Spirit of Jefferson. [volume] (Charles Town, Va. [W. Va.]) 1844-1948, 1853-12-20


tfiiceEshould be the superintendent ofa foundry.
Slips aFe necessary for naval defence; therefore
nm officer should lie the superintendent of a
ship-Itlrt Cord:ige and canvass are necessary
to tll&9eomple yJf vessels of war; therefore
an officer should be the superintendent Of a
rope yak and sail loft. Flour IS an impor-
tsnt Glefnent in sstlsisting lite army and navy:
therefore an offica should superintend the mill
that eriBds it. H5w absurd How ridiculous
the dEs8tFine, that because men are educated
and tf5lincd to the use Of arms and the sailing
and fighting of vessels of war, that ergo they
are tlte most competent to make them, or to
sllperintend their Construction.
Tht! present superintendent says: SIN lS41,
the Iitesilent of the United States thought
proptsi to discharge the civil superintendents of
the AfInories, and to detail an ordnance officer
tol,eroiln the duties ofsuperintendent at eachI''
Nov, h1.ssrs. Edit,ars, would it not have teen
canditt in him to have stated to the HBoard Of
Commissioners" bat appliances were used to
hrinGiahout the "tiischarge" of the auperinten-
tlentss{and through whose instrumentality it
/ wes accomplished. His silence upon thatpoint
will letaye the readers of his communication 10
4 infer Frat the supeEintendents were discharged
for so1he direlictioh of duty tntitness for the
pIaceS| they held, 1seither of which, however,
was designed as tile cause at the time. Per
haps the present superintendent was ignorant
of thi.t fact If Sd, lie is cxcusable. Should
lie have occasion again to enlighten the public,
/ l would respectfully request him to have the
lzndrt5ss 10 state, that the superintendent were
. dis hanged" nponithe recommendation Of the
Boarf Of Orduarce," of which the late Col.
| Tacots was President With that Board the
'sCliscAargc" originated, and through its instru
! mentality the net was consummated for the
| purpcseio of placing, as the Ordnance office had
I long desired, milit;lrv men in charge Of the ar
mUrc4 Of the change | never complained,
! but the oncans nsel to effect the oI jact, have
! aIwar$ deemed ung rnerous, uncandid and un-
J fair t,l Use no stronger terms.
In -tc fifth paragraph of the communication
! I timd the followi,&r: Happy would have
/ L-cl Il had found when | came here. every
/ thing lrninr right. But far different was the
case | found nanv abuses which set about
l. correcting, not all: at once. hut from time to
! tim" Is tl"v camrto my notice.
The ,urcrintcn,;eut has not rondcsccndcd to
irrarlli thu. Board of Commissioners" in what
tEI.srf abuses conSiltcd The word ',bUSc' is
/ strong and mprc cl,$ivc one. and appears to
be :. ycrr i:.voritr Ind convenient one in the
! ordnance vocahulagv. Abuse is defined by the
lesic,..rra,cr al,nYc referred 20, TO be, all WILL
! IMPROPER tfca.n,rl+t or employment; applica
tipr, To- :! wrong purpose abuse {" civil rights
or Of rtliyiouS privileges abuse of advantages"
/ Witlt all due dcie-cncc, would beg leave to
! ask ;ta .u.lOr Of The communication which of
the a'oy-a l." found tocxist at the arMory, and
! set ni,tU, con@"''H"f
! From 3d. to Io31 20 'ai.J-"s w"r" found
to exist ut the Sir;ngfcld .Amory h!v Col. Ini-
colt. tl. inspector ot armor'rS and arscnaIS, II
he can '.o relied :p;pon. in his report Of tE"
2g,h oil November $50, he SAYS, The supo-
+ r:oIi.v it the small arms recently fabricated,
over 4hp-e forrn"rr made erinccs the utility
! Of p:tl,siyr establishments for improving tins
1 branch .: 'nuuufarir : A''H rapport of tse
&Dth III November. le avs The Inanut4c-
4 furr IF }lru<l5otS a,rording To the new model
he h..n sue e,,iuaIv ,sttbIishcd at both of the
national armoric4. 'fhe substitution hereafter
of r;,a,.>-ion iuSt,ad of flint locks. which is
, bero;lin- general in Europe, will render the
arms ;l: nrarly pcEfcct as can be attained, and
;ule$f,.: rom die specimens Of foreign arms of
The f?iost approved patterns recently imported,
d,..i,+b,l!v superior TO any arms of foreign man
uIac5,ri5 If abuses existed at that time, why
wcrbtlrv not pointed out hy Col. Talcott and
corr9tt9,l! On the contrary, the arms were
bv him;considcrcd as 'ncarly perfect" as could
be attai!rnd. and superior TO any arms of for
D., c;,rnlr1anul.ctuvrn And this, he it rcmcm-
| Lrredi was but seventeen months anterior to
the sli&,harne' Of the civil superintendent.
Irtht author Of the communication mears
by tl.4 term ahusc' that he found peace and
! harl:orN prevailing at the armorv amongst
the aorkmen; system and economy Ill the TAB
rica,ier. of the nusket; due regard for the
rublic interests in making contracts for sup
niles. aaud disburs ;mcnt Of appropriations, con
/ iinin3s tlle expenditures to the Legitimate OBJ
/ icctss 10. which the appropriations we're made:
! muskcts fabricated, in the opinion Of Col Ia-
cottI superior to any offoreiCn manufacture;
materials Of the best quality the market atfor-
! ded and master armorer conducting the
| ,naci,apical oier,tons, with ability, and with
| cyadi, to himself and advantage to the Gov
crnnent If these are the "abuses" to which
he refers. and Which lie " set about correcting,
/ and Lv their correction produce n reverse
state fittings l certainly will not dispute the
| point but let him enjoy The credit OF such an
! achi.9ycrncnt. | am inclined to the opinion
however that disappointment used strong
or word than he intended to III h's commun-
| .,oti6n. Perhaps he meant Irregularities or
imnyop,icties. There may have been some
! sucl: FOR instance rs workman buying
piccs Of meat for his family, or reading n letter
pfoToinr him of the Sercre illness Of Tetd-
/ tire or reading Il paragraph in a paper dur
ine, working hours These things may have
hapoeucd--I do not pretend to say that they
did hot. But surely YOU would not call them
:. aliases" according to Webster's definition.
Tlieyta ular statements marked A. B. G, d,
and f appear to have been prepared with great
care. and contain fund of information OF va
rioUs kinds rs to the expenditures for series
Of wears and the great Savjng to the Govern
mcnt together with the names of the prices
paid for tlieir fabrication. Euf permit me to
ask: Massrs Editors how many persons VIII"
end fem understand this array of figures and
calculations? How many even in Springfield
ana itsyicnity Permit me to dIss'P9te.the
Jog: IN which they are enveloped,, and pre-
sel3 tie subject in n way that can De comPre-
bo,ided br every one. even the school 10y ten
vcars old. The people of New ngI'nd are an
;ntSllidrIt and sducated people; educated for
all pra5::,tical purposes. And have no reeol-
leation{ that dnring my residence among them
~ snrl.,, rnars and n half. never met single