The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1878-02-17

muskcts. with pistols Successive chapters
are given TO the history Of the title to Rock
Island; to the attempts, rational and ir-
rational, to improve its water power; TO the
endless laundering therein Of army officers
and civilians; to the fighting In courts and
before Congress about the water and the
property, until finally the entire island
comes by purchase at immense cost under
the control of the War Department. Then
this 9ji-paGe chronicle dcgcncrates into n
Rock Island history OF the Ordnance Family,
I'm which generals, colonies, majors, and
captains walk the stage beyond endurance.
or course this Unnecessary and worthless
history is copiously illustrated. We never
could understand why, II an ordnance officer
made n dog kennel he had to publish plan
OF IL at the public expense. The REMING-
TONS have never published plates OF the
front doors Of their shops nor the windows.
Ivory door and window Of the Rock Island
Arsenal shops and storchouses is pictured.
There are costly plates Of foundations under
ground; of the fronts Of simple buildings,
Of their backs. ends, first floors, second
foors. The Providence Tool Company
never wasted money in printing pic
lures Of its storchouses and the front
steps Of its shops. The architcctu-
raj plan OF any machine shop IL
the inclusion OF 50 many square feet Of
area by -four walls. To publish "A picture of
il Is the act Of mind that cXaggerates the
interest Of parallclOgrams, or Is 80 oppressed
with idlcncss rs to be glad to occupy itself
with triles. Again we say that somebody
ought to get hurt for wasting the public
money in publishing these 3d pages of Rock
Island history. Besides the illustrations of
the back doors Of blacksmith shops, front
stoops, hatchways and skids TO hold can
non, costly plates show the old ownership
and present title of Rock Island, the i'm
provement of its water power, the history Of
the military use Of the island by the Cow
eminent, and picture the Ordnance Bureaus
latest labors in making the 800 secluded
acres paradise for the occupation OF half
dozen favored officers and their families
At the risk OF tediousnoss in iteration we
say again that somebody should be hurt for
wasting the public money in manufacture
ing this costly pretence that the Ord
nance Bureau was busily and use-
fully employed in the last fiscal
year. For the little that we have told,
the report should be the subject Of a court
martial. But the matter succeeding this
worthless history OF Rock Island is five
years old II is stuillng. 1t IS put in TO fill
up. 1t is worth just what straw in horse
collar is worth. and no more In 1873, three
ordnance officers got themselves sent on
pleasure trip through Europe at the public
expense, nominally to examine and report ON
ordnance, ordnance stores, small arms and
ammunition, gunpowder gun cotton, &c.
Their report iirst sees light in this volume.
1t is AS pages long. Five years of time
have Anticipated most of it. From the
whole of it. it is absolutely certain that the
people Of the United States will never de-
rive practical benefit to the value of ten
cents.
Reduce the army to ten thousand men.
buy our cannon and muskcts of American
manufacturers, and abolish the Ordnance
Department