National Republican. (Washington City (D.C.)) 1872-1888, 1872-12-03

Provost Marshal Generals bureau II now In
the hands Of the Congressional Printer, and
In process Of being printed.
Ny previous reports have called the attcn-
ton 81 Congress to the large number Of va
cancics ut present 80 existing In the medl-
cal corps aud the injury tn II and the serv-
Ice, resulting from the prohibition Of appoint
mcnts an1 promotions. II would require
many years Ia fll the vacancies now existing,
as tho number NJ successful candidates rare
" exceeds eight or ten In any ono year.
Numbers II the most desirable candidates,
after waiting years for examination, have O.
tihlislicd Themselves to civil practice. With
the army nj IL present standard, distributed
~ II now l., there Is q constant and absolute
necessity for u medical corp ~ the full mum
her established by tho act Uf Congress np
proved July ~, 1876.
The legislation Of Congress al 10 last res
sion has tended materially to encourage and
improve the condition Of the rank and Ale Of
the army. The pay bill carries the system Of
retained pay 10 those Of all rauka, and no one
can doubt the good effect u such a system.
The appropriation for the manufacture Of
arms for the current year ClS71- ID 10 limited
In IT, application to such system Of brccCh-
loading arm ~ may be selected by board Ot
officers, now In session. Should the selection
he 50 long delayed a. to cause an unc1pendcd
balance " the appropriation to remain on
hand Mt the close Of the fiscal year, la re-
appropriation l. recommended. The system
being once adopted arms sufficient to supply
the army and militia should he at once manu-
| featured, and q large reserve should I've
accumulated year by year, for the ext
gencles Of war, and, to this end,
liberal appropriations will he required.
Reports from tho field are all favorable to
| the use OF rcvolvcrs using metallic cartridges.
Five thousand sets of new infantry equip
monts, combining the knapsack, hayersack,
cantecn, cartridge box, waist belt, and the
lao
made during the year, and issued to the
troops for experimental trial. A sufficient
sum Is asked to supply the service with these
| equipments.
| The board on heavy ordnance, authorized
| by the act Of juno o, 1877, have made their
report, and measures have been tnken to carry
| out their recommendations. The procure
ment and trial Of the guns recommended by
them will probably consume the whole Of the
/ year 1873.
4 moderate sum Is estimated for the pro-
| CuTcmCnt Of Cast-irUn smOOth-bOrC guns and
iron carriages for the fiscal year. Nearly 800
| Of such guns, besides 100 mOrtars, arc still
/ needed for our forts.
ASuch VI the arsenals cast Of the Mississippi
| river Us can he spared should be- sold, and the
proceeds applied to the establishment Of q
large arsenal Of construction and repair on
the Atlantic coast, and the erection Of suita-
bic dCpots for the storage Of the powder and
.
means Of rapid communication Of modern
times obyiatcs the necessity Of having an are
/ nal In almost every State Of the Union, and
| tho consolidation Of several Of them into one
establishment would result In great economy
Ia the Government, and promote efficiency.
/ 4 proving aud experimental ground for heavy
i ordnance i much required, and the purchase
i Of suitable site is recommended. The
/ grounds nj present used at Old Point Comfort
| Virginia, are Inadequate to the wants Of the
ordnance department.
| Suspension of the sale Of certain aTsenals
has been directed until the opening Of Con-
| gress In order that the law requiring the sale
may be so amCndcd.a to enable the Depart
ment to save the property from sacrifice In
case Of combination of bidders. The act
directed the sale Of ApalachicolA arsenal, but
that property had previously been granted by
Congress to the State Of Florida. The pro-
vision directing Its sale should be repealed.
Some plan for settling the lOng-disputed
claims for royalty ON the arms that have been
altered at Springfield armcry should DO dc.
yiscd, aud the attention Of Congress IA called
to such legislative enactmonts "a tend % de-
| priye the Government of the inventive In
genuity Of It's officers and employees, by pre-
venting them from receiving royalty or par
ticipating In profits derived from inventions
made by them while In the United States ser
vice.
The Chief Of Ordnance calls attention tC
the necessity for the repeal Of the law pro
hlbitlng promotions and appointments In thai
corps. Congress by an act passed at Its las
session relieved the corps OF engineers from
the operation Of the act approved March 3
1859, and In my judgment II Is now advisable
, that all Of the staff corps Of the army, affected
by the law Of March 3, 1859, should have tn
, same privilege extended to them.
During the past year the Corps OF Engi
neers has been engaged upon the works 70
l lao hPfPnPR pf EfIngtgs river and hnf
Dor improvements and the surveys for them
and for the protection Of the nayigablo water
| Of the United States against deterioration
whether from bridging or other causci upo
the geodotic and photographic survey Of tn
+ lakes; upon surveys for the defence of th
! coast; upon military surveys and reconnali
sanccs In the interior; upon geographical an
, geological explorations; upon public build
ings and grounds In the District Of Columbia
/, upon the construction Uf lighthouses, an
= | upon the dcmarkatlOn Of the boundary b,
tween the United States and Great Britain
The work upon our coast deicnccs and fort
y fcatlOus has been prosecuted with yigOr, an
10 already large number Of positions for gun
aud nIOrtars Of tho largest CallbrCs, 10
y mounted behind sand parapcts, have bee
provided, while others arc In an advance
state Of construction. These works shOuI
be continued, rs they are the basis OF OF
harbOr projections, and are essential for u
" efficacy uf the accessory dcfcnccs, especial
Of tOrpodOCs and channel distractions, whiC
" form part Of our own system Of defence.
u The battalion Of engineers, In It's reduce
y organization, numbers 3l5 men, but retail
= It's marked efficiency in drill and disciplin
10 and furnishes the Instruction to the cadets
u the Military Academy In practical militia
N engineering, while at WillGtt's Point 1t forT
~ the school Tor the torpedo defence OF our la
- bOrs, and the guards and wOrkmcn for I
~, ~ distribution, care, and preservation OF
Il, bridgo-trains, and engineer equipments oil 1
~ army. The appropriations asked for this
" pot and post are recommended to COngre
~ while the repeated recommendation Of
~ | Chief Of engineers for the repeal of the 81
~ y enth section Of the act Of July, 1885, TAXI
u, from engineer soldiers the per diem grant
6e to other troops, Is approved.
~ The torpedo experiments, made under
>" immediate direction Of Major Ii; l.. Abb
I2 commanding engineer battalion, have be
M brought so far 10 satisfactory conclusion
m. to enable us to devise plan Of torpedo
~ fence In connection with the fOTtlhcatiO
In. simple In It's working certain In Its appli
nd ton, and effective In Its results, while at
I'VE same time our own shipping will not be
irs dangcrcd. An estimate for providing mel
to apply the system to few OF the .prlncl
mt haT6ors Is submitted In the annual estim
ms for Notifications.
Inc The river and harbOr works, aud the mi
TO surveys annually directed to be made In
ian tending the system Of improvement, Il
ion been carried on with skill, energy and &c
der Omy. The increased security and tacillt!
navigation which these works of imprC
mi meut have afforded, though many OF u
lry arc only partially completed, have saved
lch commerce many times the amount OF
on sum expended on the works; and the lucr'
en- Of commerce, with greater depth Of chanr
rize | greater security In their navigation, and
SER saving Of time In their use, adds millions
cx- nually to the wealth Of the country, ant
of creases the resources Of the GOvernm
ted For further information respecting these
Who pruvCments and surveys reference may
lree made to the report Of tho chief Of engine
aTa, which contains detailed account Of the =
Of taken to carry out the provisions Of the !
art and harbOr bills, and the progress and CO
ssu- ton Of these works, as well as Of the pI
der buildings and grounds In Washington, an
I to the Washington aquoduct works "
heir have been carried on in a highly credit
ser manner.
'nce The river and hRrbOr bill, approved
ton 10, 1872, appropriated the sum Of sl45, 90
Ould payment TO the Green Bay and Mlssis
nent Canal Company for so much of Its prof.
and and rights OF property In and To the lin
5 the water communication between the WiscI
1t OF river and the mouth Of the Fox rive
nc. were reported by the Secretary of War 4
lded HOusp of Representatives on the Bth MI