The situation was different in relation to filling orders for arms and ammunition. At first, as was natural, this business was placed with concerns engaged in the manufacture of these commodities. Shortly they were swamped with orders, and to be able to fill them plants were enlarged, new equipment added, and additional help employed.
More and more orders came pouring in, and, as the arms and munition houses were by this time up to and some over capacity, acceptance by them of further business was impossible. Here, then, was the opportunity for the manufacturers of rails, rivets, electrical and agricultural machinery, locomotives, &c., to secure their share of this enormous business being offered. The manner in which they arose to the occasion is striking testimony of the great resourcefulness, efficiency, ingenuity, and adaptability of the American manufacturer.
The question of labor was of minor importance, due primarily to the fact that many thousands of men were without employment and anxious to secure work, and secondarily for the reason that skilled labor was not an essential factor. Most of the work is done by machinery and in a short period of time a mechanic of ordinary intelligence will become proficient in running a machine. The necessary trained labor could be secured without difficulty. Numbers of highly trained employes at Government arsenals are now with private arms and ammunition concerns. The labor problem therefore was negligible. However, three serious difficulties had yet to be overcome by the manufacturers wishing to engage in this new line of business—the securing of new machinery, raw materials, and capital.
The larger concerns had machinery and apparatus on hand suitable to most of the work, but much new machinery was needed, especially for the manufacture of rifles, and needed in a hurry. Time is the essence of these war supplies contracts, and, as many manufacturers agreed to make early deliveries, it was up to them to secure this new machinery and have it installed without delay; otherwise they could not manufacture and make deliveries as agreed to.
In this event they would suffer the penalty for non-fulfillment, as stipulated in the bond given by them to the purchaser at the time of signing the contract. These bonds are known as "fulfillment bonds" and are issued by responsible surety companies, usually to the amount of 5 per cent. of the total contract price, on behalf of the vendors, guaranteeing their deliveries and fulfillment of the contract.
In the earlier stages of this war supply business the question of his ability to secure raw materials with which to manufacture arms and ammunition or picric acid—this latter being used to manufacture higher explosives—was of no great concern to the manufacturer taking an order; but as orders came pouring in from abroad for ever larger amounts of supplies it was clearly evident that the demand for raw materials would shortly equal, if not exceed, the supply thereof. This condition was soon brought about, and today is one to be most seriously reckoned with by the manufacturer before accepting a contract.
Some of the materials needed with which to manufacture the supplies are mild carbon steel for the barrels, bayonets, bolt, and locks; well-seasoned ash or maple, straight-grained, for the stocks; brass, iron, powder, antimony, benzol or phenol, sulphuric acid, nitric acid, and caustic soda, &c. Of these various materials the most difficult to secure are those used in the manufacture of picric acid.
Today it is almost impossible to secure phenol, certainly in any considerable quantities, and it is almost as difficult to secure sulphuric acid and nitric acid. Germany has been the source of supply in the past for picric acid. Before the war it sold around 35 cents to 40 cents per pound, dry basis; recently it has sold at over $2 per pound for spot, that is immediate delivery, and is quoted at from $1.25 to $1.60 per pound for early future deliveries.
Antimony is becoming so scarce, never having been produced in any great quantity in this country, that in the new contracts being submitted for shrapnel shell it is stipulated that some other hardening ingredients may be substituted in the bullets, either totally or partly replacing the antimony.
Brass is essential to the manufacture of cartridges. The term "brass" is commonly understood to mean an alloy of copper and zinc.