Ka Hoku o Hawaii, Volume XXXV, Number 37, 8 January 1941 — Defense Boom Stirs Sleepy Indiana Town [ARTICLE]

Defense Boom Stirs Sleepy Indiana Town

CHARLEST<)WX ( Ind. — A ?25,000.000 Federal smokeless powder p!ant is mov!ng into thls heretofore dozing village, causing an industrial hoom. tlie percussion of" whieh ean be felt in tilmost every busīness of southern Indiana. The awardiug of the operatlon eontraet to E. I. Du Pont de Nemours & ("o. marks the tlme in history that this sector of Indij ana has beeu a strateg!c niilitary I point. Tn 1786. Fort Finney was estab15slied near Jeffersonvnie, 11 miles from Charlestown. for defense agninst Tndian rniders. Now again llie Federal governmeut has ehosen tliis vil{age for military purposes, thls tline for defense. Reasons for the estab!ishment of the powder plant at Cliarlestown were said to be: ! __ I Ohio River For Tran«port j ! Principal raw niaterials — cotton| and ooai—may be shipped eeōnomi-' cally via the Ohio river. £ikewise 1 the Ohio provides a m«oh-neededi supply of water for the nianufacture of smokeless potrder. More iinportant perhaps ?s the faet that Charlestown is situafed stratefrica!ly distant from both the Atlantic and Paeific Oceans, yet ] eonvenU>mly aeoēssible to both. It is tess than 50 mlles frora Fort; Knosr, Ky,, where at more' than 25.000 are statloned. This| number -soon ma.v be doubled. i Smobeiess powder — wliieh actually expels a smali amouut of brown sm«be—is a propellant explosive coniponnded with cotton and nitric acid. More coiamonly it \ is known as «uncotton or nltric eelj iuiose. Poi' Smalt Arm® I Anthorities esplain that this type ! r>t powder is for shiall artus use nnd that it is not utilieed Jn deptli borubs, mtaes or aerlal twnibs. The new plant wiil cover an area 2 1-2 by 8 1-2 mites. Completion of the factory. seared to put out 200,000 pounds of powder daiiy. is expected the latter j>art of next May. The capacity ontput will be more than three times the present prodocrion of the entire tiation. ! , I For several weeks eugineers have' lieen surveying tlie site for eon ,)smiction. The oj>eration payroll i has heen estiniated at l>etweeu S4O,- 1 ! 000%tid $50,000, represeiitins a staff |of approxiniately 6.000 laborers j working in three shifts. I The plant wlll be Federally own--led and only operated by the Du ' P««t wrj»oration. īts (x>nstructiou I contraets have not yet heen award- ! altboufth southeni Indiaua and | northern Kentucky labor uuious ai-1 fready have ciaslied over their res-| | pective huiiding and trade groups' ] | j«risdlction. | Union Claim OveHap ! Hoosier union leaders conteud I that tbeir iocals shouid be give.n i preference since the plaut is to l>e | erected in Indiana. Dut Kentuckj- | offioials po!nt to the fact that their jjurisdiction exteodS across the j state iiae and iuto Ua> Fall CiUes, »Tbe nroMeni has heeii turned over! ." !u ~ baildms a«ul tradcs Uci>art- j jment of the Amertcan FederaUou j |of I ! Hiarl«ttown nat!ves view the! ! proposed p«s>ject with groat anUelI paUon, "It's about Ume j bappetied down here. ! Xever a thinjf ai\>uud here to ! ?tve a man a day'B work.** \ 'IV town"t? popalaiiou ,pre*entiy SSS», hasn*t gn>wn 100 per»ons siaee īam ■ <>a« reaadeut for 82 >ttarj> eowmenu>d that ihe oulj einuou for j urowUi was Um j ww to die arouud hew," ! Werv~h*nui h8 well ai> lalwix>rs vx 1i* v < l<». M»ruer proßt» ft\>m Uie iu ! jdusmai iKwm, Accordlui{ io Cliar ! jles Meeulloeli, who rvv.eutg realiu <xui4Miai lu Ctmrle«towu, ] jdeiiai>> ihat lafid aud i»rm>enj,i |Priwvs ai\> 1 aud Uaitj ; - ihere i*, & of bujius and «eiLi ibji K>sh iu Uio lowu aud ui ouU>-i |lm I I Two r«al ogi«tc Jlrms ! ('■ur.>vii\s haxe boeu e&UiUiw&eU m! .ehai leMowii duriu4 U* last utemk! pt\)pnvHore uumerv<u&! inqulrie» irans*aious.! ka i\Htoao aku ikl i Ul *. « i bowiaa la ; u ka haleumi uo MalKl Suytlw. a ka vfehe 4>u U «oa, e W uU e uiu! i kou* Wli i knu ;si wu k« 4^]