in support of the US Army Quartermaster
Museum and this Website
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The
Manufacturing Branch of the Philadelphia Quartermaster Depot THAT
the Philadelphia Depot is primarily a manufacturing depot is not generally known
to the field, even among Quartermaster Officers. It is quite evident that even
though some may realize that it is a manufacturing depot, they have very little
conception of the size, variety, or importance of the work turned out. It is the
frequent and almost unanimous observation of visitors to the factory, whether
they be Officers of the Quartermaster Corps, Officers of other Arms or Services
whose work may bring them in contact with this Depot, or even prominent
civilians, that they had not the remotest idea of the extent, variety, or
magnitude of the operations; that an organization which makes scores of military
articles ranging from gorgeous National colors, and flags for the President and
War Department Officials made of silk and done by hand, down to ordinary working
clothing and tentage for shelter, is something unusual, and not found anywhere
else to their knowledge. While the Manufacturing Branch is for purposes of
organization, part of the existing set-up at the, Depot, it is so operated that
in case of emergency, with the rest of the Procurement Division it can be
readily divorced from the other Depot activities and become part of the
procurement scheme to be operated in conjunction with other munitions activities
under The Quartermaster General and Assistant Secretary of War as provided in
the general procurement plans. GROUP OF FACTORIES The Manufacturing Branch of this Depot ordinarily is
called the factory, but in reality it is much more than "a factory,"
being composed of a group of fourteen to twenty factories as the occasion may
require. These factories or sections of the factory correspond to complete
factories found in the industrial world. In the industrial world the output of a
factory in the clothing or allied industries is one or at the very most a very
few items, while here at the Philadelphia Depot, there are manufactured articles
covered by a great many industries. It is not the intention in this article to describe the
physical set-up of the factory or to point out by mere statistics the output,
but rather to give the reader some idea of the magnitude of the work and how it
pertains not only to the furnishing of supplies to the Army in peace times, but
its value as an experimental institution for the constant development of types
and improvement of equipment, and also how it acts as a reservoir which should
be invaluable in an emergency, and which undoubtedly in the last emergency saved
the Government millions of dollars. THE
ORIGIN AND DEVELOPMENT The factory has been in existence in one condition or
another since the Civil War. Tents were the first articles of manufacture and
for many years most of the canvas of the Army was made in the Philadelphia Depot
which at that time was at the old Schuylkill Arsenal, 2620 Grays Ferry Road. The
present location, 21st Street and Oregon Avenue, has been in use only since the
recent War, and the manufacturing activities carried on there only since 1922.
A section was later organized to make coats for enlisted men. From this
beginning and especially since the World War, there have been added from time to
time other articles until at present there are manufactured here practically all
of the outer clothing that the soldier wears, except shoes, hats and caps, and
in addition many articles of individual and organizational equipment. In the beginning there were about sixty employees
engaged. This number increased from time to time as the activities were enlarged
up until about the time of the Spanish American War when it might be said the
first real factory was in operation. After that War there was another decrease,
but, however, the factory remained larger than it had been at any time prior to
that period. At the beginning of the World War expansion again began until all
available buildings at the old Schuylkill Arsenal were used and a large modern
manufacturing building in the vicinity covering about one city block and six
stories high was commandeered. Here manufacturing of uniforms, shirts, denim
clothing, flags, both silk and bunting, etc. was carried on on an enormous
scale, and in addition to the people engaged within the factory building, there
were about 10,000 persons, chiefly women, who took the cut work to their homes
and performed all sewing operations. After
the Armistice, it was necessary to release the commandeered building and the
facilities of the old Arsenal would no longer meet the manufacturing
requirements, with the result that the present building at the new Philadelphia
Quartermaster Depot at 21st Street and Oregon Avenue, was altered to provide for
factory facilities and was equipped along the most modern and up-to-date lines. This building is 960 feet long by 160 feet wide, and
divided into seven bays or sections. The lay out of the factory was so organized
that all the raw materials required were brought into the Receiving Section in
the extreme western end of the building, and traveled from there through the
various operations until the extreme eastern end of the building was reached,
where the shipping or transfer section is situated. This section transfers the
completed garments to the Storage and Issue Division of the Depot, where it
remains in the hands of the Property Officer until shipped on requisition to
other Depots or Stations. The interior set-up was so designed
as to have each succeeding operation bring the article nearer to the shipping
section 50 as to prevent backhaul of material after it left the receiving
section. MODERN EQUIPMENT The equipment installed here was the latest available
at the time and is being constantly added to by the most modern equipment as it
becomes available. There are many and frequent changes in sewing machines and
labor saving devices with which it is necessary to keep in touch. The result has
been the constant acquiring of improved equipment and the disposition of
obsolete or old types which even in the case of emergency would be of little or
no actual value in production and for which very little if any sale would exist. What precedes is a sketchy outline of what is here.
which together with the pictures, is chiefly for the purpose of acquainting you
with the Philadelphia factory. From
the standpoint here, the important feature of our factory is not so much where
it started or how it grew, but what it is and what may be accomplished with it.
It is realized that statistics are usually not only uninteresting but even bore
the reader, but at the risk of doing this some are used in order to give you a
clearer idea of the magnitude of the work. The following is a list of the
articles manufactured at this Depot and their value. during the fiscal year of
1928. which is the latest report available. It will be noted at the end there
are two items added which are activities of the present fiscal year and which
are shown to indicate part of the increase which has taken place in the present
fiscal year, and which will increase the value of the present year's output 50
per cent over that of last year. Articles Manufactured During Period July 1, 1927, to June 30, 1928
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