OCR Text |
Show PROGRAM VTTJED FPOTI STANDPOINT OF NATIONAL KIFLNSZ Lieutenant Colonel Edwin Butcher I am not speaking with the authority of the War Department nor the Government, but rather as a private citizen with some knowledge cf military organization and training and the scheme of National defense. If what the gentlemen have already said and the figures presented are approximately correct, it would seem to me that this project would be a great asset to the National defense. Concerning metals, Utah has practically all the metals necessary for war purposes- copper, lead, zinc, magnesium, aluminum, iron, and raw materials. Ores of the lighter material- magnesium and aluminum- are here in great quantities. These latter are necessary for aircraft manufacture. One of the largest known supplies of helium gas is available when needed, in Carbon County, where a test well was drilled, tested and then sealed off. All the chemicals are here for the manufacture of war munitions, including explosives and chemical warfare supplies. All basic foods are here, with a large surplus to feed a large number of men. With plenty of water and cheap coal, which means cheap electric power, we have then all the elements and essentials for a great munitions center. For such a center the location has great natural advantages. It is far enough from our coast and borders to be free from the danger of invasion. The railroad net extends in all cardinal directions, supplemented by good roads, which makes trucking feasible, and guarantees a prompt supply to any point in a short time. Should our western coast be taken, with the supply centers located there paralyzed, the logical focal point of supply would be here. The same applies to a lesser degree to our eastern coast and to the Gulf coast. As a supply point for our northern and southern borders it is strategically located. It might well be likened to Altanta in the Civil War* This city was a great manufacturing center for war supplies of all kinds for the south. When it was captured and destroyed the heart of the Confederacy was taken and the sinews of war that had maintained the armies cf Lee and Jackson were cut irreparably. The result was scon apparent in the surrender of those armies and the end of the war. This area, however, has all of Atlanta's advantages to a greater degree, with the majority of the material resources and raw materials at - 26 - |