The weekly miner., 1880-12-14
THE WEEK1. II MINER.

MA40eQfUy cOnlniSSioleu oAHccf, anu the
various details of officers for necessary SER
vicr away from their commands occasions Il
scarcity IN the number required for company
duties. With the view to lessening this drain
to some extent, it is recommended that the
law authorizing the detail of officers from the
active list as professors of tactics and military
science at certain colleges and universities be
so amended as to provide that all such details
be made from the retired list OF the army.
Attention is asked to the necessity of pro-
viding legislationfor organizing, tarming and
disciplinng the active militia of the country,
and liberal appropriations are recommended
in this behalf. '>y
The report OF the adjutant general Of the
army and chief ordinance touching this sub
ject fully sets forth its Importance, and the
report of the officer in charge of education in
the army shows that there are seventy-eight
schools now in operation in the army, with
an aggregate attendance of 2305 enlisted men
and children. The secretary recommends
the enlistment of $50 schoolmasters, with the
rank and pay of commissary sergeants. An
appropriation is needed to supply the judge
advocate of the army with suitable libraries,
and the secretary recommends that the corps
of judge advocates be placed upon the same
footing as to promotion with the other staff
corps of the army under existing laws. The
bureau of military justice consists of one
officer, the judge advocate general, and corps
Of judge advocates of eight officers OF equal
rank (major), with the provision that the
limit of the corps shall remain at four when
reduced by casualty or resignation to that
number. The consultations of the bureau of
military justice and the corps of advocates
upon the same basis with other staff officers
of the army would remove an unjust discrim-
ination against deserving officers and sub
serve the best interests of the service. Es-
pecial attention is asked to the report of the
chief of engineers upon the condition of our
nationa! defences, from a personal inspection
of many of our Notifications referred to. The
secretary is able to emphasize the recon-
mendatiols made, and to state that their in
complete and defenceless condition is desired
by the country. While other nations have
been increasing their means for carrying on
offensive warfare and attacking maritime
cities, we have been dormant in our prepara-
tion for defense. Nothing of Importance has
been done toward strengthening and finishing
our casemated works since our late civil war,
during which great guns of modern warfare
and heavy armored wooden Notifications and
ships came into use among the different ma
tlons, and our earthWorks were left, by the
sudden failure of appropriations some years
since. III all stages ef incompetion, and are
now being rapidly destroyed by the elements.
OUR RIVER HIGHWAYS.
Two great rivers OF the North American
continent (the Mississippi and Coumbia)
have their navigable waters wholly within
the limits of the United States, and are of
Vast Importance to our internal and foreign
commerce. The permanency of The import
ant work in the south pass of the Mississippi
rever seems now to be assured. There has
been no failure whatever in the maintenance
Of a maximum channel curing the six months
ending August 9th, last. This experiment has
opened broad and deep highway to the
ocean, and is an improvement upon the per.
manent success of which congratulations may
be exchanged among people abroad and at
home, and especially among the communities
of the Mississippi valley, whose commercial
exchanges flow in an unobstructed channel
safely to and from the sea. This cornprehen-
sive improvement of the Mississippi and it's
tributaries isa matter Of transcendant import
ance. These great waterways comprise sys-
tenn OF inland transportation that spreads like
a network over large portion of the United
States, and navigable to an extent of many
thousands of miles. Producers and consum-
ers alike have common interest in such un-
equalled facilities for cheap transportation
Geographically, commercially and politically
they are the strongest tie between the various
sections of the country. These channels of
and interchange are The prop
erty OF the nation, and its jurisdiction is
paramount over their waters. The
public interest requires their intelligent and
careful supervision, with the view to the
protection, Improvement and advancement of
their usefulness. The channel of the Colum-
bia river, for distance of about one hundred
miles from its mouth, is obstructed by su c.
cnssion of bars which occasion serious delays
IN navigation and heavy expense forlighter-
age and tonnage. A depth of at least twenty
feet at low tide should be secured and main
tanned to meet the requirements for the ex-
tensive and growing inland ard ocean com
lnerce it subverts. The most urgent need,
however, for this great waterway is the per-
manent improvement Of the channel at the
mouth of the river.
HARBOR WANTED.
From the Columbia river to San Francisco,
a distance OF over 600 miles, there is no har-
Dor on the Pacific coast which can be ap-
preached during stormy weather. An appro-
priation of $150,00O was made by the 18th
congress for the commencement of a break
water and harbor refuge to be located at some
point between the straits of Fuca and San
Francisco at which the necessities of COM
merce, local ana general, Will be best accom-
modated. The amount appropriated is
thought to be quite inadequate for the purpose
The cost of the work when fin
ished will he very great, owing to the want
of natural advantages for site at any point
on the coast between the designated limits,
and it has not been thought advisable to un-
dertake the work without larger appropria-
ton. | commend the matter to the attention
of congress.
BUILDINGS WANTED.
The completion Of a new building for the
war department is urgently needed, and the
estimates for continuing its construction are
recommended. The collections OF
books, specimens and records constituting the
army medical museum and library are oil
national importance. The library now con-
tains about $1,000 volumes and $4,000 pam-
phlets relating to medicine, surgery and allied
topics. The contents of the army medical