The morning star and Catholic messenger., 1877-10-28
QUE WEAPONS FOR EUROPE.
TAEKEEs' PROFIT IN THE QUARREL OF THE
TURK AND TIE RUSS.
The Improved Firearm and Munitions Made in
New England.


The Improved Firearm and Munitions Made in
New England.
The conflict between Russia and Turkey
has made business lively in some of the
pleasant New England towns, where o
principal occupation for smiling peace 10
the preparation of terrors for grim WIS
aged war. In the several huge factories
| where arms and ammunition are made the
| M eeh auical RESOURCES have been generally
taxed to their utmBst, and double forces OF
en- ployees have been at work, night and
day, constructing the weapons of slaughter.
| 1t must not be understood that all this ac-
tivity has only been set in motion since
the war began. Had the contracts been
given out only since the Car undertook to
march to Constautiuople, 1t wonId 5ave
been impracuicab!e to have even made the
machinery necessary to rect the vast re-
quirements, TO say nothing OF the utter
impossibility of supplying already the eeV-
erat milliens of dollars worth of war mate
rial sent from our Yankee workshops. The
fact is that for years past, both Russia and
Turkey, recognizing this struggle as newt
able, and its commencement but queetlon
of time, have been preparing for IT. fonr
years ago the Turkish Government or
dered here tive hundred thousand breech-
loading guns of the Peabody Martini pat
tern, and since then have sent over orders,
once for three hundred thousand and again
for one hundred thousand more of tine same
pattern, and only the latter order has been
given since the war broke out.
The Russians have been much behind
the Turks in their armament, much slower
in avaiing themselves OF modern improve
ments. They have had on hand for several
years some Berdan and Snider rifles, and
have done a considerable amount of work
in altering to breech leaders the great
numbers of antique muzzte- leaders with
lxt~a l., tNrlf thnv
have seemed, whether through economy or
ignorance, indifferent to the valne of the
modern arms, in which the most wonderful
fapidity of fire, prec sion, and range has
been attained. The Turks have been pro
gressive, and though they have made some
amusing blunders in their eagerness to put
themselves on the best war footing possi-
BILE, the disposition aDimating them has
been worthy of respect. Ten years ago
Blacqae Bey, the Minister to this country,
bought for bis Government the greater part
of the vast quantity of machinery sold at
the breaking mp of the Spencer Sarblne
Company, and shipped it to Turkey.
When it arrived the Turkish State author
ities were much surprised, and still more
disgusted at the discovery that instead OF
being able to turn out any sorts OF guns
and pistols they wanted, with that ma
ehinery, it would make nothing but Spea-
Ger carbines Turkey was lacking in in
genious practical mechanieians who could
have adapted 1t to other uses. Spencer
carbines were not wanted, and the result
was that the costly pile of machinery was
stored away, and has been unused all these
years. Since then the Turks have grown
wiser, and they have conhded their quo
making to people who understand 1t. Now
all their troops, as fast as they are sent
into the field, are armed with tho Peabody
Martini rife, and the value of this arm ls
demonstrated by the fact that from ninety
two to ninety four per cent of the Russian
dead found upon the several battle fields
have been slain by bullets from these guns,
an unprecedented proportion of mortality
from small arm firing.
THE PEABODY EEARTINI
Peabndy's patent came into the posses
sion Sf -Le Providence FOOL Company as
| long !go as 1862, AID shortly thereafter
| John Il. Anthony effected q sale ot 25,oOO
| of tho.s ritlss to Switzerland. In that
| country T. man uamcd Martini effected q
valuable Improvement, making an attach
uIent TO the breech by which the side lock
! was disTensed with, its action being incor-
porate6 in TIE hreech frame. England
adopted both tue American invention and
the Swiss Improvements, applied them to g
gun with 8 Henry rife barrel-a sy stem oi
rifiing in which the number of grooves is
increased and the surface of the "lands'
reduced to a minimum, and to this cnmpo-
site gun gave the name of Martini henry
The petty Jealousy prompting the ignoring
of the American inventors name was not
novel, as it's counterpart has been seen ir
England's refusal to accept Gatling guns
made in this country. The Peabody Mar
TIM gun is in all its features the same al
the Martini Henry, the only difference be
irg that the former, owing to it's uniformity
and perfection of construction by automa
tic machinery, is a much superior weapon
, Not only is it better gun, but it is 1
cheaper one, thanks to the same caue'
which makes its superiority. Our Ameri
can manufacturers are enabled to 1nderbit
the Ruglish Notwithstanding a great par
of the material employed in the gun is i'm
ported from England.
Itis easy to find the reason. One-fifth o
the 1000 men in the English factory ar
"flers," and theirs is both Glow ant
expensive branch of labor. On the othe
.. hand, of the 500 employees Of the Prov
! idence Tool Company-the makers of tn
Peabody Martini guo-only twenty ART
: ''6lers," and their work consists mainly fl
, remov ing "burrs" left by the machinery,
very cheap and simple process, while all tn
IEfOrminaD ia done to the niceet degree O