EKETA POISON GAS [WORKS ERECTED BY HARRISBURG PLAN Wonderful Factories For Manufacture of Most Deadly Agent of War Erected by Central Construction Corpo ration For Uncle Sam; Product Would Have Annihi lated German Army in Short Time Of all the stupendous wan activ ities which Uncle Sam projected anil which, when put in operation would have annihilated Germany, .. the Edgewood establishment, greatest of 1 all poison gas plants, most nearly concerns Harrlsburgers, ' because three distinguished men of this city were responsible for its construc tion, namely Col. Charlos E. Covert, Joseph 11. O'Brien and George B. Tripp, king-row in the Central Con struction Corporation which has its headquarters here. The speed of procedure.' The vase space covered and the fact that this industry was practically unknown in America make the accomplishment a prime feature in the war history. These three Harrisburg men with their efti- j cient working forces received their. contract In October, 1917, for the of a gas shell-filling plant! at Edgewood, which was then a for-1 est in remote Maryland, and in the summer of 1918, the manufactured product was deluging the Hun at the second Marne: decimating the beast at the frightful slaughter at St. MihleL This was only a starter and when the deadly gas packed in shells at Edgewood .was found to be an arch destrtfter. plans were made to use it in the reduction of the massive fortress of Metz. So convincing was this gas shell's destructive powers that Col. William H. Walker, government officer in charge of the plant declares: "The Yanks would have captured Met 2 without assault as sure as the sun rises and sets. We would have smothered Metz or any other forti fication. We had the men, we had the guns and we had the stuff to shoot from those guns in quantities which Germany never dreamed of. Nothing could have withstood the terrible drenching of mustard and other gases which we were prepared to deal out to them. The Huns were beginning to realise this, and this awful calamity undoubtedly urged them to quit." In Wilderness Jules Verne, in his wildest imagi nation, never plotted anything with, so much diabolical mystery as this, poison shell plant in the Maryland swamps, "God-forsaken wilderness" as one of the pioneer soldiers termed the spot. It was imperative that no] news whatever of its construction get abroad and there is an uncommon! record of the big secrets connected with it being muffled completely, j Even the closest friends of Messrs. j Tripp. O'Brien and Covert in Harris burg were ignorant of the plant s im portance to Uncle Sam.. The very employes were not told more than was necessary. With this military restriction the Harrisburg Contracting Company immediately got under way. the find thing to determine being a definite knowledge of toxic gasses. gas shell-filling plant like this had beep projected. It was to include a com plete power plant, a refrigerator plant, immense cold rooms, novel conveyors and filling machines or unique design. Sudden altering of plans as the designers learned more about the needs gave extra work to the Harrisburg company *'nj c " among other changes was called upon to provide hollow terra cotta block walls supported on concrete foundations. The first equipment arrived on the ground October 20 and from that time on the Harrisburg builders used 6.000 carloads of material, besides 1.000 broken carloads. In addition to thi3 tons were shipped by express. It is vtorth remembering that no ma terials were purchased either by the government or 'he contractors prior to October 13. 1917, ar.d the speed with which it materialized challenges any other war activity. Tli© Harrisbursers work6d nljEjflt and dav, Lieutenant Col. E. G. Elli cotts supervising the construction. When it became evident that a wt organization of workmen would be, required, new camp buildings and j mess hall were built at top speed. Bunk houses, holding 4,000 work-1 men. a mess hall to accommodate 2,- i 000 at a time, went up like magic and, were the finest. Miles and miles erf j permanent roads were built so that i the whole face of the neighborhood | has been changed and the state of Maryland expresses its gratitude for what the plant has done for it. The new camps, when completed, con . tained a total of 116 buildings, as fol lows: Twenty-seven two-story bar racks for soldiers twenty-four two stpry barracks for civilian oilicers quarters, hospital, V. M. C. A. and K. of C. halls; two quarter master store houses, store house for mess hall; thirty toilets and wash looms. 275 Buildings A total of 275 permanent structures were built on the reservation by the Central Construction Corporation alone, of which number 199 are classed as large buildings and eighty five as small. The temporary build ings number 350, of which numbed 53.") are classed as large, such as bunk houses, barracks and mess hall, and 115 as small. The Harrisburgers practically built a permanen* city. In addition to the standard gunge tailway there were seven miles of lh;vty-slx-inch gunge and eight miles of twenty-one and one-half for movement of materials. In connection with this there wero ised 2,500 tons of steel rails, 63,- 400 ties, beside*' tieplates, fishplates, bolts and spikes. Then theto was the sewage, a Sys tem more ♦nan ten miles in length, varying from forty-two Inches to six inches in diameter. Fresh water was piped from ;t run seven miles away end the distributing pipes were more than five miles In length. Lastly, an athletic field hnd to be butit. Lieutenant Col. Edwin M. Chance, in charge of piiint operations, was one of Uncle Sam's big leaguers, for so rapidly did ho proceed with the making of these iiellbrew shells that v. hen French and English experts arrived to help In the production one of them admitted: "We came to teach, but we remealned to learn. Thegas finally produced and which would have decimated all Germany, is a lethal gas of high poisoning pow er. It has a severe delayed u'ctlon on tlio heart which frequently proves fatal after the immediate effects have apparently disappeared. Mustard gas. the terror of the soldier, since i: 1 urns the skin r.nd plays havoc with the eyes and breathing, was made I'm m sulphur chloride an:l ethlenc gas. Edgewood was maktfi.p thirty eight tonß of this per day. the gas WEDNESDAY EVENING* containing no mustard in reality, but taking the name from a similar odor. Of all the gases made by America rad other countries, common salt is i the basic element; that Is from salt and electric energy they get chlorine and the later appears in almost every gas Much Gas Ready One of the big plants the Harris burg Company erected was used in making chloptcrin gas. A great amount of this was in storage in the big warehouse packed in drums ready to be shipped when the Huns begged for mercy. It was used large ly and is known as "tear" gas. It ef fects the eyes and nose and has a toxic Influence, the bursting of which j puts the soldier temporarily out of i commission. It is the most humane | gas, since it is rarely fatal. By its use a mog could bo dispersed wtth- V out nny serious afte* consequences, j The Harrisburg Company put up thfee big plants for the filling of shells. All employes wore masks but often these availed nothing. The shells were first cooled by being run through a refrigerating plant. This was to prevent bubbling over while filling as gases are quickly suspectl ble of heat. Connected with these establishments were the painting and shipping places where each shell was coated with paint, striped and marked to Indicate the kind of gas wooden boxes. The filling, painting and shipping plants had a capacity of 80,000 shells a day, not counting the Livens projectors, made of huge cylinders of light construction for a range of 1,500 yards. These car ried thirty pounds of gas each and would play havoc with a city or trench. Incidentally, just two days before the Huns asked for peace the Edgewood plant had shipped 260.000 shells of all calibers, and were turn ing them out at 5,000 per daj. The actual construction work was a collossai job and Colonel Walker was especially earnest in praise of the Harrisburg firm which did the bulk of the work. Some idea of v.-hat the Central Construction Company had to furnish may be had from the car-load list, as follows: Lumber, 840; stone, 957;4band, 197; cement, . 304; tile, 100; common brick, 69; I firebrick, 37; cinder* 309; slag, 1 ! 003; wood pipe, 113; piles. 55; rails. | 81; ties, 116; roofing paper, 19; feAi, ! 69; hay and straw, 33; nots, 12; coal, 327: equipment, 118: ire, 36: tanks, 127; machinery. 72: boilers j and stacks, 23; sewer tile, 54; pfo • visions, 71: steel. 125. "Death iVatrhes" ' In addition to high power energy night and day on the part of the contractors there was always the uncertainty of suddenly going up several miles and never coming down to be worth much thereafter. The entire neighborhood was a ru mor factory. Baltimore newspaper men kept death watch at all hours expecting the landscape to blow up. One day a loaded transport kicked up a great cloud of dust and some body started the rumor that the mustard gar had evploded. A fierce scramble began among five thou sand employes and a vast mass of struggling humanity wrestled its way out of danger. The crew of a freight train lost no time in get ting away and the stationman set his signals and is still running. The I Harrisburg contractors lost 500 men from tliis false alarm. Edgewood is twenty-five miles from Baltimore and it is greater in extent than the Sparrow's Point works. The men who operated took their lives in their hand and were brave as they, at the front. In one instance a Chicago boy coming in contact with the deadly phosgene gas. invented y the Germans, lost his left arm and was burned from head to foot, being still in a hos pital. Another Chicago lad was in quisitive to learn how the mustard gas smells and tried to get a sniff. The moment he unscrewed the top, called booster, his whole face was burned off. As the work progressed 1 casualties lessened -greatly. | The Harrisburg men who are re ] sporisible for this enormous activity j sometimes wonder what will be done ! with it. What are the possibilities |of using it? Tho Maryland Con- I gross is agitated, too, about that, | and the opinion is that the Edge ] Wood plant will be useful. There | are 300 acres in the tract. # Walter Scott, Prominent Mason, Dies After Long "Illness at Philadelphia Philadelphia, Jan. 9. Walter Scott, former president of the Tenth National Bank here, died to-day following: a lons illness. Mr. Scott was prominent in the Masonic order and for two years the potentate of Lu Lu Temple. He was a member of the Pennsylvania commandry, Knights Templar, and of Christian B. Freeman Chapter, No. 248. A widow and four children sui;- 1 vive him. He was 67 years old. John Atlee Falls From Train in Tunnel; Death For Division Engineer Philadelphia, Jan. 9.—John At lee, engineer in charge of the Phila ! delphia division of the Pennsylvania railroad was killed beneath the wheels of a locomotive to-day. The accident occurrd in the West Phila delphia tunnel of the railroad. No person witnessed the accident but officials believe he fell froip the i platform of an incoming train. Mr. Atlee's home was at West ' Chester. He was 44 years old. ; New School to Be Ready For Occupancy in Sept \ School officials have eben assured , by architects and contractors in i charge of the construction work on the Edison Junior High School and f the addition to the Camp Curtln , building, that both will be ready . for use in September when the i 1918-1920 school session opens, i While the contractors are not > positive that all equipment and im , provement work on the structures . will be finished, they said the schools will be so near completion that pu s j pile will have all necessary facilities j i to begin their studies an dthe fac • I ultles of the schools can be organ ■. 1 ized. JANUARY 6, 1919. View of Great War Plant and Type of Buildings Used KIWANIS CLUB ORGANIZES ON MILITARY BASIS President Xeet'e Commission ed "General" of Business men's Organization The Kiwanis Club was reorganized o na military basis to-day at the luncheon in the Penn- Harris hotel. \jharles L. Schmidt, chairman of the entertainment com mittee was in charge of the reor ganization. He commissioned R. F. Neefe, president, as the general and William C. Alexander, vice-president, as lieutenant general. Other officers were given various commissions. Volunteers were asked to act as lieu tenants. The duty of each lieutenant is to call four men each week and urge them to attend the Kiwanis luncheon. The object of the plan is to stimulate attendance. Among the volunteers answering the call were: Irving B. Robinson, C. E. Reeser, J. 11. Kelberg, Charles R. Bcekley, T. H. Bogar, Frank J. Wallis, T. E. Cleckner, P. B. Rice, Harry Ta>wen gard, Ed. S. Marks, H. S. Parthe more, Peter Magaro, Thomas Black, Russell C, Cless, Charles W. Bogar, Dr. H. B. Walter, J. A. Pryor, D. H. Rineard and E. T. Critchfleld. Clark E. Diehl, city electrician and manager of the Postal Telegraph Company, made an interesting ad dress in which he touched upon the work of the telegraph companies. William C. Alexander, sa,lesmanager of the Moorhead Knitting Company, thanked the members of the club for their co-operation in the recent vaudeville show and concert given by employes of his firm. Thetotal receipts were approximately J 820 and were turned over to hte Asso coated Aid Societies. Of this amount 2179.50 representing 234 tickets, came from Kiwanians. An invitation as received from the clerk of sessions of the Pine Street Presbyterian Church inviting the members to hear Dr. L. S. Mudge, a Kiwanlan, preach Sunday evening, January 26. On motion of Dr. Harry B. Walter the invitation was accept ed and it was decided to attend in a body. The Rev, S. W. Herman, pas tor of Zion Lutheran Church, deliv ered a brief address and the mem bers also heard from Ensign J. Swartz, who gave a number of hu morous incidents in military and naval life. In Splendid Shape The report of the auditing com mittee was read and approved. The report showed thealtairs of the club to be in a flourishing condition. On the committee are H. E. Schriver, Walter R. Hauser and Charles R. Beckleyi ~ % Abner W. Hartman, soloist at the Messiah Lutheran Church, sang two baritone solos, "Swing Low, Sweet Chariot," and "The Skipper." Ho was accompanied by J. Stewart Black, the Klwanls pianist. J. LAwrence Doollng. a member of the board of. dlroctors of the Allentown club, con veyed the greeting from that organ ization in a shorttalk. Ernest B. Eppley, representing the D. W. Cotterell stationery store, presented the silent bdost, a hand some brush. Theattendance prize a box of cigars donated by T. H. Hamilton, was won by Peter Magaro, manager of the Regent theater, the baby member of the club. Resolu tions of congratulation to T. H. Hamilton, newly-married, were pre sented and carried. Among the guests were J. S. Slble, Jftfcob Lightner, Gus M. Stein metz, managing editor of the Har risburg Telegraph; John Gilbert, of the Seranton Life Insurance Com pany; Private Clark Swengel and George W. Houck, of the Winter mints Company. Abner W. Hartman wa snamed as the chairman of the new music cojnmtttee. with William H. Brown, Frank Blumenstein and Frank Mor row as his associate SXRRXSBTTRG ttS&Sfi. TELEGRAPH Funeral Services Held For Former U. S. Seaman - Funeral services were licit this A afternoon for " • **sss ■" s/dames M. Ret- ImimL ti!ier ' 19 > eais *vho died aft —J lehem Steel Com pany at Louisville, Ky. Services tliis afternoon overe in charge of the Rev. A. M. Stamets, pastor of the Augsburg Lutheran Church,. and bur ial was made in the Paxtang ceme tery. Frank J. Torrance Dies at Pittsburgh Home; Was Head of State Charities By Associated Press Pittsburgh, Jan. 9.—Frank J. Tor rance, president of the Pennsylva nia Board of Charities, and promi nent in business, political and club circles, died at ills home here yes terday following an attack of pneu monia. He was born June 29, 1859. in this city, was connected as. an official with many business concerns and held club membership in Pitts burgh, Philadelphia, New York and London. He was elected a com missioner of the Charities Board in 1895 and served as its president for ten years. In 1896 he was a delegate at large to the Republican national con vention in St Louis. The widow, formerly Miss Mary Dlbert, of Johnstown, Pa., and one daughter survive. Mrs. P. Hildrup Dies at )Velaka, Fla. Mrs. Ennna Piper Hildrup, aged TS, widow of the late William T. Hildrup, Sr., father of William T. Hildrup, Jr., present general man ager of the Harrisburg Pipe and Pipe Bending Company, died oi Saturday at A\ elaka, Fla. Mrs. Hildrup was a native of Philadelphia and was'mar ried to the late Mr. Hildrup in 1876. He was for many years treasurer and general manager-of the old Harris burg Car Works which was burned down an drebuilt immediately. As sociated with hi mat that time in the management of the company as secretary was his son Mr. Hildrup Jr., who later with other prominent i businessmen organized the Pipe Bending Company. Delegate of Soldiers' and Workmen's Council Addressing Crowd in Front of Exiled Kaiser's Palace from Top of an Ambulance §1 S R - 1 1 T Wnijßtm. ; Texas and Pacific Are High in Trading; Soar From $l5 to $35 Share By Associated Press w York, Jan. 9. —With the rise of thirty points in Texas and Pacific Land Trust certificates, following a thlrty-seven-polnt rise yesterday and previous advances almost daily for the past week, this ordinarily qu!*t issue has become the sensational fea ture of the stock market. All told, dealings In the certifi cates thus far this year have aggre gated about 1,800 shares. In 1918 only 300 shares changed hands at ICO'i to 150. They have risen this year from ISO to 260 to-day, with odd lots changing hands from 300 to 310. Wall Street, meantime, has beers conjecturing as to the reason for the rise. Coincident with the rise in Texas Land certificates, there has been the activity and strength of Texas and Paclflo Railway shares, which have risen from 315, their price in Octo ber last, to 335, their quotation on the Stock Exchange to-day. Officials Decide to Wait on Development of Strike By Associated Press Washington, Jan. 9. —* War and Navy Department, Railroad Admin istration and Shipping ,Board offi cials, after discussing __ to-day for , two hours the New York harbor strike situation, decided to postpone any action pending further reports from their representatives in New York, espected later in the d^y. REVOLUTION COVERS PARTS OF EMPIRE . [Continued from First Page.] Sparta-cans were driven from the Potsdam and Anhalt railroad station, the Brandenburg gate and the cen tral railway office. The Prussian War Minister told the correspondent that the power of the government was increasing be cause volunteers were offering their services. However, it would not be easy to restore order, because the Spartncans had occupied buildings all over Berlin. The correspondent, reports that the Spartacans ' got eighteen million marks in paper money when they captured the government printing office. Street fighting in Berlin attained the greatest intensity between 11 o'clock Tuesday ulght-and 5 o'clock Wednesday morning, according to a Berlin telegram to the Frankfort Nachtrichten. Heavy artillery firing continued uninterruptedly. The dis patch says the government is still master of the situation. Troops loyal to the Ebert govern- nient have arrived in Berlin from | Potsdam and driven the Spartacans as far as the Tiergarten and reoccu pied the printing works, according to the Frankfort Zeitung. Spartacan Movement Is Growing Outside of Berlin Bqsle, Jan. 9.—Strikes and dem onstrations in sympathy with the Ltehknecht movement In Berlin have taken place in Brunswick and Mu nichtl A mob pillaged the stores in Brunswick. In Munich, the Bavar ian capital, several persons were killed and wounded in street riots. Premier Ebert Calls on People to Support Him Basic, Jan. 9.—The government, tho newspaperadds, has decided to tako energetic measures and has as sembled a large number of troops. Premier Ebert has issued a mani festo to the "workers, bourgeoise and soldiers," denouncing the Spartacans and being Responsible for many per sons being killed and wounded. The manifesto continues: "We must now accept the fight ifito which we have been forced. We have hesitated too long and must be prepared to intervene without re striction for the t.cfense of revolu tionary order. We appeal to you in the' view of forming a volunteer re publican defense guard. We must not stop until order has been re-es tablished in Berlin and the people assured the possibility of enjoying peace and the fruits of the revolu tion." Berlin a Madhouse Says Soeialist Editor Berlin, Tuesday, Jan. 7. —10 p. m. —The curtain is still up on the great tragic comedy, "Berlin: The Mad house," as a majority Socialist edi tor called it yesterduy. The Unter den Linden, Wilhelmstrasse and the Seigesallee and all the streets in that section have been jammed all day by masses of .people who from time to time fled madly into the side streets and sheltering doorways to escape the ralw of bullets from both sides. The shooting reached considerable proportions three times during the afternoon, but the casualties appear to have been few. Spartacan forces and gbvernment troops clashed at the Brandenburg gate where Unter den Linden ter minates nt the Tiergarten. Machine guns were used in the fighting. At 3.4 5 o'clock the Spartacans en tered Wilhelpjstrasse, the govern ment stronghold, from Unter den Linden, crying: "Down with Ebert and Scheidemann!" A mere handful of government troops, probably ijot more than twenty, backed up slowly for one hundred yards and' then fired into the air. Thar Spartacans turned and fled and 1 ha few minutes had dis appeared. JANUARY 8, 1919. OP Stroh, president of the Dauphin County Bar Association, has sold to Arthur D. Bacon, of the D. Bacon Company, a plot 6 sxloo feet at the southwest corner of Second and Sen eca streets. The consideration was not made public, but it is understood the ground sold for several thou sands. Mr. Bacon probably will build on the plot later, it is reported. William E. Bailey, guardian of Caryl J. Gould, whose parents were killed in an automobile accident a year or two ago, sold the Gould resi dence at 2234 North Second street to O. IJ. Bomberger for $7,200. The property is a 21s-story brick dwell ing. Another transaction completed re cently was the sale of the property of E. A. Daron, corner Second and Muench streets, to David E. Tracy, president of the Ilarrishurg Pipe and Pipe Bending Company, for $ll,OOO. The Business ' A Man will buy his printing now and save money against the constantly increasing cost of paper. Some people will never learn! And some learn in a short timet And still others are wise enough to take advan . tage of their opportunities. What is the use of turning one's back to war conditions. The war is on! Paper costs more and more as the scarcity becomes more acute. The business man will need more printed matter, stationery, circulars, pamphlets, etc., as time goes on. But the business man will take time by the forelock! We are happy to say at this writing that we have on hand a fairly liberal stock of paper. And with our extensive facilities for printing we can share our economy in production with you. Therefore order your printing now. Call us on the phone and a man will be at your elbow in a jiffy. The Telegraph -Printing Co. Printing; Binding Designing Photo Engraving Die Stamping Plate Printing HARRISBURG, PA. . • V "MMnHMKHMMMMMnmnMnMeeeMeraanßaar DYNAMITE LETS GO IN A POWDER COMPANY PLANT Fire Destroys Property; Fir©* inan and Watchman Blowix From the Building By Associated Press Tunnclton, Pa. K Jan. 9.—This city .and towns for miles around war* severely shaken and windows shat tered when one thousand pounds of dynamite exploded last night at ths C. n. McAbee Powder Company's plant at Saltsburg, three miles from here. ?he two main buildings or the powder plant were destroyed by. Are which followed the explosion. A watchman and fireman, the only persons in the jilant at the time, were blown from the building by the blast but were uninjured. Hundreds of persons here and in nearby towns rushed panic-stricken from their homes after the explo sion. The plant was situated in a thinly settled district and it was not until early to-day the cause of the shock ww learned. No estimate is .obtained here of the damage. BUILDING BOOM PREDICTED FOR 1919 fContinued from First Page.} J ,y,„ dieting many new realty devejpp ments. Some of these were planned months ago, but war conditions forced prices too high for any new construction work, with the result that in 1918 Harrisburg's building record touched a low level, the same as in nl other cities in the country exceJTt where big Governments plants were erected. Deducting the cost of the two big school building projects, the record about reached the half million dollar mark, as compared with more than $2,000,000 expended In construction work in 1917. A Turn For the Better This year, however, builders antic ipate a turn for the better, and look for a busy period of construction, in cluding the erection of many resi dences, because of the serious house shortage In Harrlsburg. A building permit wan Issued M day for the remodeling of the OeM tral Democratic Club, 213 Walnm street, which was delayed for soam time. The interior alterations to building In Walnut street, in the ijirt' Inea/ section of the city, will doafc about $2,500. Two other remodeling have been let and permits fcrthe work were issued. J. H. Souillarii. owner of the 2 & -story dwelling at 74 7 South Nineteenth street, is hav ing it altered at a cost of $4OO. Mrs. I.ouise Seithman hus ar ranged for the remodeling of the 2-story brick and frame house at 22 South Fifteenth street, at a cost of $2OO. Interesting Transaction Two realty transactions of interest have been reported to-day. Charles' 13
Significant historical Pennsylvania newspapers