»ith a small office in pne of
mLmltLl r *“lml the temporary building* and wu
splendidly
ed For
msIbs M
being conducted directly by the Unit- ,aIaA , men w*re compelled to
•4 States Engineering Corps. £ will Tork eIther ln deep 8nPw or mud above
not be completed, however, for two or h?ir knees As a re#u,t a pneumonia
three more years. It was necessary epldamic developed among the Negroes
therefore, in order to insure louse- that *prlng- L*ter ln the year a
dlate operation when the nitrate plant typbo,d epidemic was threatened,
was completed to construct a $19,000,- Moreover» the site of the plant was In
000 steam power plant, one of the larg- the beart ot tlw malaria district. But
sat steam plants for the production of th* pneuraonla epidemic was checked,
continuous electric power lp the world the typho,d thre*t nipped ln the bud,
It 1ft pointed out that even had the and malarta stamped out.
water-pow«r plant been completed dur- A Health Record Established
lug the war it would have been oeces- The lUtle first-aid hospital present-
sary also to have constructed a steam ly grew to o complete modern instltu-
plant to Insure the nitrate plant work- tlon with a nurses' home and#a sep-
lng k* fU l capBC,t* at ■** tbnes dur- arate diSpensury for dental, eye, ear,
tng the year. nose, tbrput, gen 1 to-urinary clinics and
Plant Worth All It Cost ■ surgical dispensary for first-aid
Now, this entire Job cost the Govern- work-
ment $60,000,000. It was put through During the eight month* when the
at a time when the prices of materials ,l«ath rate was not affected by the hv
and labor were at their summit. It Auenaa and pneumonia epidemics the
was built at record speed, and speed K*neral health rate was 12.4 per thou-
costi money. The question naturally "**>0 P«r year, which is lower than In
arises, then, as to whether Uncle 8am most cities In the same latitude and
got his money’s worth. climate, and the pneumoola death rate
Tests made after the plant was in during the epidemic was lower than
or decks are cleared and we
lltePARED FOR AC.
K>H*t all times.
YOU want a little Action,
Sbg four repair work to
it Garage.
Book Your
Orders
» V"; -•.< ;k
Now
EL CAMPO
I008EVELTS
0W« tCTTEMS
JOHN FOX'S
We Buy Second Hand Oal And
% « '"-S' -1 f. fC|j i
Bran Sacks
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Ballew, W. L. The El Campo Citizen (El Campo, Tex.), Vol. 19, No. 47, Ed. 1 Friday, January 23, 1920, newspaper, January 23, 1920; El Campo, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth893232/m1/3/?q=wichita+falls: accessed July 17, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Wharton County Library.