The Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1877-1885, 1878-12-31
Tuesday. December 81. 1878.
Destructive Reorganization.

Had the hero OF FREDERICKSBURG mad any
brains he would surely have beaten them
out when he dashed his head against the
rocky slopes that front that city. Il may
be that he did have some, and that he did
brain himself on that occasion, and that
now living and moving about, he furnishes
an illustration Of one of those men spoken
Of, or limited at, by the great dramauSe
when he said, Time was, the brains
'wero ont the man would die" In any
case. whether or not he had, anterior to
Fredericksburg, any of that material that
fills the cavity of the skull, ne certainly
has little or none at the present time.
This hero of unvarying defeat, the pre-
sent senator, is once more trying his hand
in military matters. His failure as mil
itarv tactician was only equaled by his
failnre as leader. He could never man
euver bis men except so as to sinvite re-
pulse. or lead them successfully except it
was in retreat, when the order of battle
was SdltUe q1tl peut, or devil take the
hindmost." With such record In war,
he essays the role of military leader 10
time of peace He has just marshaled
into line of battle force more numerous
than Grant sent to slaughter IN the Wild
ness. 1t is composed OF corps dGrnaee,
swollen regiments with uuarmed battalioDs
held in reserve, cavalry, artillery, aud To-
fsntry, all mixed indistinguishably and all
pushing forward pell-mell, no one knows
whittier. 1t is an acephalous army be-
L "a m haa1-kkof 10
to say, the Office of general who happens 10
have the oldest com mission takes his place.
Such is the army which the hero OF Fred
erisksburg is now bringing into the field
an army otherwise known as bill to reor-
gaDize the army Of the United States, The
document which contains it is large cot
avo of nearly three hundred pages, max.
ing book which no congress can read and
pass 10 single session, and which no mill.
tary man can ever master 10 caseit should
become a law.
The T.im'S has before given the outlines
OF this production; but it has never tounC
space to give any considerable portion o.
il in detail which deserves especial notice
because of the interests it Involves, or be
cause of the interests which it would obi
terate in case il should become slaw. Sec
llOQS OSO duu OOt, uuucI n6Au VI OEuudbC
Department, are as follows;
THAT the ordnance department shall b
charged with the selection of sites for arse
nails and ordnance depots, with the con
str uction and repair of such establishment
when that duty is not devolved upon tn
corps of engineers with the purchase, pre-
servation' and repair of all ordnance an
ordnance stores procured tor the militar
establishment, with the distribution an
disbursement of all money appropriate
by congress for these purposes, and wit
such other duties as may be imposed on
by the secretary Of war; but hereafter orc
nance and ordnance stores shall not
fabricated By the government, and the III
expended balances of existing approprii
tons for that purpose shall be availab
only for the purchase, preservation, an
repair OF the same.
That general denomination 'Ordnant
and ordnance stores shall include all Cal
non and artillery, carriages and equipment
all apparatus and m achines for the Sc
vice and maneuver of artillery; all sma
arms, accOutrements, and horse equiv
ments; all ammunition, and all tools, nj
chinsry, and materials for the ordnan
service: horse medicines materials f
shoeing, and all horse equipments and ha
ness for the artillery"
Just how much capital the governme
has invested in the fabrication of ''ordnau
nance and ordnance stores" The TIM
is not prepared to say, but it is very larg
including many millions of dollars. In Il
works ut Rock Island alone, the amount
capital invested By sbs Yfs very great
This bill becomes a law, all the labor al
money used in putting in the machine
will be simply annihilated, while all Il
costly appliances themselves would
sold under the hammer and would n
bring twentieth part of their value.
will be seen that ordnance aud ordnan
stores include about anything in use
an army-cannoD, small arms, ammunitiC
tools, saddles, harness, everything. Tt
feature OF the bill is simply and unmist
kabe In the interests of contractors.
purpose is to throw the supply OF raw ID
terlal into the hands of private parties.
the author of the bill knew anything abO
the late civil war, he would know what
unspeakabie damage came from reliaD
on private contracts. We had Belpi
muskets, Enfield rifles, the altered fiji
lock, Sharp's rifles, Colt repeaters, Henry
and magazine guns three fourths of viii
were absolutely without any dangero
qualities, except to the men who carrie
them. We had all sizes of cartridges t
small arms; percussion shells that cou
no be made to burst with siedge-haI
mar, and time-shells which should ha
been named eternity shells as millio
never exploded and never will explod
euen were there final. universal conf
grafton. Uniformity in!an inferior artic
is more useful than dissimllarity in bett
class. When the government manufa
lures for itselfit is az least certain of Il
quality of what it makes, and Of unilor
results. The government can always ava
itself OF any Improvement 10 war materi
and thus need never fall behind other n
tions.
1t is to be hoped that congress will u
pass this bill without giving it careful co
sideration. To do this would take up mo
time than the present session has at
disposal. Should it 20 over to the ne
congress, the interval will afford time
study its merlts- Chicago Times.
s
sherman Now and Sherman in 1876
w hen Secretary Sherman Of tbo NJ